ulm: frosty mornings and faint-hearted stair climbs

got off the train in ulm and my camera fogged up like it was breathing its last breath. i swear, that glass front element went from clear to milky in three seconds flat. welcome to southern germany in january, i guess. i just checked and it's... well, the app says 3.38°C but feels like 0.49°C with 93% humidity. basically, it's a cold that seeps into your bones and never leaves. the kind of damp that makes you question all your life choices, especially the one where you thought a freelance photography gig in winter was a good idea.

ulm is a funny place. it's got that whole "we have a massive church" thing going on. the ulm minster is the tallest steeple in the world, or something like that. someone told me that the climb to the top is 768 steps and if you have asthma, you might as well turn around at step two. i tried it, and let's just say my lungs sounded like a broken accordion. the view? okay, i guess. but the light up there was flat, gray, typical württemberg winter sky. perfect for moody shots, not so much for instagram bangers.

ulm sits right on the danube, and if you look at a map, you'll see it's exactly here:

i'm here to shoot for a small travel magazine that pays in exposure and pretzels. the brief: "capture the soul of ulm in winter." soul? it's all damp cobblestones and people hurrying with their heads down. i spent the morning wandering the fischerviertel, the old fishermen's quarter, trying to get a shot of the river without a single tourist in it. impossible. then i found this little alley behind the fish market where the light was slipping through the buildings in this weird, almost cinematic way. i set up my tripod, and a local guy on a bike yelled something in schwäbisch that i'm pretty sure was about my camera being too fancy. i laughed, he laughed, and i got a shot that actually made the chill worth it.

if you get bored, stuttgart and munich are just a short drive away. i rented this tiny smart car that handles like a go-kart and the steering wheel felt like a toy (see image below). drove to stuttgart one afternoon to meet a friend who's a chef there. he cooked me this incredible lentils soup that warmed me up for about twenty minutes. then it was back to the cold.

i heard that the real secret spot is the kuhberg, this little hill on the edge of town. at sunrise, they say, the fog over the danube looks like a blanket. i dragged myself out of bed at 7am, froze my fingers off setting up, and sure enough, the fog was there. but it was so thick i couldn't even see the river. just a white void. i shot anyway, minimalist style. sometimes you got to work with what you got.

speaking of nights, one evening i was by the river attempting light trails and stumbled upon a bonfire where some kids were trying to stay warm. the flames danced in the cold air. i captured a wide shot:

and then a close-up of a stick they were poking it with:

the weather here is a beast of its own. it's not just cold, it's this clinging, 93% humidity cold that gets into your coat and never leaves. i've never understood why germans don't just hibernate. but they're out here, walking briskly, sipping glühwein at the christmas markets (yes, some are still up in january, don't ask). i tried the glühwein, it was basically sweet wine with a cinnamon stick. not my thing, but it warmed the hands.

i've been crashing at this airbnb that's above a bakery. waking up to the smell of fresh pretzels is a game changer. the host, a woman named inge, left me a note warning me about the stairs in the old town. "they're uneven and slippery when wet," she wrote. she wasn't kidding. i slipped once, camera strap caught on a railing, but the camera survived. thank you, peak design strap.

i've been reading some local forums. someone told me that the ulm weinberg (wine hill) has great views but the path is closed in winter due to ice. i went anyway, because rules are suggestions when you're chasing light. got there, gate locked, but i hopped the fence (don't tell anyone). the view was actually mediocre, but i got a cool shot of the minster with frost on the roof. worth the potential fine? maybe.

i need to mention the food. ulm has this dish called "ulmer spatz" which is like a noodle thing with cheese and onions. i had it at a place called "schanz" near the minster. it was hearty, exactly what you need when it's 3°C outside. Yelp link says it's touristy but good. i'd agree.

as a photographer, i'm always chasing that "golden hour." but in ulm in january, golden hour is more like gray hour. the sun rarely breaks through the clouds. but when it does, even for five minutes, the light on the danube is magical. i caught it one afternoon by the einstein bridge. i was so focused i didn't notice a cyclist almost run me over. he yelled "pass auf!" and i almost dropped my camera. but i got the shot. sometimes that's the story.

i've linked a few places if you're planning a trip: TripAdvisor's top things to do in Ulm, the Ulm Tourism Board, A local's blog about hidden spots, and Yelp's best cafes in Ulm.

i've also been following this guy on instagram who does urban exploration in ulm, but i won't link that because it's not official.

ulm isn't the kind of place that shouts. it whispers. and right now, it's whispering about how cold it is and how my toes are numb. but i kinda love it. there's a rawness to it, a lack of polish. the stone walls are stained, the streets are wet, and the people mind their own business. as a photographer, that's gold. you get real moments, not staged ones.

i should probably talk about the images below. that first one? i took it one night by the river when i was trying to do light trails. the bonfire in the distance was actually a bunch of kids keeping warm. the second image is from that morning i went to kuhberg. the steering wheel? that's from my rental car. i was driving back from stuttgart at dusk, the steering wheel was cold as ice, and i thought, this is my life now.

i'm leaving tomorrow. i'll miss the quiet, the smell of pretzels, and the way the light behaves here. it's not a place for everyone. but if you like your travel with a side of melancholy and a camera that keeps fogging up, ulm might just be your thing.

that's it. i need to pack. and by pack, i mean shove everything into my backpack and hope nothing breaks.

You might also be interested in:

• https://votoris.com/post/freezing-my-boots-off-in-tallinn-a-winter-tale
• https://votoris.com/post/baidoa-my-camera-chaos-the-gigs-that-didnt-happen
• https://votoris.com/post/cairo-through-a-cracked-lens-a-sleepdeprived-photographers-scramble
• https://votoris.com/post/midnight-sojourn-in-nottingham
• https://votoris.com/post/delhis-dust-and-dreams-a-botanists-bewilderment