Deutschland

 On an unseasonably cold April morning in Minnesota, we walked to the bus stop with our backpacks and small roller suitcases and found the 766 express bus to downtown Minneapolis right on time. Road construction downtown meant that the bus dropped us in a somewhat different spot, but it was only a three block walk to the Light Rail station. We hopped aboard a Blue Line train for the airport, got through security, and were off to Chicago.

Lufthansa agents at O'Hare had their hands full. The flight to Frankfurt the previous day had been forced to turn back, two hours into the flight, due to an electrical short circuit. Today's plane was packed full of today's reservations, plus a great many who had been Lurthansa's guests for the night, and who were trying once again to get to Europe. We got stuck in the middle of the middle row, way in the back of the plane -- probably among the worst seats we've ever had on a transatlantic flight. But we survived, and everything was on time.

We couldn't be sure that the flight would be on time, and we couldn't be sure that we would get through passport control quickly, so we didn't make an advanced reservation for the shuttle bus to Heidelberg. I guess we should have, because there was only one seat left, and there were two of us. The thing was running at least a half hour late, anyway. So we paid a bit more and took the train. It was fine.

The Tourist Information outside the Heidelberg Haupbahnhof (main rail station) was extremely helpful, instructing us on how to take a city bus to within a few blocks of our hotel. It's great to be back in a city where you don't need a bus schedule. You just go to the right stop, and one will be along in 10 minutes or so, almost any time of the day.

It was only about 11 a.m. -- much too early to check in -- but we left our luggage with the desk clerk and took a walk to explore the old city and find some lunch. 

Lacking strategic value, the old city of Heidelberg was spared bombing during the Second World War. Thus, many old buildings, dating back to the 1600s or 1700s, are still intact and in daily use.

Our hotel is only a block down the street from The Old Bridge, (described by Wikipedia as "The Karl Theodor Bridge, commonly known as the Old Bridge, is an arch bridge in Heidelberg that crosses the Neckar river. It connects the Old City with the eastern part of the Neuenheim district of the city on the opposite bank." In that district, if one climbs a very steep hill, one can walk "the philosopher's walk." The climb was VERY steep, and was treacherous coming down, as well.

By 2 p.m., this severely jet-lagged old couple was pretty shot. So we went back to the "Marketplatz" -- the open square between the old city hall and the even older Lutheran church. Here, tables fill the square and waitpersons from several bars and restaurants hustle to serve the thirsty. The local beer is a dark wheat beer, and though I'm generally not a fan of wheats, the dark is pretty good.

After a brief siesta in the hotel room, we ventured out for a very German evening meal of Schnitzel and kraut, hearty bread, and of course, more beer. The restaurant/brewpub even had a light fixture made entirely of hops!

The seven hour time leap, and a sleepless night on the airplane, had us bushed. We struggled to stay up until 8 p.m., but couldn't make it past that before we crashed for the night.