Saturday was a pretty busy day. Florian was being inducted into the Lion’s Club, which I guess is some kind of service organization, so Ann had to make two salads for the occasion. Finally they decided to make one salad at Mama’s and one salad at Heidelberg (which I helped with). I can’t remember what time we left to go to Heidelberg, I think it must have been around 5. The Lion’s Club thing was at 8, and Brian and I went. It was business casual so I borrowed some of Ann’s clothes. We are the same width, I’m just about 6 inches taller. Her feet are bigger than mine though so I had to buy some shoes at the German’s version of Payless. They are cute sandal wedges and I will probably wear them again. Anyway, the Lions Club was pretty boring, mostly because I wasn’t feeling too well after the car ride and because everything was in German.
I did learn this though – Germans learn British English in school, therefore when they speak English they have a British accent. This was extremely bizarre for some reason. Florian does not have a British accent, probably because of Brian, and Ann is French so she doesn’t have an accent either. It was kind of unexpected. Everyone was really nice there of course and the young man who was hosting even offered me his room if I needed to lie down. The whole ceremony of induction went on for what felt like forever. Finally it was time for the Light Festival at Heidelberg. Flo had to stay with his Lion chums, so Ann took Brian and I to watch it. She used to be a tour guide for the city, so she basically knew how everything went down. It was very interesting and beautiful, and I enjoyed the fireworks. For those of you interested in the history of the Castle, you can learn more about it here, and for the history of the Festival check here. By the end of the night we were exhausted and rolled into our beds at home. Brian and I slept in the living room on the air mattress, it was actually pretty comfortable.
We slept in pretty late on Sunday and finally got around to sightseeing after lunch time. We went to see two very old monasteries (like…a thousand years old) and a Nazi Theatre across the River Nekar. The first Monastery was very small and mostly ruins except for the tower which had been added later. We went to the top of the tower and I was surprised how high up we were, since it hadn’t felt like that many steps. It was quite scary, and beautiful, so I had to get back down quickly. The next part was the Nazi Theatre, which is outdoors. I guess it was built sometime in the 30’s, and was used for rallies, plays, and other propaganda stuff. It seats about 6,000 people. Then we went to the last Monastery, which was much bigger and in slightly better condition. It even had crypts, but you weren’t allowed to go down there. We stayed there for quite awhile taking pictures of the scenery and the flowers before deciding to head back. Flo and Ann knew a really nice café so we went there for an early dinner. I had kasespatzle, again, because it is soooo good. Oh, and the other thing about Europe, no free refills. So frustrating. After a very tasty meal we headed back to the apartment and watched a movie before going to bed early, since Flo and Ann had work in the morning.
Monday found us at Heidelberg Castle and some parts of the city. Since this post is going to be ridiculously long, I will blog about this part of the week later, along with some pictures.
Brian and I decided to head home bright and early to Stuttgart on Tuesday. We took the bus to the train station and bought our tickets. We took a medium fast train. There are three different types of trains (I think). There is the regional train, which is the cheapest and the slowest, then the train that we took, and then there is the ICE which is like 200+mph and more expensive. Our train ride was very nice as we got to see the countryside. It took about 50 minutes total, about half the time it takes in a car. I think we were probably going 80-90mph. The train was very nice and comfy as well – more room to stretch your legs than in an airplane. Then we took the bus home from the train station. Brian and I were so happy to be “home” in Stuttgart with the slightly colder and less humid weather. We caught up with Mama and Papa before heading to bed early to catch up on lost sleep in Heidelberg.
Wednesday was pretty laid back, mostly a day of resting our tired feet and minds after all the excitement in Heidelberg. Brian did some studying to prepare for the archives as well. After dinner, Papa took us to visit Hohenheim Palace. The palace was turned into Hohenheim Institute, where Papa works as a professor and botanist. We walked around the grounds, took pictures, and Papa even took us to his office and laboratory. The view from his office is pretty amazing. We could even see someone in a hot air balloon! Then we went home and Brian and I watched The Sandlot on my laptop before bed.
Thursday was a rather exciting day, though we didn’t do much physically. Mama took us to the travel agency so we could ask some questions about the Euro pass (a rail pass that you can use throughout Europe). While we were there we also asked about Paris, which is fairly easy to get to from Stuttgart. Lo and behold, we ended up booking a 3 day trip to Paris while we were there! We leave Friday the 24th and come back late Sunday night. We are staying at the Opera Hotel in the Opera Quarter of Paris. We also got a bus pass for the city that lasts three days. All together for the rail ticket, the 2 nights at the hotel, and the bus pass it was 226EURO, or about 300USD. I think that is pretty good. So, we are very excited! We also set up a plan for traveling between August 3-August 23, but until that is finalized I don’t want to post anything. We have someone to stay with in Zurich hopefully, as well as in Hamburg, which will cut down on Hotel expenses. Our travel plans are looking great so far!
So far we don’t have any definite plans for this weekend – though we do need to do our laundry. I think we will try and go to Stuttgart Zoo and visit the best preserved medieval castle in Germany (can’t remember the name, it starts with an N). Mama and Papa also want to take us wine tasting in the Rhineland, so hopefully the weather will be good. Still no ring yet, sorry Mom and Dad. I could hound Brian for it, but I know he has some great plan and I don’t want to ruin it. :)
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