Searching For Einstein

DAY 281: In 1879, one of the most influential scientists in history was born. Known for his famous Theory of Relativity and his out-of-control, just-got-out-of-bed hair, Albert Einstein was born in the southwestern German city of Ulm on the Danube River. Although Einstein left Ulm and moved to Munich and then Switzerland and ultimately to the United States where he died in Princeton, New Jersey, his hometown had no qualms in celebrating its claims that the genius was born within their city limits. If not for the birth of Einstein in Ulm, sarcastic people around the world might not have had the expression, "Smooth move, Einstein."

You would think that a city with such bragging rights -- on the famous Danube no less -- would be more of a tourist destination. However, Ulm wasn't even in the index of my Let's Go Western Europe 2004 guidebook, and I've heard that little to no attention is given to it in other guides. Luckily my second cousin Tony (who is more of an uncle-type to me) knew of it, as he frequented the city often being only about an hour away from Filderstadt and Stuttgart. He and wife Ursula (who is a German aunt-type to me), both retired, decided to take me to Einstein's hometown and environs for the day. The night before, they had showed me a coffee table book about Ulm, complete with many pictures, and my goal for the trip to Ulm was to see the subject of one of them: a statue of Einstein's head, based on the famous silly photo of him sticking his tongue out.

After cruising down the autobahn -- slowing down at all the numerous radar/camera devices to regulate speed (Tony knew of all of them) -- we arrived at the not-so-famous city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. A quiet little city of old southern German architecture and sausages, we walked through the streets, passed the city hall and new library (picture above) and down the park along the Danube -- despite the name of the famous waltz "Blue Danube," by Johann Strauss, it was pretty brown. Across a bridge over the Danube, the boundary line between two states, we quickly stepped in New Ulm in the state of Bavaria before walking back to the "old" one.

THE YEAR 2004 MARKS 125 YEARS since Einstein's birth and Ulm's stadthaus (town house) exhibition hall presented a comprehensive exhibition on the life of their superstar. That was all nice and all (and in German), but I really just wanted to see the statue I'd seen in the coffee table book. In front of the stadthaus was another sculpture that also played on Einstein and his protruding tongue, but it wasn't the one I had seen.

Tony nor Ursula (nor their offspring) hadn't seen the statue, which surprised me because the photo in the book made it seem like it would be fairly famous locally. In fact, Ulm postcards even sported a photo of the statue.

The three of us were on a mission, and Ursula took charge by asking the folks at the Einstein exhibit on where to find it. They gave us vague directions and a direction to walk in, but found nothing but the Einstein Haus, a special school for genius wannabes. The statue wasn't in the Einstein Haus plaza -- the "E = MC Square" as I like to call it -- so we asked for directions again. The latest led us out of the city center and into the residential area -- but the statue we found there wasn't of Einstein at all.

"I don't think that's Einstein," I said.

"I told you no one would know where it is," Tony said. "It's difficult to find. That's typical of Einstein."

Ursula asked for directions in her native German to a resident walking her dog. She didn't know exactly where it was either -- and she lived in Ulm too. Is it really that hard to find? I didn't want it to be such a pain. I thought it would obvious, but I guess not. We asked another guy on the street who gave us another general direction but nothing specific. Finally we arrived at the Zeughaus, a secluded government building, where Tony and Ursula had walked by many times. However, it was my curiosity to look around the statue. Lo and behold, Einstein and his tongue were only visible if you stood at the front door of the building looking outwards -- casual passers-by of the Zeughaus wouldn't see it unless they knew of its existence. I guess, as Einstein put it, it's all relative.

I REALLY QUESTION WHY ULM isn't more popular; not only does it boast being a scenic town on the Danube and the birthplace of Einstein, it also holds the world's tallest cathedral. More noteworthy than that is that it holds the Museum der Brotkulture -- that's right, "Museum of Bread Culture," an entire museum dedicated to the history and culture of bread. At Ursula's suggestion, we went to visit the not-so-famous but impressive museum. I thought it would be like a bakery or something, but it was more or less a museum museum, with paintings and glass displays. As boring as it may sound, the museum was actually pretty interesting; they managed to get their point across to me: bread, in one form or another, has been an important symbolic food source in most civilizations and religions for millennia, from breads of ancient Egypt, to communion hosts in Christianity, to the promise of bread in Nazi propaganda posters. Afterwards, Tony and I went out for doner kebabs in a fairly upscale place (compared to the scummier places I'd seen throughout Germany), which served up sliced meats on really good bread.

WHILE THE "BLUE DANUBE" WASN'T EXACTLY BLUE, a body of water in the old Danube valley was -- so blue it was named Der Blautopf, or "Blue Pot." Der Blautopf, a pond 65 ft. deep, lies in the small town of Blaubernen, the place where Orsel grew up, the town where she met Tony. Perhaps it was Der Blautopf's romantic charm back in the 1960s that did the trick (nowadays it's a locally-popular tourist stop) with its picturesque water wheel and ultra blue water water caused naturally simply by the depth of the water. I suppose we found two things in our excursion that day: Einstein and the blue Danube.

HANS-GEORG WAS HOME FROM WORK by the time we got back to Filderstadt. We made reservations for a court in the local tennis club for an hour of tennis and after our work out, Hans-Georg volunteered to cut my hair. It wasn't exactly as long as Einstein's, but bothering me nonetheless. How Einstein could keep his hair all wild I don't know (although it totally works for him), but perhaps it was intentional when creating all those theories. Now that's genius.

If you enjoy this daily travel blog, please post a comment! Give me suggestions, send me on missions, let me know how things are going back home in the USA. Knowing that I have an audience will only force me to make this blog more entertaining as the days go by. Don´t forget to bookmark it and let a friend know!

Posted by Erik on August 3, 2004 11:15 AM
TrackBack | Category: European Union

HEY ALL... That's all for now; I'm off on a train through Siberia now... I wouldn't be surprised if there will be internet in the middle of the tundra (they had it in the Amazon, remember?), so don't be surprised if you see an entry pop up in the next coming days.

The first leg of the train journey is about 22 hours, so I'm in the NIZ at least for a day... Blog you later!

Posted by: Erik TGT on August 3, 2004 03:51 AM

What quaint little towns! Oh, I wanna be there! Not here in the literally concrete jungle - sure feels like one anyway. I love quaint architecture... that's what I want to do in Europe, just wander around looking at cute houses and shops.

Posted by: Liz on August 3, 2004 08:28 AM

I'm with you Liz - love those quaint little towns. I don't just want to visit -I want to live there! I have to decide where I want to teach English and this is making it difficult! I have to make up my mind in the next few weeks...........any other TESOL people out there with some recommendations?

Posted by: Janice on August 3, 2004 09:25 AM

Here's the secret scoop on Jan (who is my aunt).... Jan has dreamed of teaching English and going abroad for years. I might get in trouble for saying her age (but I'm 31 so that should give you a ballpark) but she has just finished her job, has signed up for a TESOL course and is going to teach overseas! I think that is awesome and incredibly brave! So just wanted to share it with everyone, and to give her a pat on the back for going after her dreams.

Please give her great recommendations on where to go so the rest of the family can have a super fab vacation when we go to visit her LOL

Jan - hope you don't mind me giving out the personal details, but what you are doing is truly inspiring :)

Posted by: Liz on August 3, 2004 10:25 AM

Jan, I'm with you.
Why not try different countries for a year each. start with germany, then south america (peru, bolivia, brazil,etc), then japan, china..
I am so happy for you. follow your dreams, sometimes it happens early in life, sometimes later but never stop dreaming.. Go fo it...

Posted by: love,mom on August 3, 2004 06:29 PM

Really beautiful towns and countryside. I'm glad we got to tag along in Lux & Germany.

That sculpture of Einstein was a bit strange, huh? Looks like he's coming out of a snail's shell--I wonder why? It's fun, and a scavenger hunt is always a good way to see a town.

JANICE: I'm impressed! See the world and teach--sounds like plan. Good luck! Of all the places I've been, I love Italy best. You sure can't go wrong with the food! I have a friend in Ireland whose gone to Barcelona to teach English (with an Irish accent) for just the summer. Perhaps you can hit a couple of countries in a single year!

Posted by: Christy on August 3, 2004 07:42 PM

Wow - thanks guys for all your support and good wishes. I'll keep you posted where I end up and of course I'll still be following Erik (on my new laptop) and maybe meeting up with him somewhere - you never know! The course starts tomorrow and I can't wait to get going!

Posted by: Janice on August 3, 2004 10:17 PM

Erik: This week's episode of AR5 finished at the pyramids in Egypt. I realized why I enjoy your blog so much: we saw teams at the pyramids and the Sphynx but all the while I was looking for the Pizza Hut and KFC across the road. Of course they didn't show that. TV sensationalizes everything. If it wasn't for this blog I would never have known to look for them. You give us the real life version!

Posted by: Janice on August 3, 2004 11:56 PM

some NIZ entertainment - 80s music quiz:

http://www.yetanotherdot.com/asp/80s.html

not sure if you've all seen this or can relate, but give it a shot!

i'm a "pop junkie" hahahah

Posted by: stephanie on August 4, 2004 11:49 AM

ayo! sausages!!!! i hate u.. why must u explore the world.... im sittin on my ass in front of my comp...
droolin at every destination u describe...

pece dude

Posted by: mitchell on August 4, 2004 12:40 PM

yo E - if there is someone really annoying on the train and loud in russia...just say this

"Zacroy svoy peesavati rot, sooka"

well...maybe you shouldn't hahahha

Posted by: markyt on August 4, 2004 05:39 PM

- Without really ruining anything for Liz this time...Why is it that the two people that probably have it the best in real life are doing so well in the race anyway...figures...!

Erik: ...Is it cold yet??

I was just thinking, with all the people your meeting, and all the extra experience, you can probably do Global Trip 3 for even longer and cheaper! (Guess your not thinking that far yet tho, lol.)...but seriously...can I come....lol

Stay safe!

-Harry

Posted by: Harry on August 4, 2004 09:58 PM

GREETINGS FROM YEKATERINBURG (formerly Sverdlosk during USSR times)! Technically I'm not in Siberia yet... I'm in the city in the Ural Mountains, the natural boundary at the end of Europe and the beginning of Asia (Siberia)... The city is pretty big (Russia's third largest) and it's not cold at all... nice, warm, sunny weather...

My first train ride wasn't 22 hours like I said, it was actually 30 (I calculated wrong) -- I was on that train through two time zones in one shot. I am currently 10 ahead of NYC...

I'm caught up to Moscow on paper, but I have yet to type it up and upload... Stay tuned!

JANICE: You go, girl!

Posted by: Erik TGT on August 5, 2004 08:44 AM

DARCY: i don't remember my score or time, but my results come back w/a pic stating "pop junkie". not bad for someone who wasn't a teeny-bopper yet in the 80s. what was your JPG image?

Posted by: stephanie on August 5, 2004 10:51 AM

OK, the blog appeared in my dream last night. Maybe this means I need another vacation? I spend too much time in the internet at work? Erik, you were a really nice guy in the dream (you were only in it for a few minutes, though - it was more like MY blog!) and you were wearing a crazy suede purple outfit. Does this have something to do with Prince touring?
It was a fun dream, though. How about that - the blog made it's way into my subconsciousness! haha.

Looking forward to reading about Siberia - 30 hours on a train sounds painful, though. If you get cold, maybe you can find a purple suede outfit in Russia.

Posted by: sara on August 5, 2004 11:17 AM

AR5- phew! Thank goodness for non-elimination rounds! I was really worried that the moms were out. Go moms go!
Colin and Christy - hello????? Hmm, no one seems to be home. Use the FF when you are behind. Geesh.
How come Charla always has to do the challenges? Has Mirna done any of them? Or does she just whine and yell "Charla, run!" every 5 seconds?

Posted by: Liz on August 5, 2004 12:03 PM

I like challenges so I had to try the 80's music quiz thinking I would do ok because I had to listen to all those songs coming from my 3 kids bedrooms in that decade. Wrong! (Score: 14.75) I must have blanked most of them out. Or I was drowning out their music with the BeeGee's and Barry Manilow..............eeek! (FYI: My taste has evolved since then.)

Posted by: Janice on August 5, 2004 01:46 PM

Erik,
How hard would it be to do a blog like this, maybe not as detailed and nice, if you did not have a laptop with you? Would it be feasible to just use internet cafes and such?

Posted by: Kirsten on August 5, 2004 01:51 PM

LIZ - charla has done every single road bloack/challenge....will she ever do one....the magic 8 points to "not likely"...

KIRSTEN - I think you can get around maintaining a TEXT blog travelling around the world hitting up cafe to cafe is most definitely doable...but you're gonna wanna have to do...

it also depends on you...most NERDs, like myself, don't handwrite anything anymore...so if you can keep a good journal, and then gather your ideas for what you wanna write you can be all set...

the laptop aides Erik with time to sort out pics, back up everything, and organize, so when he does finally hit up an internet cafe, he can upload them up...

just my thoughts....doesn't hurt to have some production help too..

Posted by: markyt on August 5, 2004 02:07 PM

Markyt & BH's : my bad the lure of the SBR's to the darkside was just too great! Indulgence of the blog without any vocal payment but no longer .. must fight the darkside!!! ..

btw dude, How the hell are Mirna & Charla still in it? This AR5 sucks! AR2 was the best!

Posted by: sim on August 5, 2004 04:33 PM

TDOT - I'm guessing there had to be a transportation departure time that allowed them to catch up...

Hence a WASTED fast forward for the idiots named as Colin and Christie...

Posted by: markyt on August 6, 2004 11:01 AM

AR5- I'm not sure about wasted fast forwards. If you were paying attention, they said that there were only 2 in the whole race this season. So the odds of even having the opportunity to use another one are slim.

Posted by: Neil on August 6, 2004 03:29 PM

MIR might be difficult, seeing as how it burned up in the atmosphere a few years back.

More likely, Erik decided to try NOT bribing a police officer, and is now being interrogated as a suspected American spy.

Posted by: Neil on August 6, 2004 07:15 PM

Well, I think that Yekaterinburg is near the warmth of the Black Sea, perhaps Erik felt the pull of the warm city called Sochi. And is now in Sochi sitting in a cafe having coffee. Afterwards, he'll be approached by the Russian mafia to become a mule.

How's that?

Posted by: Noelle on August 6, 2004 09:23 PM

I think he's near Lake Baikal. During a walk in the woods he was one of the few people in recent times to actually see a Siberian tiger. Since they are almost extinct, it is very difficult for even the tigers to find each other. This tiger was female, and upon seeing Erik, the tigress thought "male creature - could be a mate". He is now being pursued relentlessly through the forests by a tireless tigress in heat.

Or he got attacked by a moose.

Or the train broke down somewhere in Mongolia and everyone is now waiting for the next train to pass by and rescue them, which should be in about two days.

Posted by: Liz on August 6, 2004 10:24 PM

Searching for Einstein? Searching for Erik! I think we should send out a search team. Maybe he would respond to one of those big dogs with a barrel of whiskey around his neck. Erik, where are you?

Posted by: Janice on August 7, 2004 06:20 PM

KIRSTEN: It would be impossible... In the beginning (previous entries), the entries weren't as involved, but all the later ones (January on) are totally laptop dependent...

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