more catch-up, please

Hello!

Thanks for checking my blog even though I update it rather sporadically. I finally went inside the Heidelberg Castle and visited Chrissy's host family in Stuttgart and Heilbronn. I also made a small day trip to Speyer, which is home to a beautiful Romanesque cathedral.
Some more shots of Heidelberg:


Here are some from Speyer! The cathedral dates from the 1000s. It is also home to the tombs of Salian emperors, circa. the 11th and 12th centuries. The crypt itself is huge--the largest Romanesque crypt in the world--and was described as "the most sublime monument on German ground" by Reinhold Schneider, a poet.
The crypt, so wonderfully solemn and spooky:
A view of the cathedral from the street. It's giant.
A monument/tomb at the entrance of the church:

Finally, some shots from Stuttgart: here, the castle and fountain

A lovely farmer's market view from outside the Markthalle in downtown:
The Haeffner brothers, Felix and Tobias, in a tent at the Stuttgart fest. They were all about their cool cameras. I'll bother them for pictures and, with any luck, post some ones far superior to my blurry shots.
Well, those are all the ones worth posting, really. I'll throw in a view from our kitchen window:
Instead of the original plans to visit Vienna, my friends and I are going to Dijon, France tomorrow morning at about 6am. I'll be back Friday evening and, I hope, ready to get back into the daily grind of things--my ever-stressful 12 hours a week.

au revoir!

beautiful october

Dear Readers,

Sorry for my lapse in blogging. I've been traveling! My two-week "Herbstferien" or fall break, began last Friday on the Day of German Unity (October 3rd). No one really celebrated except that we got the day off. The night before, I made my first trip to Heidelberg, which is ridiculously close to Mannheim. You can even take a street car there! I went with two other American Fulbrighters and after enjoying the local Neuwein on the train, we wandered the charming, cobblestone streets of Heidelberg. We also ate some delicious Chinese food at "China Restaurant Asia," which, despite its name, served authentic and tasty dishes. But I digress. Heidelberg is wonderful. It rained a little while we were there, but the clouds broke just before sunset and I got some breathtaking views. Have a look from across the river, see the castle on the left:


Another view down the river:

The sunset:
I also went to Oktoberfest! I visited an American friend who's been living in Germany for a few years now with her German boyfriend. We had a ton of fun, though the first two days were cold and rainy and we couldn't get into any of the tents. On Sunday we had a great time, however, and all I can say about Oktoberfest is that it is everything you imagine it to be... overly German, huge, crazy, expensive... and more.

Coming up next: a full length tour of the Heidelberg castle and a trip to Vienna! I'll keep you all posted!