Heidelberg - Castles, Mist and Merlin's

When I crossed the finish line at the marathon, Melissa greeted me with a hug and said, "We're going to Heidelberg!" While I was running, she did travel research in an Internet cafe on computers the speed of Ents (yes, that is a LOTR reference) with Dutch keyboards. Not a frustrating combo at all. The train to Copenhagen was going to be 14 hours which just sounded miserable and for the short time we had planned there, not worth it. So off to Heidelberg Germany instead. A fantastic option. Our train journey east was not smooth. We were kindly asked to get off the train at one point. We have Eurorail passes. These allow us to use any participating rail line throughout Europe. However, some trains require reservations to board and we quickly discovered this. Upon discovering that we did not have reservations for the train from Brussels to Köln (Cologne) the train official moved us to the luggage area at the back of the car and asked us (very nicely) to get off the train at Liege. We were thrilled with this option as it was much better than 1) paying the entire fair from Brussels to Köln when our Eurorail already covered it and 2) getting booted off the train into the Belgian countryside. I found our stop in Liege amusing because Bert, a man I had met at the marathon who had very small round blue glasses, and his family had been very adamant that I visit Liege, a university town in Eastern Belgium. We caught the next train (with reservations this time) and were on our way.

A very tired Melissa and a sore Kate arrived in Heidelberg. Our hostel was great. It was clean, small and had a great common area and kitchen. It was very light and had a peaceful, natural quality to it. I highly recommend Steffi's in Heidelberg to fellow travelers. We set off for Merlins upon the recommendation of the hostel. Naturally, we  set off in the wrong directions but quickly oriented ourselves. Merlins was delicious - best meal of the trip thus far. Potato cakes with a champignon mushroom sauce, a salad (sans mayo and pickled things - yay) and a fantastic wheat beer - Heidelbergerweiss.

Heidelberg is located on the Neckar River, about 20 km from where the Neckar flows into the Rhine. The castle is the most prominent landmark. It was founded in the 1200s from a fortress. It has been destroyed and rebuilt several times before being abandoned in the 1800s. There is a fantastic medieval quality. The ruins are impressive. Massive kegs still exist from when they tried to withstand seiges. One barrel could hold 195,000 liters of wine and has its own room. We also visited the German Pharmacy Museum. It had many virtues. It was indoors, warm, free and was educational. Next we walked through Olde Town, across the bridge and then had Spanish Hot Cocoa, so thick that it had be drunk one delicious spoonful at time. We also managed to get on the bus going the wrong way and rode an ENTIRE bus route. It was a great way to see the city. School children rode the city bus rather than a designated school bus. They were very well mannered. I was also impressed by the driver's ability to navigate narrow steep winding roads. The following day it rained. I also had a nasty cold. We took a river cruise up the Neckar river because the boat was covered and we would still be able to see things. Old castles could be seen in the mist that covered the vivid green hillsides, giving the land a very mythical quality. Back on dry ground again (Melissa was thankful as her choice picked randomly from a German menu resembled pickled anemic worms (I think it was pickled ham slivers) and was feeling a bit queasy). Olde Town was delightful to walk through again and then we headed back to our hostel. We stopped at a small grocery and gathered ingredients for dinner. It was great to cook dinner together, something that we have always enjoyed as roommates.

That night we headed out with some hostel mates to watch a soccer (football) match. Heidelberg is a college town. The oldest university in Germany is located there. Our hostel was filled with students who were trying to find lodging before the school year starts in October. A room in a flat or house will go for 300-400 Euros a month. 50-200 people will compete for one room. Some of the students were celebrating that they had finally found a room while others were drinking to their frustration and sorrow that no one wanted to live with them. One student said, "You come up with reasons for why they should pick you, like you have to justify your presence" We had a great conversation with Thomas who had just finished his nursing courses and was getting ready to start med school. He will be a good doctor, clearly intelligent, he also has a very caring presence and takes time to listen to people. He also has a great sense of humor. I was relaying how impressed I was that upon buying decongestant at the pharmacy, I was given a package of tissues. He replied, "Ah yes, and when you have stomach problems, we give you toilet paper too." I let out an incredulous, "Really? Wow, they are so considerate here." Nope apparently, that was a joke.

Melissa and I did have a bit of a break in relations. Across from the train station and bus stop there is a large statue. A creature with people heads coming out of it and a head spinning in the middle. Melissa said that it was giraffe and clearly concerned with its gastric motility. I maintained that it was horse getting a colonoscopy.