Guten Tag!

Posting from Eberbach, Germany. It's a small village a small drive away from Heidelberg. Yes, this is the same village I visited in the summer with all of the boars around town. In this instance, I won't be posting the local wildlife photos since it's a little chilly outside.

This morning I was given a tour of Heidelberg. I made a stop in Heidelberg the last time I was in the area but I missed out on the best sites because a) it was raining and b) I parked on the wrong side of the city. This time, my local guide provided us with the proper parking area to walk to the best sites in a limited timeframe. It was very cold this morning so it wasn't the best day for sightseeing but you take what you can get.

The posted image above is taken from Heidelberg castle looking down on the city and conversely an image taken looking up at the castle is posted below. Note in the town image in the lower right quadrant of the photo there is a square with a statue in the middle. The note the statue in the image looking at the castle.
We walked through much of the old city and stopped to see the University. Heidelberg has one of the oldest universities in the world and has a lot of young people living in the area. It has everything a college kid could want, image going to college in a country known for the beer.....Yep, lookout Dean's list.

I've come to understand that when my German host indicates "we", he means me. I guess it's like when I tell Tammy "we" need to get something done she knows it means that "she" needs to get it done. Last night after dinner he asked if we wanted something sweet (dessert). I figured he wanted something so I indicated something small and light would be okay and he orders (in German) a dessert. Well, it turns out he ordered something for me and nothing for him. Dumplings, yep dumplings. Small, round cakes (for lack of better term) with a plum filling in the center, rolled in poppy seeds, served warm and on a plate of vanilla sauce (a traditional Austrian sweet). Tastes even better than it sounds! Then today, he asked if we should have a coffee. Sure. "Do you like it strong or mild?" I don't know what that means so I say I prefer my coffee stronger (you know..with less suger and cream figuring he was talking about the Starbucks stuff, triple no fat latte with 3 splendas, half foam, blah, blah, blah). So we stop at a very traditional German coffee house and he orders me an Expresso (and himself a cappucino). Oh yeah, I get the shakes from having more than one cup of coffee every day and now I've got an expresso (and a small glass of water....it's to balance it out, drink the expresso and follow with a sip of water.....ok). How about something sweet? Again, he wants something with his coffee so I indicate ok. Again, here comes something for Scott (oops, I slipped into 3rd person speaking....better get back on the meds). It seems I ordered an Apple Strudel with Vanilla Sauce (again with the vanilla sauce). Served warm, it was great but I really didn't need it. Just what the doctor ordered, trying to recoup from jet lag and drinking an expresso with a plate of sugar. At least tonight, I'll know what to expect but he can always switch to German and order something for me and I'll sit there thinking he said the cat is wearing a scarf or telling a knock-knock joke. Pigs und blanket, das ist funny ja (sorry, probably an obscure reference from Shrek the Halls).

I can only image what is waiting in China where reading the menu will be a real challenge....quick what's the symbol for dog?