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Fair warning: I may be coming home in a body bag. Something in the air here makes me incredibly accident prone - I trip on about 90% of the staircases I encounter, I recently cut myself on a can of cashews, the only reason I still have the tip of my left thumb is because I also have a fingernail on said finger, and I almost lost my left foot during a particularly nasty battle with my razor. (Who knew Venus could cut so deep?) I live in constant fear of frostbite, and that's when I'm indoors. When I actually gather the courage to venture into the great outdoors... well, hello hypothermia! Okay, hypothermia may be taking it too far, but the cold really is getting to me. My hands and feet are cracking so bad, it's just a matter of time before they steadily crumble into little nubs, much like Voldemort's underwhelming death scene in the last Harry Potter movie.
Regardless of my impending limbless future, I'm taking advantage of my perfectly able body at the present to adventure around as much as possible on the weekends. I've made two whole friends here - Jane and Kayla - who join me on all such adventures. Sometimes we just hang around Bonn, but we've managed to take a trip or two that requires going beyond the city limits.
A few weeks ago, we were planning a trip to Brussels. Unfortunately that got derailed because of the terrorist threats, so we changed our destination to Heidelberg. The trip started perfectly with the discovery that our bus driver could very well be a convicted felon who hasn't completely abandoned his dark past. You may think I'm joking, but I have NEVER encountered a more threatening individual. His facial expression was the epitome of "if looks could kill." The three of us were literally speechless because we didn't quite understand how to interact with him. Jane managed to confirm our booking with him just before his death glare turned us into a pile of ash. If that's not the start to a fantastic weekend, I don't know what is.
The hostel we booked claims that it has it's own bus stop just outside of its front doors and therefore is quite easy to locate. We rolled up at about 11:30 pm, and let me tell you, it's not as easy to find as they make it seem. On one side of the road is a field with no lights whatsoever, so obviously that's not where the hostel is located. Dark fields are dangerous, there's no way tourists would feel comfortable with that arrangement. On the other side of the road is a huge, brightly lit building. We couldn't read the signs outside, but what else could it be? Well I'll tell you what it could be. It could be a youth hospital, not a youth hostel. It turns out that the field with zero lighting is next-door neighbors with our hostel. So that's safe.
We spent the next day loosely following a walking tour of Old Town that Jane found on somebody's blog. To be honest, we cut some corners because it was freezing outside. But we made sure to see the important stuff, including Heidelberg University (which is the oldest university in Germany) and the castle.
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| Part of the university (I think...) |
The castle provided some great views of Heidelberg.
My favorite part of the castle tour was the room that houses the world's largest wine barrel. Unfortunately I couldn't get a picture of it (the room was too dark to get a good photo), so click here to see a picture of it. It's so big that a dance floor has been built on top of it. Rumor has it that once upon a time during a party held on the dance floor of this huge barrel, the floor started rumbling and everyone assumed an earthquake had hit Heidelberg. Actually, it turns out that a band of dwarves were inside of the barrel practicing for their next gig. Jane, Kayla, and I were so inspired by this story that we have decided to form a band called - you guessed it! - The Band of Dwarves. Stay tuned for our debut album.
This is Heidelberg's Old Bridge, which apparently is impressive enough to have been immortalized in poems and paintings. It was built in the 1700s and that medieval gate was part of the original town wall.
And this is the monkey statue next to the bridge that you're supposed to kiss for good luck. But, you know, germs. I've already kissed the Blarney Stone so I feel like I've reached my lifetime quota of risking my physical health by putting my mouth on tourist attractions.
After sightseeing all day, we went out that night hoping to meet some fun locals our age. As we were wandering around the city center looking for a place to go, we ran into four guys that started talking to us. To be honest, I was a little wary because they looked a little young. But hey, who am I to judge? Some strangers assume I'm still in high school even though I'm a college graduate, thank you very much. It turns out my worries weren't so crazy after all. After spending at least an hour with them, one of the boys finally admitted to Jane that they were all 17 and still in high school. Clearly the whole "meeting people our own age" was a raging success.
The next day, we had just a few hours to spend in town before getting on the bus back home. We passed the time by hiking the Philosophenweg (the Philosopher's Walk), aptly named as philosophers during the Romantic Period walked on those paths. Those philosophers must have had buns of steel and calves the size of grapefruits - I swear that hike is 70% uphill.
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| Me, Jane, and Kayla |
We ended the trip by visiting what I believe to be the best attraction Heidelberg has to offer - a gourmet hot chocolate shop. I never wanted to leave.
And that pretty much concludes the report on my first trip outside of Bonn. Stay tuned for future adventures!
You get me a Benz yet?
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