Germany! Day One

Our oldest daughter is studying in Germany for the spring semester. A couple months ago that statement conjured thoughts of Covid restrictions and difficulties with testing and vaccinations. Now it raises questions about the stability of political institutions and potential violence. 

But two weeks ago, neither of these concerns troubled us. We had our booster shots, we had negative Covid tests just in case (which may have been a mistake - more on that later if my fears come to fruition. We made the mistake of going to a clinic to get tested that may bill us an exorbitant amount - but I'll worry about that when the time comes.)  We had plane tickets, a hotel reservation, a rental car reserved, KN 95 masks, comfortable shoes, and a daughter to visit.

Here we are setting off for international travel only momentarily maskless on our 14 hour journey. My parents came to watch the younger kids, as we again took advantage of a child studying abroad for an excuse to travel.  Travel from Texas to Europe is overnight - we left midafternoon and arrived midmorning in Frankfort. 

A credit card perk - visiting the airport lounge for a meal and free

Welcome to Heidelberg!

We rented a car from Frankfort, thinking it might be just as economical as taking public transportation (I don't think it was, after paying for gas and parking), more flexible (it was), and safer from Covid (another perk). However, we did not rent the GPS - thinking we could use our daughter's cell phone to navigate and only rely on our international plan, which charges per day of use. I had printed some google maps and directions from the hotel, but they didn't provide a lot of detail, so this was a source of marital discord over the first couple of days, because neither of those options provided reliable cell service while driving. We finally reduced the stress of trying to get where we were going by buying a map, which was not quite detailed enough, and checking the directions at our lodging places the night before or at a cafe with free wifi, and then screen shotting them, so we could read the directions without cell service. How did we ever navigate in the 90s with just a Let's Go, Europe! and vague notions of the locations of train stations? We never felt as lost then as we did the first couple days of this trip with more information at our fingertips than ever. Perhaps because of that false sense of being able to access information immediately, I did not plan very much for our journey, knowing that our daughter had ideas that she hadn't completely committed to yet.

Finally checking in to our small hotel.

The view from our hotel in Heidelberg - overlooking the Neckar river from high on the hill above the Heidelberg castle, or schloss. Hence, the name of our hotel - Schlosshotel Molkenkur. In spring when there isn't a covid outbreak, this patio has dining tables.

Gummi bears on our pillows

Junk food requested by our daughter and her friends, whcih took up precious space in our carry on bags, which is all we were allowed (plus personal item, of which we brought the maximum size, of course)

Here she is! In front of her accommodations - an old mansion on the hillside. Twenty-four students and a few staff, including the residence hall parents, live here.

The walk from her house to the town was downhill through a small, wooded park

Loved the moss covered walls.

Universityplatz. I'm bungling the spelling here,

Time for cafe cremas.

Loved the flower shops - more photos to come. The flower ships in each town were better than the last. 

A closer view of the Marian statue in the platz

Some almost familiar stores along the Hauptstrasse

Small details along the way

At the Jesuit church in Heidelberg

The interior of the Jesuit Church

A recognizable image

An image not quite so recognizable - this is Ruah, an incarnational represenation of the Holy Spirit in as a woman.

The sanctuary of the Presbyterian church was decidedly quieter.

The building where our duaghter has class.

Our first dinner out was at a restaurant called "The Potato" (Kartoffel?) in a little town about 20 minutes away down the river. It took us about 20 minutes longer to get there as we bungled our way along without a map. But the meal was worth it - meat, potato, salad, beer, and apple strudel with ice cream.

A hunk of raw meat which we cooked on a burning hot lava rock was the star of dinner.

Good night, little town on the Neckar River, whose name I can't remember!