#interestingfolks

[debbpurdy]

Snapchatting with some interesting folks. #bored #wednesdaynight #snapchat #fun #newpeople #interestingfolks

[tumbhimlin]

Deutschland, Day 2

So after getting the necessary 11 hours of sleep post-flight, Joe and I decided to go up and see what all this business was about a castle.  Instead of actually taking the time to plan the route out ahead of time, though, we just looked for it in the distance and headed that way down the street. A few streets and a slightly larger and more obstructed castle later, a kind German fellow on bike decided to ask if the confused looking Americans stumbling down the street needed directions. Two more kilometers and we found the ramp that led up to the castle. Fun fact: this half mile steeply angled "ramp" was actually the back entrance to the castle, which was a really neat way to enter the castle. We got to avoid the huge buses of tourists and got to see a part of the castle that most people probably didn't even know existed, as it was not a part of the tours.

In case you didn't click the link and read the Wikipedia article linked, this castle has an interesting history. It was used as a quarry for quite some time; it blows my mind that something as breathtaking as a castle would be used as a mine to build houses rather than forests. Different mindset, different time. Fortunately for us in the future and the Heidelberg tourism board, some romantics, philosophers, and poets decided that they too believed the castle to be too beautiful to be mined any longer, and so were able to preserve it. Another really interesting aspect of just random happenstance is that during 1537 a bolt of lightning struck the castle, demolishing a tower. This demolished section gives a really nice cross-sectional view of a tower, and how thick the walls were.

So after our exciting tour of the castle and the Apothecary Museum housed within, we ventured back to the Haupstrasse to see the parts we didn't get to before. After relaxing at the bar which would become our go to people watching spot, we overheard the waiter telling some other tourists about a restaurant called Vetter's. Any time a waiter tells someone to go to a different restaurant, I'm pretty sure that's a place I want to go. 

Our dinner at Vetter's was overall a really great way to start off the trip. This is what I thought many German brewhouses would look like. Big tanks in the middle where the beer is brewed, thick wooden tables and steins out the wazoo. The food was classic German and absolutely delicious, the beer was pretty darn good (I'm a big fan of classic German wiessbiers, which is what I ordered), though the American businessmen being boisterously loud in a corner ruined the atmosphere somewhat. Overall it was a great experience, and a restaurant I'd recommend anyone go to if they happen to be in Heidelberg. 

Eventually we made our way back to the hotel to just relax and pause. I went downstairs to the office area, and was able to meet quite the interesting people there. The first guy I met was a genetics researcher from Australia. Wonderful man, good conversation. Then, right as I was about to get in, a lovely couple from Florida who do construction, parking, and travel reservations there entered. Seeing that they were actually going to do business, I kindly let them get on first and chatted them up a bit. The man in the couple spent a couple years in Germany when he was in the military, and remembered quite a bit of German. Usually they would travel around Germany in a rented car, something they recommend as the roads in Germany are easy to navigate. But friends were what brought them here this time, so they were on a guided tour. A tour they were decidedly quick to have a distaste for, and already had plans to leave halfway through and visit some friends in other areas.

Lastly, while I was busy checking email and whatnot, a girl from upstate New York who forgot to sign off of Facebook (potentially) came in. She'd spent a year in Paris, and so we talked in French for a bit. She'd recently gotten her Master's degree and was right now teaching as her career. As I was going to log onto Facebook anyway, I thought I'd check it out for her and give her the all clear. Her parents were apparently waiting at the bar, the place the former couple from Florida said they'd be. Probably should have asked if her parents lived in Florida... Well, we said our goodbyes, having not given our names I was deemed Missouri and she New York. By the time I got to the bar she'd already left with her parents, so it was time for me to go to bed as well. So ends day two, and next post will come sooner than this one.