Rest day. Ulm. 12June.

Was very nice to wake in a comfortable hotel bed. It gets light about 5am though so the dawn chorus starts about 4.30. We got up and at 9am went down to the hotel carpark building to clean our bikes. They need to be cleaned every rest day and were particularly dirty this time as on Wednesday there had been so much rain around all the dirt came up from the roads. At 10 we walked across the Danube river from New Ulm into the centre of Ulm. There we had breakfast with Stewart and Janice and Glen. Bagels for breakfast this time. We spent a while walking around looking at the old shops and buildings and the lovely church in the centre. Like many of the churches we have seen it was partially covered in scaffolding and undergoing repairs. Ulm is the birthplace of Albert Einstein and there is a memorial to him in the centre of town.

We found the Internet shop and checked out our emails. After about an hour we left as had had enough of other clients there smoking. This will become more common as we head east. Walled around a bit more, it was cloudy and not particularly warm. Then we returned to the hotel for a rest and to repack our bags again. About 5.30 we joined Murray and Marilyn for a drink before going to dinner with them and Roger in the hotel restaurant. The meal was delicious. The outlook was over the river and there were plenty of people to watch strolling along the river and canoeing up and down.

The people in Germany have been very friendly and helpful. We enjoyed our time in Ulm.