Cologne: museums, churches, beer, and one very questionable condiment

Adulthood once again rears its boring head in Kassel!  This weekend has included:  the laundromat, the gym (only on Sunday, half a success), the housecleaning, the German tax form, the mending (socks and buttons), the grocery shopping (once again I forgot exactly how much a "kilo" of ground beef actually is, and will be having a friend for hamburgers tomorrow), and -- of course -- the TPS Report, the work-related emails (MANY), and the lesson planning.  And the blog, in progress.

The highlight of this weekend was Friday, where plans to make dinner at my place for a friend as a thank-you for a favor turned into my making dinner at his place for him and his roommate, and then, finally, dinner for friend, roommate friend, and two of her friends.  I made teriyaki salmon, cold sesame noodles, avocado crostini, and a green salad with strawberries, walnuts, and blue cheese.  I think it came out pretty well.  Go me.  It was very chill and laid back, and surprisingly not stressful at all.  Just some good wine and food and conversation with friends.  Home before midnight, whoop whoop.

Saturday and Sunday, unfortunately, were less fun.  But them's the breaks.  Shit is accomplished.

However, LAST weekend was pretty overflowing with awesome, so things balance out.  I went to go check out beautiful Köln, or as we Americans like to say, Cologne.

I couldn't leave Kassel until the evening on Friday, so ended up getting into Cologne at about 11:00 PM.  I came out of the Hauptbanhof looking for the sign for the metro, and got the surprise of my life as I found myself staring at the dark hulking gothic behemoth that is Kölner Dom.  "OH!" I said aloud, and stopped dead in my tracks, staring up, mouth open.  Highly uncool of me, and also possibly unsafe as surely I did not look tough, savvy, and unapproachable right just then.  (Germany so far has been almost weirdly safe, btw.  Of all the countries I've visited, Germany has offered the least harassment and shenanigans. [They make up for this with regulations, forms, and shock at jaywalking.])

I shook myself out of my tourist stupor and metroed to my hostel.  Weltempfänger Backpacker Hostel is pretty boss, I have to say.  There is a very adorable cafe/bar on the ground floor, complete with chandeliers, antique couches, indie rock on the PA, and -- of course -- bottles of Kölsch beer for the quite attractive price of 1.50 euro.  The rest of the hostel is clean and pretty quiet.  There's a nice common room/full kitchen on the 1st floor; it would be pretty easy to cook a cheap backpacker meal here, although I didn't.  I stayed in a co-ed 4-bed dorm with an ensuite (this will unfortunately become relevant later), and overall don't think I could find one thing to complain about here.  Staff were pretty great.  And hey -- no bedbugs! (That I know of.)  Highly recommended.

Saturday morning, I woke up at 7:30 AM for some reason.  Weird, but it meant I got myself a very nice early start.  Got some coffee downstairs in the cafe and planned my day.  When I asked the on-duty staffer for recommendations, she said that if she wasn't working, she'd be going to this flea market that happens on Saturdays, and gave me directions.  Now, I am not an "other people's crap" kind of person, but she seemed very emphatic and since it was still pretty early... I went to check it out.  I figured it'd be a nice step away from the de rigueur of museums and churches, at any rate.

Yup.  It was a big parking lot filled with... other people's crap.  Lots of books.  Tons of shoes, for some reason.  Clothes.  Crystal and china.  Antique cell phones and other defunct electronics.  Random creepy stuff.  I suppose if I were to ever actually put down roots somewhere, and had an apartment bigger than a shoebox, it might be cool to comb through a place like this and look for random funky touches to give my home some character.  But for my life right now... not so much.  I did a quick circuit and was probably on my way again in less than 20 minutes.  Enough deviating from the pattern!  I was off to see a church... and some museums.

Now, I have seen something like quite a few churches in my day.  Notable, famous, ancient, breathtakingly beautiful churches.  Kölner Dom, however, is just really something else.  It's the most visited site in Germany, and standing there in the platz and just looking up and up at this, it's obvious as to why.  The year it was finished, 1880, it was the tallest building in the world.  It is mind-blowingly, breathtakingly beautiful.  My favorite church ever.  Hands down.

I'd brought Rick Steves with me to Köln, mainly because of his very detailed descriptions of all the hidden gems and historical goodies inside the Dom.  I did not want to miss anything.

However.  Yet another travel disappointment here.  The back part of the church, were most of said goodies are, was closed when I was there.  According to Rick, this should not be the case as it usually only closes for confession which is in the afternoon and it was very much still morning, but oh well.  If I hadn't brought Rick along, I never would have even known what I was missing.  Ignorance is bliss.

Rick did point out this crucifix from the 10th century, very awesome.

And even with a significant part being blocked off, it was still very much full of awesome.

Back outside, it had turned into spring!  The sun was shining and it was 60 degrees at least.  I went around to the side of the Dom and sat for a little while, people-watching and cathedral-ogling.

Right next to the Dom is the Römisch-Germanisches Museum, which, as you might expect from its name, houses Roman artifacts excavated from the region.  The highlight is a mosaic floor, which was left in its original place and the museum built up around it.

The museum was cool enough but really pretty dry.  They had a large jewelry exhibit which was impressive.  But my favorite thing was a photography installation of works by Alfred Seiland.

Seiland has traveled from the Middle East to Hadrian's Wall, photographing Roman ruins juxtaposed, sometimes jarringly, sometimes whimsically, against some aspect of mundane modernity.  I got a kick out of this one:

This, ladies and gents, is a photo of a photo of an exhibit in the museum where the photograph is displayed.  I think I just broke my brain with irony.

Speaking of irony, it was time for some... modern art!  (Eve would be ready to kill me right about now, I expect.)  Also right next to the Dom is the Museum Ludwig, an impressive collection of modern art from the early impressionists up to contemporary installations.  I wish I knew more about modern art.  I didn't recognize many of the names here, although there is a truly noteworthy Picasso collection, as well  as a smattering of the greats -- Man Ray, Mondrian, Duchamp, even Giacometti.  On the top floor, they have a lot of Warhol and Lichtenstein but pop art is not my thing.  I did not find any of my beloved Arte Povera here sadly.

Picasso

After the RGM and the Ludwig, I was seriously museumed-out.  I walked along the Rhine for a bit, and soon found myself at... the doors of -- yes, another church.  The 10th century Romanesque Groß St. Martin.

This church reminded me so much of a Georgian Orthodox church for some reason.  I especially loved how you could see remains of frescoes on the walls, sometimes barely discernible.  For .50 euro, you could go down into the basement where Roman ruins have been excavated.

Now, I still had not eaten that day, unless coffee counts as food.  I began my strolling search to find a promising prospect for breakfast/lunch/dinner (it was about 3:30).  I walked through a very cute square next to the Rathaus, but the sun and warmth had brought every Kölner out in force!"  Not a table to be had here.

Rathaus

Haha

 

However, because of the freakishly amazing weather, when I did settle on a place, I was able to sit outside at this very cute little cafe near(ish) the river and ordered up some Kölsch and some "Kölner tapas".

Before you, you see:  bacon, fried onion straws, a lil chicken schnitzel, liverwurst, blood sausage, lentils, gouda cheese, some very pretty garnish... and a ball of lard.

First off, I want to say that this lunch was very, very good.  It is hard to fuck up bacon and fried onions, although Georgians have tried.  I even really liked the liverwurst, which has not been my favorite in times past.

However.  I had never tried blood sausage before, because frankly the concept sounds really gross.  But I am a big fan of Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations", and Tony never lets a chance slip by to tell me how fucking amazing blood sausage is.  Besides -- Germany.  I had to give it a go.

And now I know.  And I never have to eat blood sausage again.  Sorry Tony.

The other memorable lowlight of my otherwise fantastic lunch was that little white golf ball sitting between the liverwurst and the gouda.  I didn't know what it was, but my adventurous soul cut out a little sliver and put it in my mouth.  Yep, that was one giant tasteless, sticky, oil slick of an experiment.  Um... seriously Germany???  A ball of lard?  How is this in any way a good idea?  EVER???

After lunch, I was pretty tired and also pretty freaking full of Kölsch and German tapas.  I walked along the river some more, with no real plan or destination, for what ended up being quite a while.  Poked my head into yet another church (pretty unmemorable), just for kicks.

My own poor attempt at a Seiland-style photo

And then it was time to head back to the hostel for some much-needed downtime and yeah, another Kölsch.  My day had worn me out.  But my hostel had kindly provided me with a small local map of the area, that included vetted nightspots.  I felt like I couldn't just sit in the hostel all night, so at around 8:00 I headed out and checked out a few.  Had a pretty good time, as good as solo low-key barhopping can get.  It's just basically me and my kindle or my journal, ignoring everyone and everything around me, pretty much exactly what I'd be doing if I had stayed at the hostel.  Headed back before too late.  Had more on my list for tomorrow before my train at 4:00!

And that, lovers, was my very full day in Cologne.  I loved it, and the gorgeous weather certainly did not hurt.  At the very least, an extremely worthy follow-up to the success of Heidelburg.  Stay tuned for day two!

Fulda: Day trip to the Balkans

I know, I know.  Another blog post without first taking a month-long break?  Craziness.  This might have something to do with the fact that I've decided to try a Facebook Divorce for a while, having finally gotten sufficiently disgusted with myself over the staggering amount of time I waste scrolling down on a daily and weekly basis.

Work schedule looks like it just may be picking up; I have German to study and a gym to force myself to go to.  Dinners to make, in some form or fashion.  (Recent successes have included pasta primavera, chicken coconut curry, and chicken-broccoli stir-fry.  This past week I made the curry a second time, and actually had a friend for dinner!)  Anyway.  The point is I just don't have the bountifully-flowing buckets of free time the way I might have once had (I'm looking at you, Poti).  My time has become valuable in a way I haven't seen in a while, and since I am too tired to lesson plan (any more) or study German... instead I'm going to tell you about my most recent German adventure -- a day trip to the nearby town of Fulda.

Fulda was specifically recommended to me by a good friend when I asked (via Facebook) about German gems I should be sure not to miss.  I got a surprisingly long list of suggestions, and will be doing my best to work through them.  (Ahem... stay tuned for an upcoming post about Cologne!  Trip happening this weekend.)

But Fulda stood out to me mainly because it is only 30 minutes away by train, and is a super small little town, all of which meant no need for a hostel, and seeing as I am still meticulously inspecting every random tiny piece of lint to make sure it isn't moving, and scrutinizing my skin every time I have an itch (thank you SO much, Steff's Hostel and your bedbug mascots), a hostel-less adventure seemed pretty damn ideal.  And hey -- also cheaper.  Bonus.  (Going to have to conquer my latest neurosis come Friday...)

I kind of failed at getting out the door that morning though.  Delayed my trip for an hour so I could charge my iPhone as I'd forgotten to do that the night before, and then eventually left with said iPhone still plugged in and sitting on the windowsill.  Also forgot an assortment of other small but helpful items, such as my umbrella (it definitely rained on me).  Ah well.  If I am ever to learn to be an impulsive traveler, I must learn that these things can always be left behind!

The first thing I did in Fulda was, natch, check out a church.

And then, keeping true to form, I then swung by an old building/museum, the Stadtschloss.

The Stadtschloss was built in the early 18th century for the city's "prince-abbots (whatever those are).  It's now largely a municipal office building, but several rooms on different floors have been restored and are open to the public.  The layout was rather confusing honestly, spread out over four floors kind of randomly, and now looking back through my Lonely Planet, I see I did indeed miss climbing up to the Schlossturm, or tower.  Oh well.  The rooms were beautifully restored and the ticket wasn't expensive.  My favorite room was the one in the last picture, the aptly-named "Mirror Room".

After the Stadtschloss, I walked across the street for... another church!  Yaaaay!  This one was the Fulda Dom, or cathedral, and was quite beautiful.

I had a huge letdown at the Dom though, because there is a museum here that is supposed to be pretty cool, but I discovered it was closed for a month through February 15.  I was there on... February 15.

Also had another, slightly smaller disappointment as Michaelskirche, which sits next to the Dom and dates from the 9th century, was closed when I stopped by.  Pushing on in the face of failure!

Speaking of things I missed while in Fulda, my friend who had recommended the place to me had also given me the address of an apparently very cool vinyl shop downtown.  Which, of course, I had stored on the iPhone that was currently sitting attached to a charger on a windowsill in my apartment.  I guess the fates were just telling me I'd have to make another trip to Fulda someday.

After the Dom, I wandered a little in the pretty park that is next to the Stadtschloss, and then went into the downtown in search of lunch.

Fulda has no shortage of cool-looking restaurants.  I passed a bunch that looked like they would be excellent, but (as always) I was kind of on a budget so resisted.  I walked around Fulda's pretty downtown for a while, and eventually settled on an interesting-looking Balkan restaurant called Hansa-Keller, which is, indeed, in a cellar.

The restaurant itself was completely charming however, and the staff incredibly nice.  The menu was in German though, and there are few things more futile than trying to read a menu full of unfamiliar dishes written in a language you don't understand.  Eventually I ordered this combo-plate thing, and (natch) a mug of beer that I hadn't tried before.

What I ended up getting was a skewer of pork medallions, and four meatball/sausage hybrid thingies that were delicious.  This was a seriously excellent meal.  (And not totally unhealthy -- a salad had come out first!)  After I finished, my waiter gave me this little ampule of a strangely strong, strangely banana liqueur.

Without question, the high point of the trip!

The inevitable downside to all of this was that as I left the restaurant, I was completely ready for a nap.  Instead I explored downtown Fulda some more, and hit the Vonderau Museum.

The Vonderau Museum was interesting enough, but in keeping with the theme of the day, was also quite random.  It sure is easier to get through museums faster when the cards and descriptions are only in a language you can't read!

And after the Vonderau, it was about 4:00 and I decided to head back.  I'd seen the major sites, and the options left to me appeared to be shopping (not bloody likely), or finding a pub (more likely, but again with the budget).  So I walked back to the train station and ended up enjoying a very pleasant and quiet Saturday night in.

And that, my dears, was Fulda.  Decidedly picturesque, and very much worth an afternoon jaunt in my humble opinion.

Next up:  Cologne!

Heidelberg: Walking the Philosopher's Way

After only spending one short day exploring the best of Heidelberg, it was pretty damn easy for me to see how the city had been so popular with writers and Romantics.  Mark Twain took a liking to it, as did Goethe.

So for my Sunday in this pretty city, I wanted to follow in their footsteps and take a walk along the Philosophenweg, or Philosopher's Way, a windy series of trails through the woods on the other side of the Neckar River from the main part of town.  Near the top, highlights included a Nazi amphitheater and ruined 11th century monastery, both of which sounded freaking amazing but I didn't have my heart set on getting that far.  My hostel-furnished map wasn't to scale so I didn't know the distance, and the trails, whilst named, did not seem to wholly have the same names that were marked on my map, and the trail markers did not include whether or not you were heading to the main the sites of note, St. Michael's Monastery and the Thingstätte.  So I simply decided to wander... up.  Seems I do this a lot.  Why do I put myself through all this again??  Oh right -- for these reasons.

It felt great to get out and away from everything.  As I climbed higher, I found myself in some of the thickest fog I'd ever seen.

Trees disappearing into cloud

It was in this otherworldly, murky haze that I saw something looming up out of the fog.

I'd found the Thingstätte, but it was so incredibly foggy I couldn't get a picture of inside the amphitheater because it was just a wall of white.  It was chilling to be there though, at the same place where Nazi propaganda rallies were held less than a century earlier.  I climbed up to the top of the stairs/seats, found another trail and continued on my way.

I walked through this totally not-creepy gate, and soon saw this:

I had, miraculously, made it to the Monastery of St. Michael.

1070, and some interestingly pagan offerings of holly and evergreen

I loved getting to explore this place.  It's a fairly large complex, and the Germans have put up signs saying what each room had been used for.  In German, naturally, but then they also included a little drawing of a monk praying, or eating, or sleeping, or whatever, which I thought was very cool.  For some reason, there were something like a dozen small children playing here during my visit though, and that was less awesome.  Although I could hardly blame them... if I'd seen something like this when I was seven, my parents would have had to endure months of "Princess in the Ruined Tower-Castle-Place" or whatever elaborate fantasy game I surely would have constructed.  Hell, I do this now, and I'm 34.

Believe it or not, I kind of did have a train to catch that afternoon at 4:45, so was on something of a schedule.  I said farewell to St. Michael and retraced my steps to the Thingstätte, where luckily the fog had lifted enough to get some good(ish) photos.

From the top

From the bottom

 Just down the path from the Thingstätte, I'd passed an utterly adorable-looking tavern.  My plan had been to hike back down and get lunch in the Altstadt, but how on earth is a girl supposed to pass up a cozy tavern in the middle of the foggy German woods?  It even had smoke coming from a chimney!

So I went in, and sat.  Instant, complete win.  This place was great.  Blue-checked tablecloths, with a single while taper burning at the center of each table.  The waitress was extremely sweet, and I ordered an apfelwein, which turned out to be some seriously dry, yummy cider, and then I went for broke (semi-literally), and ordered a steak of wild boar, which was served with dumplings and red cabbage.

It was a fantastic lunch.  The boar was very lean but a little tough, which I guess can only be expected.  The red cabbage was very nicely flavored, and the dumplings were pretty good but they weren't my favorite part of the meal.  Very heavy and not much flavor.  (Pretty standard for dumplings, I guess?)  The mushroom sauce helped with that.  All in all, I was very happy I'd made the choice to stop here.

And then it was time to stump my way down the mountain (my knees hate the living crap out of downhill, more and more every day).  I found my way back to the main trail along the river, and followed that to the Schlangenweg (Snake Path), which curved its way down the mountain and lets you out just opposite the Karl Theodor Bridge.

Bridge from the top of the path

I walked a cross said bridge, paid my respects to this weird monkey statue on the other side, and then walked one more time along the Neckar back to my bus stop, and rode back to Steffi's.

That, dear ones, was Heidelberg.  If you love old things and pretty things and picturesque things (and lots of college kids, yes), I can wholeheartedly recommend this city to you.  I had an unqualified good time at every part of my weekend (except the bedbugs, but hey).  I think it was a good choice for my German Maiden Voyage, and definitely has whetted my appetite for further adventures in Deutschland.

So now, the thing to do is start planning the next one!  I'm thinking Köln looks like it deserves some exploring.  Also Bonn, Rothenburg, Dusseldorf, Hamburg... Certainly not spoiled for choice or anything here.  Stay tuned, lovers.

Heidelberg: Fairy-Tale Beautiful

Well.  I can't believe it's been almost a month since I last wrote here.  Life in Kassel continues.  I still do not have anything like a full work schedule; trying my damnedest to fix that through a myriad of avenues.  In other news, I've actually started to finally study German!  I have two tutors, in the form of wonderful friends who have agreed to meet with me on two (separate) nights a week.  And now, instead of playing endless levels of Candy Crush as I wait for my bus or my next class, I now play Duolingo, which is a great language app my tutors recommended for me.  I've been pretty good about getting to the gym, and have lost eight and a half pounds since I joined one month ago.  Social life has also gotten a little more active, which I appreciate immensely.  I certainly do love my alone time and solo trips, but outright isolation is no good for anyone.  In a nutshell, I'd say things really aren't going too badly -- except of course for my paycheck, which still sucks. :)

Speaking of solo trips, way back in the beginning of February I took off on my first German weekend adventure and went to check out Heidelberg.

And what an absolutely beautiful, historic, and all around awesome city Heidelberg is.  I had an incredible tiime.  (Rick Steves, btw, hates Heidelberg and advises in his Germany book that you skip it altogether.  Not since getting super lost trying to find Chora Church in Istanbul have I disagreed so utterly and so strongly with Rick Steves.)

I had a lesson on Friday evening, so caught a train at around 7:30 PM on January 31st.  It's little more than two hours to Heidelberg from Kassel, and I was able to find my near-to the-station hostel without a hitch.  Steffi's Hostel seemed pretty nice at first blush -- but I woke up on Saturday morning and got to start my day by finding and killing a freaking bedbug in my bunk.  I told the hostel staff, and they let me switch rooms, but overall were seriously kind of dicks about the whole thing, and kept trying to insinuate that I'd brought the bug with me even though I told them several times that I had not been traveling and was just taking a weekend trip.  This bedbug did not find its way to Steffi's Hostel with me.  Anyway, by the following morning (Sunday), three huge purple bites had appeared on my leg.  Lucky I knew bedbug bites take about a day to show up or I would have been flipping out even more than I already was.  All this meant my backpack, coat, and all my clothes spent Sunday night on my balcony after I got home, and I took an emergency trip to the laundromat on Monday to hot wash my clothes and put my backpack and coat through a hot dryer.  It's been three weeks now and I feel reasonably assured I did not bring any home with me.  But hey -- someone told me bedbugs can lay dormant for up to six months, so there's some good news for ya!

But other than that mess, I had a fantastic time in Heidelberg.  On Saturday (after the above fiasco and room switch, etc.), I took a bus into the Altstadt (Old Town), and headed right up to take a look at the magnificent Heidelberg Schloss.

For real, I'm not sure if there is anything I love more than a ruined castle.  After my stressful morning, I was determined to reset the day and took a moment to relax with a cup of coffee to drink as I looked out over this gorgeous city.

Land.  Of.  Fairytales.

Heidelberg's cathedral, Heiliggeistkirche, taking center stage

 Heidelberg Schloss is simply amazing, for so many reasons.  Construction was begun in the early 13th century, and the castle's occupants continued to expand, rebuild, and restore it until it was eventually abandoned in the 18th century.  The result is a spectacular microcosm of 500 years of European architecture in one single structure, and it's one of the coolest things I have ever seen.

The newest section of the castle

And the oldest, across the courtyard

The famous Gunpowder Tower, split by an explosion during a war with the French in the late 17th century

I decided pretty much right away that it was going to be about 100% worth it to pay extra for a guided tour, which was the only way to see the few restored rooms inside the castle.  Except the next tour was an hour away, so I had plenty of time for exploring.  Oddly, the castle is home to an apothecary museum, which is free and pretty interesting.

With still more time to kill, I decided to shamelessly succumb to the pleasures of two of my favorite things about Germany, and got a bratwurst and a cup of gluhwein from the cart vendor outside the castle.  I took my utterly spectacular brunch and found a quiet spot away from the crowds, just opposite the Gunpowder Tower above.

Turns out I was right about the guided tour being worth it.  This was largely due to our guide, who was great, very knowledgeable, and answered all of my questions without the least hint of impatience. :)  I loved getting inside this incredible place!

After the tour, I went to see this famous wine barrel that is the largest in the world, and then forced myself to say farewell to the Heidelberg Schloss.  I have a new entry on my list of Beautiful, Fascinating, Favorite Places.

I walked down into the Altstadt, and had a really fun afternoon exploring everything I could.

Kornmarkt Platz, with the Schloss in the background

I visited Heiliggeistkirche, and got such an awesome surprise because I was able to see a wedding there!  Not just any wedding, but Siegfried and Felix's wedding.  Germany should be very proud of the fact that in their country, two men can walk down the aisle of a beautiful historic church holding hands.  It was an extremely touching moment that I'll always feel privileged to have been accidentally part of.  A long and happy life to you both, Siegfried and Felix.

After Heiliggeistkirche, I visited several other old churches, took a break in a pub to try some Heidelberger beer, and then checked out the creepy and cool Studentenkarzer, or old Student Jail.

I took a quick spin through the small University Museum since it was included in my Studentenkarzer ticket, tried to see another church that was closed, and took a walk along the Nekar River.

I had my second break/potty pit stop in an Irish pub that had some pretty good cider on tap, and then as I was aimlessly wandering through the Old Town some more, I came across the Kurpfälzisches Museum and on a whim decided to check it out.

Well, oh my goodness, but this museum was like its very own freaking pocket dimension!  It was kind of near the end of the day and I was starting to really look forward to dinner, and had kind of expected this museum to take me something like 30 minutes.  40, tops.  Um... no.

There was such an unexpectedly enormous random collection of stuff here.  A temporary photo exhibit of Marlene Dietrich, a series of rooms focusing on local archaeology going back to Roman times, several restored period rooms, and a whole mess of art from about the 17th century right up to modern.  Every time I thought I'd be nearing the end of my circuit, there'd be a stairway or another door or hallway.  I began literally laughing every time I turned a corner and found a whole new warren of rooms and exhibits.  It was all very interesting, but I wish I had known the extent of this place in advance; I would have made a point to come here straight after the Schloss when I was still fresh, and not footsore and hungry and pleasantly muzzed from some excellent Irish cider.

To my credit, I hung the fuck in there, and did eventually see it all, if perhaps I speedwalked through a few portrait galleries. :)

Post-Museum, it was so seriously time for dinner I cannot even tell you.  I began combing through the Altstadt looking for a promising prospect, and in the proccess I managed to find both the absinthe shop and the vintage vinyl shop some friends had recommended.  Did not buy anything at either, though.  I was looking for a traditional German place, as I'd been told the food of the region was different from Hesse and pretty tasty.  However, what happened instead was that I found myself at the bar of Coyote Cafe, with steak fajitas on order.

Because really -- authentic German food is all well and good -- but any redblooded American would be a blooming idiot to turn down fajitas when they have the rare fortune to cross your path in Europe.

They were pretty amazing, actually.  Guac, sour cream, warm flour tortillas, and even hot sauce.  Second-best Mexican food I've ever had in Europe.  (First will probably always be Rosa Negra in Madrid.)

After dinner, I headed home to Steffi's and ended up chatting for the evening with a very nice dude named Moaz, a Syrian refugee, and another guy whose name I sadly forget.

And that was my Saturday in Heidelberg.  Pretty unqualified winning, if you ask me.