Strasbourg 1 - the approach

We left Heidelberg and headed south.  Despite singing my praises of all things German last time, one thing I'm not thrilled with is the German highway system.  Basically, the problem is that they do TOO much work on them!  One can't go very far before running into construction on roads that seem perfect as is.  Such was the case on our drive today, where we essentially stopped on the Autobahn.  The city of Karlsruhe, whatever charms it might have, will be forever tainted for us.

We did, however, stop in Baden-Baden to use the baths, repeating something I had done several times when I lived in Strasbourg.  Maddy stuck to the main pool while I tried everything (hot/cold plunges, saunas of various types).

For one who waited in big lines at the border in the 1980s, zipping across the bridge from Kehl Germany to Strasbourg France was a pleasure.

 Maddy enjoying a Kronenbourg beer in Strasbourg.  Her assessments:
1) German beer is better than French beer
2) Bavarian Helles is better than Pils, although a good Weissbier is always, well, good
3) As far as French beers go, Fischer is better than Kronenbourg

We were actually sitting on the site of the first Kronenbourg beer at this time, unbeknownst to us.  Not necessarily an auspicious occasion given Maddy's opinions above.

Heidelberg 5 - Lest we forget

In general, I've been finding that the Germans are very matter-of-fact about their history.  A good example was the city-erected park on the site of the old Synagogue, that had been on the site from 1714-1938.  If you look at the time line on the photo of the placard, they give an extensive and, I assume, complete history of Jewish people in Heidelberg, good and bad.

Not being Jewish, it's impossible for me to know the feelings induced by thoughts of the Holocaust.  I feel that, today, Germany is about as fair and inclusive as any country can possibly be, while having an economy that we can only dream about in some ways (they actually make things that are worth buying).  They certainly seem to be the leaders in taking in refugees, and the diversity of races one sees most places here is impressive.  Undoubtedly, they'll actually profit from these refugees, as we have profited again and again from our immigrants.  US science would amount to very little without foreigners.  With the voting rights scandals and anti-immigrant anger going on all over the place in the US, we're killing the dream.  When I was in Germany for a science conference in April, I saw students from all over the world, speaking German and buying into life in Germany.  They're planning to stay.  Meanwhile, my best graduate student has been stuck in China for an extra month because of visa issues that are entirely generated by our government.  Killing the goose, killing the dream...

It's impossible for Germans to forget their history but, in the present, they are very impressive to me.

 Time line of Jews in Heidelberg.

 Site of the Synagogue

Memorial at the site of the Ark.

Heidelberg 4 - naturalische

In my experience, Germans don't need much of an excuse to divest themselves of their clothing.  Put up a sign "clothing optional", and they'll be racing the Scandinavians in stripping down.  Find any body of water in Germany in any other season but the dead of winter, and chances are you'll find a naked person there.  Therefore, it was no surprise to find this very artistic image of Heidelberg above my bed.  Maddy couldn't help pointing out that I just naturally picked this bed.  Honest, I just walked in and chucked my bag there!

Heidelberg 3 - Kiss Me Kate

The second night in Heidelberg, we went up to the castle to see the musical "Kiss Me Kate" in German, in the castle courtyard.  Not really knowing what to expect, we got up there with rain spitting down intermittently.  Each time they took covers off things, it rained.  They were nothing if not persistent, though, and the sky eventually cleared.

The show was fantastic, even for somebody (me) who understood very little.  The basic story was pretty straightforward (guy sends love letter to another woman for various reasons, then tries to get it back before the right/wrong woman reads it (unsuccessfully)).  Maddy got an amazing amoutn of the subtlety.  There was some amazingly tight dancing, especially for "Ist viel zu heiss" (It's too darn hot).  The setting was unbelievable.  A highlight of the trip.

Shot from the castle before the show.

The stage before the show.

At intermission.

Maddy!!!!!!!!!

One of them goofy panoramas.

Heidelberg 2 - Philosophenweg

Being a very old university town, Heidelberg has a very cerebral feel to it.  Nowhere is that more evident than the Philosopher's Way, a walk along the hill on the north side of the river, looking across to the town.  One walks straight up a few hundred feet, then walks along the hill parallel to the river.  Several great philosophers and thinkers (none of whom I actually knew) did their thinking up here.  We had a great walk up there on a beautiful day, picked some blackberries off the bushes, and started to walk the rest of the way up the hill to some sort of tower, but lost interest.  A very nice morning.

We're on the Philosopher's Way!  Quick, look smart!

The best ones are always just out of reach!

Weird panorama from the Weg.  Cogitate on THAT, philosophers!

Heidelberg 1 - Die schone Stadt

We arrived in Heidelberg in the evening, having struggled yet again with getting from here to there in Germany.  Two problems:
1) pretty much every single road in Germany is under repair.  In Nuremberg, this was especially irritating because one would chart a route on the map, get 90% of the way there, then be turned back unceremoniously at the last minute, with very little counseling on alternate routes.  OK, OK, most people use GPS but I'M NOT MOST PEOPLE!  Does anybody remember maps?  I'm seeing that I have to adapt.
2) Our impression is that Germans must be big mystery fans, because they love some suspense on the road.  Signage is not necessarily up to the German rigor in other things.

Despite these issues, we stumbled into town and parked in the Kaiserstuhl parking lot.  Immediately, we were blown away by the beauty of the city.  Tucked between two hills (both over 1000 feet, so officially mountains to me) along the Nekar river, Heidelberg was spared bombings and so is largely intact.  If you get up one of the hills on either side, you get an eyeful of beauty.  We stayed in the Hotel am Rathaus, right in the center of town.  

Taken from the parking lot.  That's how schone this Stadt is.

A couple of shots of the alte Brucke (old bridge) at night.

These panoramas are always a bit bizarre.

Street leading up to bridge.

Nuremberg 3 - the elephant in the room

On the last day here, we visited the museum at the old rally grounds south of town.  On this site the annual NSDAP (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei) rallies were held from 1933 to 1938.  We've all seen the films of these, but I wasn't clear as to what these actually were, multi-day events akin to a folk festival.  In fact, they co-opted the folk festival that had been held here for over 100 years, and continue to be held.

It was extremely sobering to be on this site.  The presentation of the lead-up to the rallies, the rallies themselves, the war years, the holocaust, and the post-war trials was extremely well done.  As we have found in other places, no excuses were made.  It was described how Nuremberg was a center-left city in the 1920s, but how the right wing took over in a big way as Hitler gained strength.

We couldn't see the rally grounds themselves (called the Zeppelin Field) but could see the Congress Hall site, which was being constructed as a permanent covered site for rallies holding 50,000 people.  It was never finished.

Kongresshall site.

Maddy on site.

Memorial to holocaust victims.