As you may have already guessed, yesterday we did a lot of
walking. The day started with more touring of the area. Andrea led us down
Hauptstrasse, where we met up with Tim, and then we walked up the street a bit
more and then over to the music school where we can practice. The music school
is quite small because the University of Heidelberg Music Conservatory is
actually in Mannheim. We will get keys for the building and gate so that we can
practice whenever we want to. It is about a 10 minute walk from the Pension,
which is quite nice, especially since Tim told us that we don’t really have to
worry about walking alone at night until it gets really late (like 1 or 2 AM).
Heidelberg is very safe. After we left the music school, Tim left us to go to a
rehearsal and Andrea took us to the Mensa (cafeteria), showing us various
things along the way. The best part of this part of our journey was a bookshelf
that we passed on one of the sidestreets that meets Hauptstrasse. Andrea
explained that when people are finished with their books they put them on this
shelf, free for anyone to take and enjoy. I had heard of something similar in
the UK, where old phone boxes are turned into little city libraries, and you
bring a book you are finished with and exchange it for another. This is
similar, but different in that you don’t have to bring a book to take a book.
You just take a book that you want to read. That amount of trust and honesty in
this community amazes me. We commented that you would never see something like
that in the US, because some idiot would steal all the books and then sell them
for his/her own benefit. Not so here. It kind of restores ones hope in
humanity.
Lunch at the Mensa was quite a new experience. Andrea told
us that when she studied here twenty years ago there was a poll throughout
Germany to see which Universities Mensas were good or bad, and Heidelberg’s was
voted the worst in the country. They revamped their food-service, and now it is
the best in Germany. About half of the food served is organic, and I think she
said there is variety from day to day. What I had was quite good. The food is
charged by weight, so you get a tray and a plate and then put as much on it as
you want/can fit. Then you take it to the cashier and weigh it, and that determines
your price. I was silly and had two plates, so it probably could have cost much
less (since the plate makes up the bulk of the weight), but it was still a very
cheap lunch, much cheaper than a full lunch at APU. After we left the Mensa,
Andrea took us on a more extensive tour of the area, and we left Old Heidelberg
and entered the newer part (although not much newer, as it looked much the
same). This area is not as pedestrian friendly as Hauptstrasse, although it is
still much more pedestrian friendly than any place I have seen in the US.
Andrea showed us the best places to buy various things, like small everyday things
we would need and groceries, and the banks where we could change our money to
Euros. The grocery store she took us to, which is the cheapest, is Aldi’s. I
recognized this immediately, because there are some Aldi’s in the US. I have
seen them mostly in the Midwest, where my grandparents live. It was exactly the
same as in the states, except in German. Aldi’s actually started in Germany and
then went to the US in a few places. Although I haven’t been there much (only a
couple of times with my Grandma when I have visited), it was nice to see
something familiar.
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| Phillip, Chris, Andrew, Kristen, Me, Nattie, and Megan on the Alte Brüke |
After our tour we walked back to the Pension to check out
our bikes, which actually ended up being a bigger ordeal than I expected. Some
of the bikes needed adjusting, but the tool we had wasn’t helping at all. Then
we picked bikes and decided just to wait for more tools, only to find that one
of the bikes needed a little TLC on the brakes. We finally settled on our bikes
and got locks for the keys, so we can start using those as soon as we want.
After that Andrea left, and we as a group decided that we wanted to go shopping
to get a few necessities. Martin, the owner of the Pension, gave us a tourist
map that showed a good route to see the city, which leads across the old
bridge, down the riverside to the new bridge, and then back up Hauptstrasse. We
decided to take that, and got some beautiful pictures of the city from a new
vantage point. Once we crossed the second bridge we went back to the places
Andrea had showed us to shop and got a few necessities and groceries. On our
way back, just after we entered the pedestrian zone of Hauptstrasse, we saw a
trio just setting up to play street music: a violin, and accordion, and a small
hand drum. We stood there a few minutes and listened to them play Mozart, and
Nattie tipped them. We carried on, and I was on the hunt for a watch, because
it has been driving me crazy not knowing the time. I had to go to a couple
stores before I found one, but I finally did find one and was satisfied. By the
time we got back to the Pension, it was almost 5:00, and we were met in the
entryway of the Pension by Martin. We were thinking about going to get some tea
and coffee, or even dinner, since we had walked up a bit of an appetite. Nattie
has been wanting to try a restaurant called La Boheme (like the opera), and
Martin said that was a wonderful idea because they have good food and
reasonable prices. So after quickly freshening-up, we headed back out. It’s
only about a minute away from the Pension, and we were met at the door by the
waiter, who told us that the chef was on his break, but would be back in about
20 minutes and we were welcome to wait if we chose to. We sat down, and then
quickly realized that we had been on our feet all day. I suppose we walked
about 5 miles yesterday, although it is highly likely that we walked even more
than that. It was wonderful just to sit and not have to worry about where we were
going next. It is so nice that we have such a small group (7 total) because we
were all able to sit together and we will get to know each other much better
this way. We were at the restaurant for 3 hours, and got to know the waiter
Nikolas a bit. He was very helpful, and very patient. He is studying theology
at the university, and is probably a few years older than us. His English was
very good, and we exchanged questions back and forth of how to say certain
things. While we were the only customers in the restaurant, he was able to keep
a pretty steady conversation with us as he put things away. After the chef
arrived (“Late,” as Nikolas said, “not the German way”) we ordered our food,
which was delicious. I think we were all satisfied with out food. The best part
of the whole experience was that Nikolas wasn’t in a hurry to get us out. After
more customers arrived he would check on us periodically to see if we needed
more food or drink, but never once did he ask us if we were ready to pay. I
have noticed that at every sit-down place I have gone to so far, and I know it
is the culture, but I like it a lot. The Germans tend to get a bad rap for
being so rigid and cold, but my experience has been contradictory to that. So
far, everyone I have encountered has been helpful and patient, and when sitting
down somewhere, they aren’t in a rush to get you on your way. They take their
time and enjoy their food or drink, and allow you to do the same. We sat at the
restaurant for 3 hours while we ate and visited, and never once felt like an
imposition. It is quite a different experience from the states, and I quite
like it. When we left Nikolas told us when we works, and we told him we would
be back during his hours next week. If we make this a weekly tradition, I suppose
we will have a friend when we leave here.Grace and Peace,
Suz
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The North side of the river, from the new bridge
 The South side of the river (the side we are living on), from the new bridge |
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