More pictures.
Photos:
Stift Neuburg seminary 2A#018
Heidelberg 2A#023
Marktplatz, Heidelberg 2A#029
Heidelberg Castle 2A#025
Photos:
Stift Neuburg seminary 2A#018
Heidelberg 2A#023
Marktplatz, Heidelberg 2A#029
Heidelberg Castle 2A#025
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Another Month in Heidelberg, Part 2
Today is PFINGSTEN, Whitsun (for “White Sunday”) the seventh Sunday after Easter. In the Christian calendar known as Pentecost, commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples. (per Wikepedia)
Later I leave for Handschuhsheim, a suburb of Heidelberg lying north and across the river. I take my usual #29 bus, buy a one-day ticket and at the bottom of the hill change to a #24 tram, which goes through Heidelberg, past the Hauptbahnhof (main station) and drops me at Handschuhsheim, where it’s a 5-minute walk to the Tiefstadt (deep or underground town) a former moated castle whose ruins have been renovated into an entertainment center. I find it absolutely fascinating. The central tower of the old castle has been renovated into a restaurant and dinning room while parts of the old castle courtyard had been roofed over and the whole space filled with tables and benches with people eating and drinking. There’s a huge bar, a grill station selling sausages, schnitzel, German hamburgers and French fries and a large counter serving Kaffee und Kuchen. The town band of about 20 musicians is playing. As I walk through Manuela, my teacher calls me over; she’s sitting with her husband Mike, all three kids and her parents. Her kids are delightful especially the baby Arian, that watches me the whole time with his big blue eyes and Paulina, the middle child that holds my hand when we walk over to get a closer look at the band. Manuela’s father is such a proud Opa continuously having one or two of the kids on his lap or taking them for a walk around or to the restroom. I spend the rest of the afternoon talking with them and feel very much at home. After they leave I buy a cup of coffee and slice of homemade chocolate cake and sit down. Pretty soon an elderly couple (ie. about my age) sit down and start talking to me about the music; by then the town band has been replaced by a very German band all in brown corduroy pants. When the elderly man hears that I’m from California, he wants to know about Hillary and Obama; he’s a retired Gymnasium (Grammar or High School) teacher. We have a lovely conversation; he twice asks if I had German parents or grandparents and eventually I tell him that I was born in Dresden and am spending some time in Heidelberg. Later I tell him the band is too German for my liking, they’re playing drinking songs, and he understands.
I took the tram back to the Hauptbahnhof, which is crowded with people and about the only place with open shops. I buy a London Sunday Times, printed in Brussels, and catch the next tram back to Rohrbach Sud, where the #29 bus to Boxberg is waiting. On Sundays both of these bus and tram- lines run only twice an hour, however they run on time and connect.
Handschuhsheim (literally hand-shoe or glove home) The coat of arms of the local Prince featured a hand wearing a glove.
Next day I spend most of the morning writing up my notes; then drive to Leiman, (pro Lyman) a small town about 20 minutes south to look at the Freuhlingsfest (Spring festival) being held in the center of town. It’s very warm and not too many people about. I have a crepe with Grand Marnier then drive to Stift Neuburg, a Catholic seminary and church located on the hillside across the river from Heidelberg for a special Pfingsttrompeten (Whitsun trumpet) concert. The tiny church is wall-to-wall people and the concert by the Trumpet Consort and Peter Shumann, organist from the Heidelberg cathedral, very interesting. They play music by Diabelli (1781 – 1858) as well as Bach, Mozart and Handel; some parts are a bit ragged; however most are extremely well played and I can follow the program without difficulty. Afterwards I drive along the river stopping to take photos in the late afternoon sunlight.
Photos:
Tiefstadt, Handschuhsheim 2A#001
Manuela, Mike and Arian 2A#005
Joshua, Paullina and grandparents 2A#006
Leiman, Freuhlingsfest 2A#017
Later I leave for Handschuhsheim, a suburb of Heidelberg lying north and across the river. I take my usual #29 bus, buy a one-day ticket and at the bottom of the hill change to a #24 tram, which goes through Heidelberg, past the Hauptbahnhof (main station) and drops me at Handschuhsheim, where it’s a 5-minute walk to the Tiefstadt (deep or underground town) a former moated castle whose ruins have been renovated into an entertainment center. I find it absolutely fascinating. The central tower of the old castle has been renovated into a restaurant and dinning room while parts of the old castle courtyard had been roofed over and the whole space filled with tables and benches with people eating and drinking. There’s a huge bar, a grill station selling sausages, schnitzel, German hamburgers and French fries and a large counter serving Kaffee und Kuchen. The town band of about 20 musicians is playing. As I walk through Manuela, my teacher calls me over; she’s sitting with her husband Mike, all three kids and her parents. Her kids are delightful especially the baby Arian, that watches me the whole time with his big blue eyes and Paulina, the middle child that holds my hand when we walk over to get a closer look at the band. Manuela’s father is such a proud Opa continuously having one or two of the kids on his lap or taking them for a walk around or to the restroom. I spend the rest of the afternoon talking with them and feel very much at home. After they leave I buy a cup of coffee and slice of homemade chocolate cake and sit down. Pretty soon an elderly couple (ie. about my age) sit down and start talking to me about the music; by then the town band has been replaced by a very German band all in brown corduroy pants. When the elderly man hears that I’m from California, he wants to know about Hillary and Obama; he’s a retired Gymnasium (Grammar or High School) teacher. We have a lovely conversation; he twice asks if I had German parents or grandparents and eventually I tell him that I was born in Dresden and am spending some time in Heidelberg. Later I tell him the band is too German for my liking, they’re playing drinking songs, and he understands.
I took the tram back to the Hauptbahnhof, which is crowded with people and about the only place with open shops. I buy a London Sunday Times, printed in Brussels, and catch the next tram back to Rohrbach Sud, where the #29 bus to Boxberg is waiting. On Sundays both of these bus and tram- lines run only twice an hour, however they run on time and connect.
Handschuhsheim (literally hand-shoe or glove home) The coat of arms of the local Prince featured a hand wearing a glove.
Next day I spend most of the morning writing up my notes; then drive to Leiman, (pro Lyman) a small town about 20 minutes south to look at the Freuhlingsfest (Spring festival) being held in the center of town. It’s very warm and not too many people about. I have a crepe with Grand Marnier then drive to Stift Neuburg, a Catholic seminary and church located on the hillside across the river from Heidelberg for a special Pfingsttrompeten (Whitsun trumpet) concert. The tiny church is wall-to-wall people and the concert by the Trumpet Consort and Peter Shumann, organist from the Heidelberg cathedral, very interesting. They play music by Diabelli (1781 – 1858) as well as Bach, Mozart and Handel; some parts are a bit ragged; however most are extremely well played and I can follow the program without difficulty. Afterwards I drive along the river stopping to take photos in the late afternoon sunlight.
Photos:
Tiefstadt, Handschuhsheim 2A#001
Manuela, Mike and Arian 2A#005
Joshua, Paullina and grandparents 2A#006
Leiman, Freuhlingsfest 2A#017
Another Month in Heidelberg, part 1
After class I have a quick bite then go to the Israel 60th birthday celebration right in the middle of town. The event is organized by the Students Union of the High School for Jewish Studies with the support of the Oberburgermeister (Lord Mayor) of Heidelberg. There’s an introduction from the German – Israel Committee and an address by Dr. Joachim Gerner, Burgermeister fur Bildung und Kultur (Deputy Mayor for Education and Culture) who had just returned from Israel. I talk to him afterwards about speaking at the local High School. There are information tables from The Friendship Circle Heidelberg – Rehovot (Rehovot, Israel is a sister city) and Die Neuapostolische Kirche (New Apostolic Church – who run a sort of “Jews for Jesus” group) The event also offers a crash-course to learn some Hebrew and later Israeli folk dancing. On the way home I make a quick trip to the little supermarket and find that beer costs €0.40 a half-liter bottle (about 70 cents) plus €. 08 deposit! However the bad news is that for the first time the price for beer at the Munich Oktoberfest will rise to over the €8 mark; that is about $12 a liter!
On Saturday I go over to the Hotel ISG and spend an hour on emails. I cannot access the Internet in my guesthouse. The weather has been lovely and sunny with highs of about 80 and about 50 at night; the humidity seems very low. Montserrat Caballé, the famous opera diva and now 75 is giving a recital this evening in Heilbronn, about an hour away on the road to Stuttgart. Instead I drive down the hill to the huge Famila Shopping Center, which being Saturday is a zoo! I drop off shirts at the cleaners and pay up front €2.50 a shirt (about $3.75) and they’ll be ready on Wednesday. I walk through the enormous supermarket and treat myself to a plastic ice cube tray and a proper coffee mug plus a few other food items for €12. In addition I stop at the Provencal-type olive shop and spend another €10 on olives, hummus and a delicious cream cheese spread.
Later I drive into Heidelberg, stop at my favorite bar by the cathedral and have a very special experience. I order a beer, when a gentleman comes over and asks if he can sit down. We start talking and I tell him that I’m in Heidelberg taking German lessons. He asks where and I tell him “F & U Academy”. He laughs and says that he’s the Director, his name is Karl-Heinz Rippel; such a coincidence! We have a lovely conversation in German, with him correcting me every once in a while. He apologizes and I tell him that I appreciate it. I also tell him about living in Boxberg, he gives me his card and suggests that I come to see him and he will help. I talk about moving to Wiesbaden and he thinks it a bad idea. “Wiesbaden like Baden Baden and Bad Homberg are very quiet and only for old people! Heidelberg and Munich are lively with lots of young people and lots to do”. He is right about Heidelberg; if I lived in town I could go to a concert or other event every night.
We part and I go to the organ concert in the cathedral. The concert is very interesting and includes works by Buxtehude, Bach and César Franck. I talk to two Americans, one an organist, who explains that this Steinmeyer organ is about 10 years old; many German church organs were installed or rebuilt for the 2000 Centennial. This pipe organ is air driven (by electricity) and the pedals and keys are all mechanically connected to the pipes; however there are also electronic connections, which regulate the pipes. Fascinating!
Photos:
Heidelberg 2A#012
Israel Day, Heidelberg 2#003
Israel Day, Heidelberg 2#002
Cathedral, Heidelberg 2#005
On Saturday I go over to the Hotel ISG and spend an hour on emails. I cannot access the Internet in my guesthouse. The weather has been lovely and sunny with highs of about 80 and about 50 at night; the humidity seems very low. Montserrat Caballé, the famous opera diva and now 75 is giving a recital this evening in Heilbronn, about an hour away on the road to Stuttgart. Instead I drive down the hill to the huge Famila Shopping Center, which being Saturday is a zoo! I drop off shirts at the cleaners and pay up front €2.50 a shirt (about $3.75) and they’ll be ready on Wednesday. I walk through the enormous supermarket and treat myself to a plastic ice cube tray and a proper coffee mug plus a few other food items for €12. In addition I stop at the Provencal-type olive shop and spend another €10 on olives, hummus and a delicious cream cheese spread.
Later I drive into Heidelberg, stop at my favorite bar by the cathedral and have a very special experience. I order a beer, when a gentleman comes over and asks if he can sit down. We start talking and I tell him that I’m in Heidelberg taking German lessons. He asks where and I tell him “F & U Academy”. He laughs and says that he’s the Director, his name is Karl-Heinz Rippel; such a coincidence! We have a lovely conversation in German, with him correcting me every once in a while. He apologizes and I tell him that I appreciate it. I also tell him about living in Boxberg, he gives me his card and suggests that I come to see him and he will help. I talk about moving to Wiesbaden and he thinks it a bad idea. “Wiesbaden like Baden Baden and Bad Homberg are very quiet and only for old people! Heidelberg and Munich are lively with lots of young people and lots to do”. He is right about Heidelberg; if I lived in town I could go to a concert or other event every night.
We part and I go to the organ concert in the cathedral. The concert is very interesting and includes works by Buxtehude, Bach and César Franck. I talk to two Americans, one an organist, who explains that this Steinmeyer organ is about 10 years old; many German church organs were installed or rebuilt for the 2000 Centennial. This pipe organ is air driven (by electricity) and the pedals and keys are all mechanically connected to the pipes; however there are also electronic connections, which regulate the pipes. Fascinating!
Photos:
Heidelberg 2A#012
Israel Day, Heidelberg 2#003
Israel Day, Heidelberg 2#002
Cathedral, Heidelberg 2#005
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