Day 27 Rest Day New Ulm

Down Town New Ulm

Ten Things to do in New Ulm (From the New Ulm Visitor Guide):
1. Dance with a gnome. At all of our major festivals, you'll meet New Ulm's "ambassadors," costumed gnomes and the masked Narren, all eager to welcome new faces. So go ahead and ask them to dance. (We promise they'll say,“Yes!”).
2. Sample beer the way it should be...none of that watered-down, mass-produced stuff. At the August Shell Brewery, you can try a variety of our rich, handcrafted beers while sitting elbow-to-elbow with friends in the new tap room.
3. Ski by the pale moonlight. Flandrau State Park keeps its eight miles of trails well groomed throughout the winter. Since the park is located right in town, you can grab your cross-country skis and enjoy a moonlit trek a few times each
winter - and not be late to dinner. In summer, hiking trails and a sand-bottomed pool await.
4. Go cuckoo...as in cuckoo clocks...or nutcrackers...or candy, glassware, music boxes and steins. New Ulm's shops offer specialty items straight from the old country, as well as a full range of other treasures.
5. Tune in to history. Your kids might be surprised when you tell them to put the ear buds in, not take them out. With New Ulm's unique downtown history iPod tour, the whole family can take a walk and learn about the area's
past. Nothing dull about it.
6. Roll on the river. Get your friends together and enter a float in the annual Flotilla on the River water parade. Can't make it for Labor Day Weekend? Bring your tubes, boats or canoes anytime - we've got two rivers just waiting for
you.
7. Picnic in the Park. Bring your blanket and picnic basket to German Park on Monday nights and spread out beside the fountain for our free outdoor summer concert series. The lineup ranges from polka to Broadway melodies,
marches, and a variety of other musical styles. For the kids, there’s the playground and New Ulm’s Puppet Wagon.
8. Dine like the Deutsche. Many of New Ulm's restaurants and almost all of its festivals and special events serve up traditional German cooking, from brats and landjaegers to sauerbraten and sauerkraut. It’s authentic Deutschland cuisine,
minus the airfare.
9. Sleep as late as you like. Someone else will make breakfast when you stay at any of New Ulm's historic B&Bs. You'll also get warm surroundings, beautifully restored architecture and expert advice on local attractions and events.
10. Scale new heights. Drive to the top of the Center Street hill, then climb a spiral staircase to the cupola.

Chuck said that his rest day was just that," restful". He got up and went downtown for coffee. He rode his bike from one end of town to the other to check it out. He rode for a short time on the New Ulm bike trail. Breakfast was at a coffee shop in town. He met up with Susan Campbell there and had a nice chat with her. For lunch he had a bratwurst sandwich.

He spent most of the day at the dorm getting some rest, doing laundry, repacking, and playing scrabble on Face Book. He didn't go to see Sam Cosgrove, one of the big riders, in the sauerkraut eating contest at the Bavarian Festival downtown. Sam won!!!! his picture and story made front page news on the local New Ulm paper. Chuck said that he is pretty sure that Andy took a video of Sam in action. Look it up at: http://www.youtube.com/andrewfersch


Picture taken by Mark Abernathy of Sam after he downed a pound of saurkraut in 36 seconds


Jeremy, after seeing Sam win, has come up with a food eating challenge. He has challenged the Big Riders to eat a half gallon of ice cream, drink a six pack of beer, and eat a whole water melon. The one who gets done first and keeps everything down for at least 10 minutes wins. I guess that some of the riders will be taking him up on that challenge in Winona. Chuck said that since he doesn't drink that lets him off the hook(he's soooo glad). Tune in tomorrow for another episode of Chuck's Big Ride Across America.






Above are some pictures that Chuck took today