Excursion to Ulm

by Thembalethu Dladla

It was going to be a special day as we saw snow falling for the first time whilst in Germany. By 7:30 a.m., we were up and ready for Ulm and arrived there at 10:05 a.m. Our first highlight was visiting Merckle Ratiopharm, which is the largest drug producing company in Europe, with an internationale turnover of 1,175 million Euro. After an appetising interlude, we watched a video about the company - from the drug making process to how workers are kept safe from inhaling toxic chemicals. Just before lunch we took an inspiring tour of the pharmaceutical plant, as we were told how the working hours are designed to suit female staff with families. Before we left we were able to proudly sing our National Anthem and a few other South African songs for Ratiopharm staff members.

My personal favorite highlight was visiting the Ulmer Münster (Cathedral of Ulm). This cathedral has the highest church tower in the world (161 m from top to bottom). This cathedral was constructed during medieval times, it took about 500 years to complete and the paintings on the windows are over 600 years old. Unfortunately we could not climb (and I mean climb, as there are no cable carts or lifts) to the top of the tower as it had snowed the previous night. We were only able to climb 70 m (392 steps) of a spiral staircase. The highest point one can climb to os 143 m (768 steps), bute none the less a "fantastisch" view and good exercise.

Our final destination was the headquarters of the Südwest Presse, which is the 8th largest newspaper company in Germany with over 800 000 papers sold daily. Here we were met by the Deputy Head Editor and his colleague. This German newspaper was founded after WWII by 3 men, the paper has a very formal layout and mostly concentrates on regional and international issues. We were also able to ask questions on how the media in Germany handles politics, negativity (have they ever been sued?) and how much threat does the Internet pose for the future.

After a long but "wunderbar" day visiting the home town of Albert Einstein, we finally headed home for Tübingen.