Hi! We’ve been so busy. We visited the town of Heidelberg and the castle that overlooks it! It’s beautiful. It looks a lot different from Neuschwanstein, but if you ever picture a haunted, crumbling, European castle with a moat, you picture Heidelberg. We took a trolley up the castle and wandered around the incredible architecture, the intricate carving, and the literally collapsing towers. The view of the town with the river running through it was really lovely too. I ran into another PSU alum who recognized my PSU purse too. He was working in Hungary and vacationing in Germany with his wife. We had a nice little chat. You really can find us anywhere. We also found an organic food shop with this amazing garlic mix to put on bread in the small picturesque town (Father’s Day present for my Italian bread-loving father).
Perhaps my favorite field trip of the program was our stop in Baden Baden (literally “bath bath”). The town is the home to ancient spas which the Romans thought had magical healing powers. We spent a few hours relaxing in the warm water and getting pampered. Some of the boys opted to do the naked spa, which had 17 steps to total relaxation and rejuvenation. Normally, they don’t separate the sexes, but they do every Thursday (the day we visited). One major difference between the U.S. and Europe: public modesty. The town also hosted a casino (really really nice), which has hosted international state events, attended by Pres. Obama and Angela Merkel (the German chancellor).
We also visited the French town of Strasbourg (it actually has a long history of swapping countries, especially between Germany and France, and is the perfect mix of German and French culture, which is why it was chosen as the site of the Parliament), which is home to the European Parliament. Unfortunately, during our tour, there was a fire drill, so we met with a member of Parliament outside while we waited for the building to be cleared (it felt a little like when the fire alarm went off in my dorm the morning after Thon in the snow)…
In the afternoon, we took a boat tour of the town, which is really lush and beautiful. It seems like such a peaceful place. If I ever move to Europe, I’m getting a house in Strasbourg. Anyway, as the French say, Au revoir!
Location: Heidelberg, Baden-Baden, and Strasbourg
Loading map...
