Oeschinensee

We went up with a cable car and walked to a glacial lake called Oeschinensee...

The lake was fed by many waterfalls coming down from various glaciers.

I'm in this picture

Berner Oberland

The next night, we stayed in a hotel in the Berner Oberland, in the middle of the mountains.

The ideal mountain, I think.

Here is the hotel. Built in 1753.

Iseltwald

A little town also on the Brienzersee, where we swam.

Brienzersee

We stayed in an amazing hotel on the Brienzersee.

View from my window

You could walk behind the waterfall.

Drive through Switzerland

M. B. and the motorcycle

Black Forest

Just some snapshots from the window of a train going through Baden-Württemberg...

Schwörmontag & Nabada

This is, in theory, the main event of the whole weekend: the mayor's speech and his yearly oath to uphold the laws of the city.

Now the real craziness starts: the Nabada. In the Swabian dialect this means something like "swimming down the river."

Below you see the calm before the storm. 

I don't have any photos of my own of the Nabada for reasons that will soon become obvious. The event basically consists of thousands of people piling into thousands of inflatable boats, armed with water guns and buckets, and having an massive water fight as they flow down the Danube. Yes, I took part, and yes, it was awesome. In addition to the private inflatable boats there are giant floats with huge papier-mâché figures (for example of the mayor or chancellor) and boats belonging to music clubs, in which entire bands, tubas and all, play music as they float along down the river.

But you can see lots of photos by clicking here. It's definitely worth a click. Just imagine me right in the middle.

Then Monday night is a big party throughout the whole city of Ulm.