I lied again. This is really quite historical and boring. I just like to see if get your attention. My blog "Sex, sex, sex" had the most readers. Now I know what's on your minds!
Heidelburg & Rüdesheim
It was bright and sunny but
again very cold when we arrived in Heidelburg, the city of “The Student
Prince,” based on a true story. The leaves on the ground were white with
frost. Some people might find the
weather distracting, but Dan and I think it adds to the charm of the trip. Once again joining the cheetahs (more like
cows) we toured the magnificent, ruined castle, which dominates old town. It is considered one of the greatest Rennaisance
structures north of the Alps.
The earliest part was built
before 1214 and later expanded into 2 castles circa 1294. In 1537 lightning destroyed the upper
castle. The present castle was expanded
in 1650, later damaged by war, fires, and more lightning. In the early 1600’s the family wanted to
strengthen its power and they married their son while he was still a teenager
to an English princess. It was a love
match! Again, I’ve seen 4 billion
castles from Scandanavia to Spain, including the best, which are in Wales, I
always enjoy them because each one is different. The most unusual feature of this one was the
largest wine keg in the world. It is so
big that it has a dance floor on top. A dry
moat surrounds the castle. There is only
a small stream, but in the winter when it froze, people could ice skate on
it. In the summer, they collected wild
animals and made it into a kind of zoo.
We walked down the 330 steps
for a tour of old town. It’s a vibrant
city because it has about 30,000 students at the University of Heidelburg,
which is the oldest in Germany founded in 1386.
Had a great lunch in an old restaurant, walked across the bridge on the
river, rubbed the butt of a bronze monkey for good luck, and ambled down the
main shopping street.
We had an interesting
cultural exchange at dinner the other night with 2 native born Chinese couples. I think they moved to the U.S. in their early
teens. One spoke perfect English; the
other 3 had very thick Chinese accents.
One of the men Andrew Lee (not a relative!) graduated from my high
school in Sacramento 8 years after me.
Somehow he found out we were Jewish and he was absolutely fascinated by
the fact. He believed a lot of
stereotypes: Jews are smarter than
everyone else; they play the piano very well; they’re all smart in
business. He asked me over and over, why
do people hate the Jews? I tried to
explain about early medieval Christianity (Christ killers) and the history of
Arab and Jewish conflict over land, but he kept saying, “But you’re like
everyone else!” How does one explain
irrational thinking?
In Rüdesheim we had a choice
of two tours. One of us went up a tram,
to a monument, a vineyard to overlook the river and to take pictures. The sensible one of the Lees went to the
Museum of Mechanical Instruments, which was warm, dry, and truly
fascinating. My favorite piece was both
a mechanical piano, which included maybe 2 dozen mechanical violins. I took a lot of video so I could pick up the
sound. If you live near me and ever want
to see/hear it, you’re welcome.
The town has a famous drink,
which is like many famous drinks around the world. I shared a table with a couple married in
1943. The lady looks to be in her 70’s
but that, of course, is not possible.
The waitress brings all the ingredients to the table to make the
drink. She mixes sugar cubes and brandy,
then sets the combination aflame, adds coffee, and tops it with whipped cream
and chocolate. It was only 10:30 in the
AM but hit the spot!
We spent the afternoon on the
Rhine going past 4,632,501 castles. I
know because I counted them. Most of
them date from the 12 century and were destroyed by the French, I think around
the 16th century. One of
their functions was to collect tolls for passage in the area. In addition, for the price of passage, people
would get protection. Such a deal!
The castles seemed very close
together—often minutes between each as we sailed by. Below the castles were the quintessential small
German towns and many vineyards, which are the northernmost vineyards in
Europe. The rows of vines appear to be
at about 70-80 degree angles from the bottom; consequently, they have to be
harvested by hand. I think machinery would fall down from the effect of
gravity. I’m not sure how the people are
able to cling to the hillsides. The sun
is starting to come out, and the stone of the few white castles glistens in the
light.
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