Heidelberg

We have continued to keep busy. Unfortunately the previous two weekend have been full of adult activities such as work and CPR certification. Meh. But, getting grown up things out of the way means other weekends are free to get back to important things like traveling.

We have done a lot of things in our time here. In doing "a lot" of travel, we have skipped over some of the most basic, standard of day trips. I have been trying to catch us up on the "basics" recently - such as our trip to Strasbourg. There tends to be three standard places in Germany which everyone goes to visit - even if you do nothing else in your time overseas, everyone seems to go to Koln, Trier, and Heidelberg. Josh and I went to Trier and Koln right away, but Heidelberg (being farther away for us), got put off for later. I saw pictures of Heidelberg when I first got to Germany and instantly wanted to go visit. It is something which has been on my list for a long time, but it always seems to get pushed aside. This past weekend we took a day trip to Heidelberg, Germany. Heidelberg is a river-side college town about two hours from our house.

Like a lot of our recent trips, I didn't have a set plan for Heidelberg. I mainly wanted to check the town out and see what everyone raved about. I wasn't disappointed. The weather was gorgeous - a warm, sunny spring day. Much of Heidelberg's Old Town is a pedestrian zone full of cobble stone streets lined with cafes and shops. There is a castle (in ruins) above the town. I didn't have any desire to go to the castle, but cobble stone streets, cute shops, and a castle... definitely quintessential Germany.

We ventured across the old stone bridge, which crosses the Neckar River. The nice weekend had brought out tourists in masses. I had to fight to get a clear walking path across the bridge.

Once you cross the bridge, you can continue up to the Philosophers Walk, which is a paved pathway on the opposite side of the river, facing the Old Town and Castle. This is where I wanted to go in Heidelberg, and get the views and pictures I kept seeing in books.

That sums up our trip. It was a wonderful, brief afternoon. We enjoyed an afternoon of walking. I can see why this is a destination for people.

Gut Ei, Gut Ei, und Kikeriki

Gut Ei, Gut Ei, und Kikeriki! (Good egg, good egg, and cockle-doodle-do!)

This past weekend we took a trip through the USO to the spring festival and parade in Eisenach, Germany. Eisenach is in the state of Thuringia - part of former East Germany. I wasn't sure what to expect, but we had beautiful weather and had a chance to be a part of a fun, special day. I like trips through the base as someone else drives, and I don't have to worry about the details. However, they usually leave early in the morning. This trip was no exception. The bus was leaving the base near my work at 4 AM, so we had to leave our house at 2 AM, and I woke up at 1 AM. I had gone to bed early Friday night, but it still made a 1 AM wake-up call shocking. By some miracle, Josh and I were both able to get some sleep on the bus.

We had a breakfast stop around 8 AM. What was neat about this (and the only reason I'm sharing it) was the truck stop we were at was actually a former border check-point between East and West Germany. The restaurant was an old check-point building, and you could see old watch towers along the parking lot.

After our breakfast stop, it was another hour drive to Eisenach. Luckily, the sun was coming out and it was promising to be a beautiful day. Our first stop was Wartburg Castle, which sits on a hill above Eisenach. Wartburg is known for two major religious figures: Saint Elizabeth of Hungary and Martin Luther. Both figures spent time in the castle. For me, the figure I was most interested in was Martin Luther (to be honest, this was the reason I selected this tour. I've wanted to see Martin Luther sights in Germany as a Lutheran). After a hike up to the castle, we had some free time to walk around the castle grounds before our tour started. Although the town of Eisenach was full of sunshine, there was fog surrounding the castle. It made it difficult to see the castle, or the area below the castle. I think on a sunny day (or even a clear day) it would be a sight to see the rolling green hills under the castle.

Then we had a guided tour through the castle. There were a few rooms we were guided through. My favorite room was one which was dedicated to Saint Elizabeth, and was decorated with bright, gold mosaic tile. There was also a large hall which was meant to be a concert hall - absolutely beautiful.

My favorite part of the castles were the Martin Luther "parts" (of course). Inside of the castle there was a chapel, and then outside of the castle in a separate area was the room where Martin Luther hid under an assumed name and translated the New Testament from Latin to German. The room has been reconstructed to look as it did in the time Martin Luther was there.

After our tour we had a few more minutes to look around the castle grounds. The sun was trying to burn through the fog, so I was able to get a few pictures of the castle without as much fog.

After our castle tour, we went into the town of Eisenach. Our tour guide gave us a tour of the town and explained information about the festivities of the day. Like many German festivals, there were carnival rides, food, drinks, and craft vendors. Our guide then showed us where the spring/Easter parade route went. The parade/festival was in a closed off area, which required an entrance fee. In the states, you would most likely be given a disposable paper wrist band to show you paid your entrance fee. In Eisenach, we were given a little leather ornament we were to attach to our jackets or bag to show our entrance. What a neat souvenir!

We then had free time to do whatever we wanted. Josh and I enjoyed the typical beer and brat as a late lunch. I did some shopping, and then we walked through an area of decorated houses. Germans LOVE to decorate - they seem to decorate for each season or holiday. A narrow lane was lined with houses, and each one was decorated to the nines. A popular item for decoration is little paper flowers.

Aren't they beautiful? Our tour guide explained to us the symbols of spring are the sun, the rooster, and the pretzel. A saying for the festival is "Gut ei, gut ei, und kikeriki!" which means "Good egg, good egg, and cock-a-doodle-do!" Our tour guide said this would be said by people during the parade, or they would said "Gut ei, gut ei!" and would expect the response of "Kikeriki!" We heard this said numerous times during the parade, and it was hard not to join in.

We decided to stake out a spot near the start of the decorated houses to watch the parade. This was closer to the beginning of the parade route, and we thought we'd be able to see more of the parade this way before we had to get to our group meeting point and time. The parade was full of floats with the paper flowers, people in costume, and marching bands - although I have to say the marching band uniforms are nothing like the ones my high school had. The parade also features a Snow Queen and a Summer Queen, and at the end of the parade the two queens meet in the town square to argue, and the Summer Queen always wins, signalling the beginning of spring/summer, the end of winter. We missed this part, but we did get to see the two queens.

Originally Josh and I said we would simply watch as much of the parade as we wanted... or felt like. But suddenly the parade was over. It wasn't like a parade I have been to before, and it is certainly different than the parades I remember from my home town. In a way, I felt like we were outsiders intruding on this special event. Not that we weren't welcomed, but more that we could tell we were simply visitors.

We walked from our parade viewing point to our meeting place, the Bach House. Bach was also originally from Eisenach, and the Bach family home has been turned into a museum. The final part of our day was to tour through the Bach museum and then listen to a special performance of musical instruments. Josh and I aren't musicians or musically gifted. I'm not going to claim to be a classical music buff. But. I could still appreciate the Bach House.

Our bus ride home was quiet. I was able to catch a nap, but Josh wasn't able to sleep. We got home late, and it had been a long day - we were gone for almost 24 hours. As much as it was exhausting, it was worth the lack of sleep.