What a Good Weekend

Another perfect weekend in Germany! It was so nice to have Friday off for our first real three-day weekend. I went to Heidelberg with some friends on Friday. We got the special Baden-Württemberg ticket, which lets up to five people travel anywhere in the state for a reduced price. I paid about 6 Euros to get all the way there and back – can’t ask for better than that!

Heidelberg is a beautiful city and we were there on a gorgeous day. It was nice and warm without being too hot, which was just perfect for walking around and exploring the castle. The Heidelberg castle was built in the 13th century (the first parts of it, anyway) and most of it is still standing today. We had a good time walking around and enjoying the view of the old town below. We couldn’t have asked for a nicer day for this adventure.

The castle

After exploring for a bit, we stopped at an Irish pub and enjoyed a delicious lunch. There were many American items on the menu, so I had my first hamburger since coming to Germany and it was great! We sat at a table outside and people-watched while eating a leisurely meal and drinking Hefeweizen (one of the best beers in the region). The weather was so nice that we ended up getting ice cream cones as we walked back to the train station. Nearly every German we saw had one as well. The Germans are obsessed with ice cream – ever since the weather warmed up in Freiburg, I’ve been seeing people frequently the Eiscafes all over town. It’s not true spring weather yet, but anything above 50 degrees means it’s time for ice cream. That was of course fine by us!

I spent a lazy Saturday hanging around Freiburg and getting some work done before having friends over for dinner. First, we purchased some slices of Schwarzwälderkirschtorte (Black Forest cherry cake) from a local bakery. It only felt slightly shameful to order five pieces of cake – I’m sure the woman behind the counter thought they were all for me. My friends were there laughing the whole time. We made a good chicken curry for dinner and chatted with my flatmate and his visiting friend (who goes to university in Heidelberg). We enjoyed the cake afterwards, but my other flatmate said that he’s had much better before. Oh well – it was still pretty good to me.

This morning I went to the spa/hot springs with the same friends. It was really relaxing to go for a swim and enjoy the hot tub. It was a tad expensive (11 Euros), but definitely worth it. Many of us chose not to travel internationally this weekend because of the price and it was nice to splurge a little bit around here instead. It wasn’t all bad – my flatmate and I tried the new coffee place near our flat today and I got the cheapest and best cappuccino I’ve had so far in Freiburg. We sat outside and caught up with each other before coming back and making some dinner. All in all, it added up to an awesome weekend with nice weather, good food, and great friends.

I’m spending the evening watching CSPAN as the House of Representatives approaches the vote on the Senate health care bill. As a staunch supporter of health care reform, I’m hopeful and optimistic. The bill obviously isn’t perfect, but it’s an important step in the right direction. Much of the opposition seems to stem from outlandish claims or downright lies at this point, and I have yet to hear a truly sound argument from the Republicans currently making statements on CSPAN. I’ll refrain from making this blog too political, although I have had many interesting political discussions with my flatmate that I’d like to write about. Perhaps I’ll get to that sometime later this week. For now, I hope that I can stay awake long enough to watch the vote with the time difference and all.

Tomorrow’s shaping up to be an ordinary day. I’m going to meet my tandem partners (German students at the Uni) for sushi. Should be lots of fun! Also, we’re going to Geneva on Wednesday to visit the UN. I’ll definitely come back and post more details about that later.

I hope everyone had as nice a weekend as I did. Bis später!