Full of Schlosses

A trip to Stuttgart and Heidelberg was the perfect way to begin my two months of Eurail travel. They also opened my eyes to the charm of smaller European cities--I only wish I had time to visit more!

Lejla and I were probably the only tourists in Stuttgart that day. It is a very nice city, but not much of a tourist destination. I wanted to go because my grandfather on my father's side was stationed there after World War II for some time, and I thought it would be neat to see where he spent those years. It felt much newer than many of the other cities I have visited, probably because so much of it had to be rebuilt after the war. Older corners still exist, and the old palaces and gardens are beautiful, but the streets feel new.

On our walking tour of Stuttgart (in the wind and rain), with Lejla acting as official tour guide because she had the map, we ate lunch and dessert at the Café Nast over by the Bean Quarter, a very old area which the map said was modeled after Prague's Jewish quarter. I am almost certain my grandfather would have eaten there at some point, because the restaurant has been around for a long time, according to the photographs decorating its walls. We also saw highlights such as the first skyscraper in Germany (very block-y and cement-y); the birthplace of Freidrich Hegel (we could have gone inside to the museum, but it was all in German, and I feel that Hegel is dense enough in English); the old cathedral which was devastated by bombing during WWII but which has been renovated; the old Markthalle with stalls of fruit, wines, meat, cheeses, spices, and everything else good in life; the Schlossplatz in front of the new palace in the one bit of sunshine we got that day; and, unavoidably, a bit of shopping...I found a very pretty blue dress in a Turkish shop. I haven't the faintest idea where I'll where it, but it was the exact shade of blue I love best, and only 15 euros.

I think the crowning glory of our afternoon in Stuttgart was when we, by some lucky chance, snagged tickets to a private box (Loge XII) at the state opera house for a performance of Pinocchio as an opera, specially put on for a theater full of children under the age of eight, for just 8 euros each. It started at 5:30, so we couldn't stay for the whole performance since our train left for Heidelberg at 8:15, but we caught the first half and a bit after intermission.

Let me emphasize two points:

1. I saw an opera in Europe from a box!!!
   (I can't believe my luck at this--my opera fantasies always involve sitting in a box, dressed in a blue silk gown and carrying a fan, sending meaningful glances across the theater to the handsome young man in an opposite box who has secretly declared his passionate love for me. I referred to this dream throughout the whole experience.)
2. I was in a theater full of 8-year-old German schoolchildren.
   (They were fidgety enough during the performance, but at intermission, they went absolutely wild. Running, screaming, playing tag, bouncing, punching each other--everything but hanging from the rafters. Fun to watch from the safety of my box, but I think the adults just threw their hands up into the air and hoped the children would exhaust themselves before the performance started again.)

We caught a quick train to Heidelberg, and once we got into the old town where our hostel was located, Lejla and I were immediately enchanted. Old Heidelberg is likely as picturesque as it is possible for a city to be. Narrow streets, shuttered houses, little cafés and bars and shops, fountains in the plazas, German students wandering the streets, and overlooking it all was the old castle on the hill, lit up at night.

We spent all of Saturday morning touring around the old castle, part of which has been kept in very good condition and part of which has fallen into very romantic ruins. It was built entirely of sandstone, and it is a gorgeous castle. I would happily live there. The gardens around it--the Schlossgarten--are beautiful as well and have lovely views overlooking the city and the river.

Our love affair with Heidelberg continued as we bought a picnic lunch of strawberries, grapes, brioche, and some delicious cheese at the market in front of the cathedral. We ate it on the north bank of the Neckar, amongst the canoodling couples and families out enjoying the sunshine. It was so nice to be in the sun--I can't wait for spring to officially arrive here, rather than just giving us glimpses of how nice it could be. We lucked out once again by having sunshine all day in Heidelberg.

We spent the rest of the afternoon soaking in the charms of Heidelberg--the cathedral, the bridge, the throngs of Heidelbergers wandering the Hauptstrasse--then caught an organ and choir concert in the cathedral. Quite impressive. Then, after another delicious late-night dinner, Lejla and I wandered into a bar, hoping to meet some German students. We didn't actually talk to any Germans--this language barrier thing is such a problem!--but we did get chatted up by what seemed to be the Irish national rugby team instead. They didn't say they were the Irish national rugby team, but they said they had played the German national rugby team the night before, so one can only assume...We called it a very successful night.

Photos.

And tacking on Wednesday's articles:

British Minister Wants EU-India FTA Finalised This Year
Plus Bridges Weekly reprinted my BioRes article on Yvo de Boer's resignation.