Heidelberg

This past weekend we took the last of our European travels for the year, to Heidelberg, Germany. We had both been looking forward to this for a while. Rob lived in Heidelberg prior to moving to Baltimore so just before I met him. I had heard tons of stories and couldn't wait to see it and Rob was excited to have a big old reunion with all the people he knew when he lived there.

I found that Heidelberg was very different from most European cities we've visited. Like Weisbaden, there is a large US Govt. presence there. You'll find as many people speaking English as speaking German. Boy is that different than Basel!

We had a great time in Heidelberg. Basically it felt to me like going back to college or even to my summer in Ocean City. Maybe because it is a college town, or maybe b/c so many young US soldiers are there, but it was very much like going to 'vous! Complete with table dancing - only this time it was a large German man, singing "Sweet Child o Mine" at the top of his lungs. Haaaa!!! very funny. Check my Snapfish for more photos of this - I couldn't get enough of this guy breaking it down on the table. And when I say large, I mean well over 250.



The town of Heidelberg is beautiful. It is nestle in the mountains and is bordered by the Heidelberg Castle. I had never been to a castle before so this was a must on our visit. Actually the day was pretty dreary and rainy so we didn't see a sunny spectacular view (does anyone see a theme here with the weather in Europe?) but it was neat to walk around the grounds. I was disappointed that we didn't' get to go inside the main building of the castle but Rob said it isn't like the Monaco Palace or even some of the museums we've been to that are set up to look old. It's mostly a restaurant - no as grand as one might expect. He may have just been saying that since we couldn't get in though? Anyway - it is stunning to see the castle snuggled into the valley with the city.

Our European adventures are winding down. Our flight leaves Tuesday the 19th to return to the U.S. I know that our trip is going to go by so quickly but I intended to enjoy every second of it.

Until next year.....

It's the little things

Yeeeeeessss!!! I was just flipping around the channels and found "A Christmas Story" on TCM, right at the part where Randy "can't put his arms down"! I should probably opt to watch this in French or German to expand my vocab but I am going to sit back and indulge and watch it its original perfect format.

Visitors -- Act II

This past weekend, we had our second group of visitors - two of our good friends from home - watta and katie g came to have so me Swiss and German adventures. Again I was really looking forward to our company - to sharing my experiences with them, and, having some silly girl time!

Katie and watta got in on Thursday. They actually had a bit of drama with their travels - being booked on 2 different AA flights out of JFK to Heathrow (30 minutes apart??!!!) and having a tiny issue with luggage not making it onto the flight to Basel! aaahh!!! they were troopers about it though! we had some lunch, slapped on some coats and went out to check out Basel. I took the girls down the cafe by the Rhien that we like so much and up into the shopping district. And also to the little Wiehnachmarkt (Christmas Market!). The Christmas market must be some sort of German/Swiss tradition. It's a little area where merchants gather to sell their wares. They may be selling candles, ornaments, food - anything! But the one constant is Gluhwein. The translation mean "glowing wine" and it is actually warm red wine with spices in it. Taste to me like warm sangria. It's good and very effective at making your belly warm while you are walking around from stand to stand.

(To see live photos of the Basel Christmas market, go to http://www.basel.ch/en/virtual_basel/webcam/barfuesserplatz )

we met up with Robs then headed back to our place. I made dinner for the girls and we had some regular wine and lots of girl chat! (sorry robs!)

Saturday, we left to head into Zurich where we encountered our second Weihnachtmarkt which was actually in the train station! The highlight of this market was a huge tree (the same one I saw being brought in when Cronin & Karl came to visit) sparkling from top to bottom in Swarovski crystals. Check out my snapfish photos to see it! We spent some time touring around Zurich and the market and then headed to Interlaken for the night.

Interlaken was beautiful! I think that was probably my favorite place we went to. We encountered Christmas market #3 here. This one had much more of a carnival atmosphere to it - with rides and loud music. We found a Gluhwein tent where they were serving it out of a cauldron! The Gluhwein was delicious and we had a pleasant surprise when the guy pouring it, came over to have a chitchat with us. He spoke to us in English - he was from Interlaken but had lived in North Jers near NYC for a couple of years. He was very intelligent and had a much wider perspective on things than most Swiss we have encountered. That he even came over and spoke to us was something unusual for a Swiss native. I really enjoy any encounter we have with someone who is native to the area. They are rare but I feel that they help to widen my perspective as well.

We had a nice dinner of authentic swiss food (except for my poor fajita selection - i miss my taco bell!!) and went back to hotel STEEELLLLAAA for the night.

Sunday Rob and I shipped the girls off to see the breathtaking Jungfraujoch (see Backyard Adventures story) and we spent the day rolling around the Christmas Market.

On Monday, Watt, Katie and I headed up to Mainz to meet Watt's friend Katie W. We didn't really know what to expect in Mainz. It was kind of a dreary day with a lot of rain and not a spectacular town but we had fun anyway! Of course we encountered another Christmas market (that makes 4 for those who are counting) and we found a breathtaking Munster (Cathedral). we had a wonderful lunch and then headed back to Katie W's place near Weisbaden. That night, we went to check out Weisbaden and all of us loved it! It was beautiful! An interesting contrast of new and old. A lot of the buildings looked like those that we saw in Paris with the white stone and wrought iron balconies. And there was also a magnificent Casino complex. we didn't go in, but the buildings were beautiful. We we went to the Weisbaden Christmas market (that's 5) and Katie W. and I introduced our visitors to crepes! we had one ham & cheese and one with nutella. I must say - I think crepes are my favorite thing to eat over here. They are SO GOOD! I could eat them every day. I might become a bit large though. Anyway - of course we washed them down with gluhwein.

That night, we had a nice dinner and went back to Katie W's. She was a wonderful hostess to us and I am hoping to meet up with again before Rob and I return for good.

On Tuesday we had more Basel times. We did some serious shopping! Back to the Christmas market and into many of the shops and grocery stores around Basel. For dinner, we took the girls to a wonderful Italian restaurant (remember, Switzerland borders Italy) where we had some nice wine, good pizza and extraordinary mushroom raviolis!! mmm!! (But not as good as yours Mom!)

I had such a good time with the girls! I don't really have any girlfriends over here. I'm not sad about it - it's just the way it is. I'm not lonely - I talk to my girls very often via email or IM - but it was wonderful to have them here. We laughed and talked about silly things. I loved sharing my experience with them and introducing them to new things.

The first chapter of our adventures is winding down with our Christmas return less than 2 weeks away. But I am having the time of my life. Tomorrow we leave for Heidelburg, Rob's former residence. I can't wait to visit and see in person all the things I have heard so much about. I know it was a special time in his life so I am looking forward to it very much.