Friday evening, June 27th.

Today was our day of exploration in Heidelberg, we’ve walked likely over 20,000 steps, and I didn’t wear the pedo cause I got out of the habit for some reason.

We went to a local bus stop, which happened to have super market by it, we got orange juice and a fresh baked good (German pastries are actually pretty good, and more recognizable then the French ones). We hopped on the bus, rode it around some of the city and ended up by the specialized train station that would get us to the castle. We took it up and instead of getting off at the middle of the mountain where the castle was we took it all the way to the top of the mountain for a view of the city. It was very pretty, peaceful too if not for the rock cover band that was blaring out music when it was barley noon! People had their drink on as well; I’m amazed at how early the beer guzzling begins!

We walked around, enjoyed the scenery and then took the train down to the castle. It was very neat and HUGE, basically a whole city could exist within the walls of a castle and that was quite evident from the grand size of this castle. We explored it and took lots of pix and then about 2:30 decided we were well over due for lunch. We went down to the main city level and made our way to Kornplatz Marketplace, which was full of shops, very Easton style, but just one very very long narrow street lined with shops and restaurants. We did some browsing and enjoyed a meal, Aaron had Schnitzel (breaded chicken breast) and fries, and I had veggie lasagna. We did at least persue some of the regional menu, but we weren’t brave enough to try it all out. We found all kinds of cool shops and even found a Subway! Where the mascot was Sub Wayne! Lol, American Subways aren’t that cool. We planned to catch the last boat trip of the day on the Solar Boat of Heidelberg, which let us see Heidelberg from the Neckar River. About half an hour from the last boat leaving we arrived at the dock to buy tickets only to find out it had been rented out for a private party for the last trip of the day, and that we weren’t going to be able to make it… L.

After that disappointment we made our way to the train station to ensure that we would be able to go to Stuttgart to hit up the Porsche and Mercedes museums. For the first time during the whole trip we saw a Eurrail Counter (the train passes we had bought and had been using since the beginning of the trip, I think the pass is more widely used in Germany hence why there was a desk there and actual information, rather then stumbling around, trying to figure it out). After getting the details we needed we got some dinner at a place we had seen half way between our hotel and the train station. It was called Mandy’s fast food, and they have a Grilled Pollo section in the restaurant. I got a grilled chicken sandwich with corn on the cob, and Aaron got wings and rings. Nothing like a place that caters to the U.S. Army Airfield less then 2 miles away!

After we had our meal, we continued out walk to the hotel, and have come back, done laundry and are ready to pass out.

Tomorrow is Stuttgart, and Sunday is a huge travel day, going on two high speed trains from Manheim to Paris, and then from Paris to London. With little connections and the beginning, middle and end of our trips. By the time we get picked up from the final station in London we’ll have ridden the inter city train from Heidelberg to Manheim, then the high speed train from Manheim to Paris, then the metro from one Paris station to another, then the Euro Star from Paris to London, and then the London Underground from our station to the one close to the house! Quite a trip, but at the end of it we’ll be back in English speaking-ville!

No more from here for now; Aaron’s watching South Park in German, and I have to go make fun of him for it!