Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
great physicist, a stack of red-granite pillars marking the spot where Einstein was born.
Legoland
(
www.legoland.de
;
adult/concession €38/34; 10am-btwn 6pm & 8pm Apr-early Nov)
A sure-fire kid-pleaser, Legoland Deutschland is a pricey Lego-themed amusement park,
with shows, splashy rides and a miniature world built from 25 million Lego bricks. It's in
Günzburg, 37km east of Ulm, just off the A8.
THEME PARK
SPOT THE SPARROW
You can't move for
Spatzen
(sparrows) in the German language. You can eat like one
(essen wie ein
Spatz)
and swear like one
(schimpfen wie ein Rohrspatz)
; there are
Spatzenschleuder
(catapults),
Spätzles
(little darlings) and
Spatzenhirne
(bird brains). Nicknamed
Spatzen
, Ulm residents are, ac-
cording to legend, indebted to the titchy bird for the construction of their fabulous Münster.
The story goes that the half-baked builders tried in vain to shove the wooden beams for the min-
ster sideways through the city gate. They struggled, until suddenly a sparrow fluttered past with
straw for its nest. Enlightened, the builders carried the beams lengthways, completed the job and
placed a bronze statue of a sparrow at the top to honour the bird.
Today there are sparrows everywhere in Ulm: on postcards, in patisseries, at football matches
(team SSV Ulm are dubbed
die Spatzen
) and, above all, in the colourful sculptures dotting the Alt-
stadt.
Sleeping
The tourist office lists apartments and guesthouses charging around €25 per person.
B&B
Hotel Schiefes Haus €€€
( 967 930;
www.hotelschiefeshausulm.de
; Schwörhausgasse 6; s €125, d €148-160;
)
There was a crooked man and he walked a crooked mile…presumably to the world's
