Awwww, Heidelberg!!

Adorable is the word that comes to mind with Heidelberg. This little town has been visited by everyone from Mark Twain to Marilyn Monroe and for good reason. It's charming main street is the longest pedestrian street in Europe, lined with cobblestones and little shops. It has its fair share of tourists, fewer in the winter, but I can see why.






I had a peaceful walk to myself when I arrived on Sunday afternoon, since Germany closes down on Sundays. Restaurants never ever close though, thank goodness, so I grabbed some Thai food. It seems weird, I know, but these university towns have lots of new restaurants that veer from the typical dumplings-and-cheese German fare. I'm not complaining. For dinner, I went to an awesome German restaurant that brewed its own beer in the giant vats next to my table. I enjoyed my dunkel hefeweisen (dark wheat) beer, which I've only seen once in the US. Once again, I didn't have to wait long before I made some dinner friends. This time it was a group of British guys doing an exchange semester in Germany. I got my fair share of dry humor, which was even more difficult to understand with a British accent, and some of their Märzen beer served in a 5-liter keg at their table. One of them was from Transylvania so I learned all about the origins of Dracula, which was a strange conversation to have in a german beer hall. This same guy was very proud of the university that he went to in London and of his SAT scores. I know where the line between school pride and snobbery lies, trust me, so I passed up on hanging out with them after dinner.

It was definitely for the best because I got to meet a group of Argentinians at my hostel! It was fun to talk about how much fun Buenos Aires is and how beautiful the coast of Uruguay is. They just started a semester abroad at a nearby university so I got to give my recommendations on where to go in Europe. They were really chill, we just hung out and listened to one of them strum away on a guitar. My contribution to the fun was playing referee on what is American slang and what isn't. "Loaded" and "sh**faced" made them laugh but I promised that they're real words. Or real in the US, so therefore real everywhere that cares about American English. Which is everywhere that I've been on this trip, for better or for worse.
My hostel here in Heidelberg is also adorable. It's run by a young woman who has the place decorated like a fun grandma would. There's a toppling pile of books in the living room, vintage pillows and decorations, and a very welcoming common room. She's sent me to every restaurant and cafe that I visited in Heidelberg and I haven't been disappointed.

"2010 Best Coffee of Germany", which I found thanks to my hostel lady

Today I had a great lunch at an Indian place, and after nearly falling down a hill, a coffee break at a cute cafe. I was so miffed at myself for wearing stupid Armani Exchange boots and thinking that I could hike down an icy mountain that a cappuccino and käsekuchen were much needed. This kid who was starting his own business in training injured people to ski sat down at my table (seriously, a meal to myself please?) and gave me his pitch. After I calmed myself down from that mountain and this super-friendly Heidelberger, I set off to climb another mountain. To the castle. In the same boots.

relief in the form of cheesecake, served with mandarins

The first mountain adventure was following Philosopher's Path, where many famous writers and poets are said to have come for inspiration. It was absolutely beautiful, that is for sure. The only issue is that it doesn't come with a warning sign for tourists like me who go hiking in the winter and expect to have a nicely shoveled path back down the mountain. My butt only hit the bricks once, don't worry. I consider that a success.

I'm supposed to climb down that??

Mountain #2 involved a castle, again, one that has been written about by esteemed folks whose names have slipped my mind. Heidelberg is said to be an intellectual's gathering place because their university was the first in Europe. Anyway, the main attractions inside this lovely castle include a pharmacy museum and the world's largest wine barrel. Connection? Wine when all else fails, perhaps?

view from the castle

The pharmacy museum was actually quite interesting. It went back in history to Jesus and Mary Magdalen as healers, to pre-Middle Ages when it was believed that selecting the correct treatment depended on the season, a person's age, Zodiac sign, and who knows what else. They had actual pharmacies built in the 18th century picked up and moved inside this museum. Lots of cool stuff to learn. The barrel was just an added bonus - it was commissioned by the king in the 18th century to hold 228,000 liters of wine and be at least half full at all times. Sounds like a rough life in the castle, especially because this barrel was known to have a "leaking problem".

the castle

Most people could spend a day just wandering the sights of Old City (which translates to an hour or two if you're Melissa/Alysa). I saw the square where Martin Luther made his proclamation that Catholicism favors the wealthy in the 1500's, which spawned the start of the Lutheran religion. Yep, that happened here.

the requisite church

 I saw the university, first in Europe, and a prison where they locked students up. It reminded me of a large-scale version of the Chokey (this will paint a picture for fans of Matilda by Roald Dahl). If students mouthed off or freed the school's pigs, they were sent to this jail for a few weeks. This treatment went on for two hundred years, up till the early 20th century. The walls were covered in graffiti slamming their profs, including German phrases that definitely weren't taught to me in class. Hmm.

the University library, which might give Fisher Fine Arts a run for its money

Along my way I met a group of kids who approached me asking me for directions in broken German. They were Americans, surprisingly, and staying in Heidelberg to fulfill their duty as Mormon missionaries. I ended up walking them to their destination and chatting with them about my trip. They were so surprised to hear that I'm traveling for a full month and for a week on my own, like they had never met someone who had done that. I, of course, had a million questions to ask them, but I found their shiny plastic Mormon missionary name tags to be a bit intimidating so I held off. I never fail to be fascinated by the people I meet while traveling, even these American kids that I would've expected to have similar backgrounds to mine. Somehow I had more in common with Mr. Count Dracula.

The city of Cologne is up next!!

Tschüs,

a knight's old home

Tchüs!!
Melissa