Schmuck!!

DAY 8

I began this morning with breakfast al fresco along the Rhine river. I love eating outside, it just makes any meal so much more enjoyable. Especially along a body of water. Made my bacon taste that much better, if that's even possible!

Our first stop on our second day in Germany was Heidelberg. I participated in an additional excursion of a castle tour with the rest of the group. There we were met with a tour guide to take us up to the castle. (But not before paying to pee again; .30 euro this time. (I need to start keeping tabs how much money my small bladder is costing me here although I feel I have done a good job on my own of finding free restrooms as well.)  The castle we visited was one of the largest castle ruins in Germany and was fascinating to see (although there was a lot of scaffolding for ongoing construction). Kind of annoying when trying to take good pictures but nothing we can do. The castle sits upon a mountain along the Necar river and the views from above were gorge. On this tour, I learned about how Victoria's Secret got its name too.  Apparently the Queen Victoria from Germany invented underwear because before then, no one ever worn any undergarments and she was sick of riding a horse without them, so she invented some. And that is how Victoria's Secret got its name. Mind blown right there. I never knew that!! (And conveniently enough, I had on a pair of Victoria's Secret undies at the time.) 

After the tour, we had about an hour and a half of free time. Jenny and I grabbed sandwiches so we could walk around and eat at the same time. I even treated myself to a yummy Bavarian pretzel, a local specialty, to save for the bus ride later. I also purchased a chocolate from Cafe Knosel. This "Student's Kiss" chocolate is famous because of the story behind it. The cafe sits in the heart of town and was often frequented by many college students. The chocolatier created these chocolates as a sweet way for gentlemen to give as a token of affection to women without physically kissing them. They come in singles, a set, a quad, or a box of six. Apparently the mayor of the town sent a box of six to Bill Clinton after his scandal years ago. Major burn. But funny. In town, and something I noticed many store signs with the word "schmuck." Each time, I had to snap a photo and laugh. I saw this yesterday too in Mainz so I finally asked what it meant. In German, a schmuck is a jeweler. VERY different than the English meaning. 

Soon we were in our way to the historical medieval town of Rothenburg. It was about a two hour ride to this town and a perfect time for a little nap. Don't mind if I do! I slept for maybe 45 minutes I think, which was fantastic. When we got to town we checked into our hotel. The hotel this time around was not a big chain but a local hotel (with no A/C). Because the town is so small, there are no chains. No McDonalds, Starbucks, or H&M which have been everywhere. Nada. Very small and quaint. Our location was right in town so we walked to town as a group and then Jenny and I split off again and did our own thing. She is becoming my Australian vacay mom. We walked the whole town, including a trip up to the top of the White Tower. The steps were winding, narrow, and brutal but I wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to get that eagle eye view of the town. They only let a few people up at a time and there is a time limit. We got up, took our pics, then explored the rest of town. We basically walked the whole town rather quickly since it is not that large. Rothenburg is known for its very enthusiastic Christmas tradition and apparently the home to a very famous Christmas designer/store/museum, Kathe Wohlfahrt. Haha...fart. Sorry, I couldn't resist that one. We went in the store and it was like being transformed to December. Christmas decoration galore. (Slightly overwhelming even.) I imagine this city is absolutely stunning during Christmas time with snow, lights, and plenty of decorations.  

Following Christmas central, we walked to the aptly named Castle Garden overlooking the river and mountains. Gorgeous views. I feel like everything I see is beautiful and gorgeous and I am overusing those words, but whatever, it's the truth. After working up an appetite again, we stopped to get a local specialty, Schneeballen. German sweet balls! I guess I would best describe them as a ball of a sweet version of the friend noodles you get at Chinese restaurants. I was rather unimpressed with this,  but still ate it. Typical. Then we began to walk it off and walk the massive stone walls surrounding the town. They are from thousands of years ago and were kept up during WWII. It was pretty incredible walking around the city this way.  It was like walking around a fort. Sort of. But very neat. 

We covered the whole town in really good time and I was going through a bit of wifi withdrawal (sad, but true) so headed the short way back to the hotel where wifi was still down so decided to walk a little in the other direction to find a signal. No luck, but I did venture to a local gas station for a nice cold drink. Exactly zero English was spoken there and I didn't want to veer too far from the hotel so I came back and thankfully, finally got on the wifi and got my fix. Phew!! 

For the hour and half more of free time before dinner I decided to just sit outside to begin writing this, read, and people watch. Dinner was at the hotel again and was a traditional German meal of potato soup, beef with veggies and a German type of pasta, and a German ice cream cake. It was pretty darn good. A little to hearty for this heat if you ask me,  but tasted good. By the time we were done eating and conversing, it was ten o'clock and I felt so sticky and dirty (and a little chafy too) from walking around all day, all I wanted to do was shower and get in bed. And so I did just that. Another big day tomorrow for our day in Germany. Until then...