Germany 5

For some reason I'm absolutely wired right now. No idea why. Also, apparently my professor and all the other professors in the lab were talking about me last night and determined that I must have been super human because they've never seen anyone work the night shift and sightsee simultaneously, and I've done nothing but sightsee apparently. For today's little extra thing I'll put my schedule to show how I've made it work.

Observation 17.
German men don't use cologne or products that make them smell nice (Deoderant? Maybe). Someone I spoke to described how here, men are all about showing off their individual "natural musk." That's fantastic, German men. You all smell like sweaty armpits.

Observation 18.
The people here who own dogs either own German Shepherds, Border Collies, or Huskies (Although I did see this one family with a dog that looked just like Alf). I haven't seen a terrier since I've gotten here.

Observation 19.
German men are generally either fat and sweaty, old and wrinkly, or tall and awkward. They all have gorgeous girlfriends.

Observation (Wikipedia Factoid) 20,
Apparently, 60% of Germans put that they speak English "well" or "very well" on their Census forms. I think the percentage of people speaking English "well" or "very well" is lower in New York City.

Observation 21.
The weather here is ridiculous, but every day the same. It rains extremely hard at night, drizzles in the morning, clears up by noon and is gorgeous until the sun goes down. This works out perfectly with my schedule :)

So about my day, then.
I had been planning today's journey since my third day, I just needed to build up a weeks worth of mental preparation before I did it. I was going to hike all the way up to the top of Heiligenberg, the mountain which defines Eastern Heidelberg's Northern Border. On top of Heiligenberg are some ruin sites, and at its base is one of the most famous streets in all of Heidelberg, the Philosophenweg.

I wasn't that rushed this morning and got myself ready for the hike and took the bus into town. The hike starts with the Philosophenweg, named as such because University of Heidelberg students used to walk along it to do all their pondering, since its view of the city is pretty breathtaking. One thing people kept warning me and that I couldn't quite fathom was just how much uphill I would be walking. It was all fine and I made it to the top of the Philosophenweg and Heiligenberg in an hour or so, and I wasn't all that tired when I was done, until someone told me just how much I had walked- something like two miles. I felt kind of proud of myself but then my legs gave way on hearing it and I had to sit and rest for an hour.
Along the walk there are maybe three stops to view the city at different angles, a biergarden (obviously), and trails that branch off to lead to all the towns around the mountain. The ruins themselves at the top of the trail were pretty cool- there was an old monastery from the 1500s next to which a large (much newer) tower had been built (I felt like Rocky when I got to the top), an enormous amphitheater built under the Third Reich, and on the other side a huge Basilica from 1100 wiith two towers. The amphitheater was pretty cool I guess, until I spoke to some Americans I had done part of the hike with, and one of them excitedly shouted "Can you believe it? The big man himself walked on this stage!" Not wanting to hear Hitler so enthusiastically referred to as "the big man," I decided that was my cue to exit and I plopped on down the hill (It was actually far easier to walk uphill for me. Walking downhill hurt my toes).

I had yet another terrible culinary disappointment at the end of the day- Halfway up the Philosophenweg there is a small concession stand. As I passed, I saw, emblazoned in chalk, "WURST, €2.00." As we know, I just wanted some damn sausage so I enthusiastically forked over a €2 coin and began to slobber as I anticipated the crown jewel of my trip... and then the man at the counter handed me a salami sandwich. Okay, to be fair it was a fantastic salami sandwich. The bread was crispy and the meat was well seasoned, but as an American tourist, how am I supposed to know that Wurst refers to any pressed chopped meat!? Until tomorrow, I suppose.

I guess this doesn't sound like much but I was walking for maybe 3 hours, and I hit some of Heidelberg's most famous sights. All in all it was pretty sweet (maybe bittersweet, damn salami) day.

Lastly I wanted to post my daily-ish schedule to show that it's (marginally) possible to work a 12 hour night shift and go sightseeing simultaneously.
7:30PM: Wake up, shower, eat breakfast
8:00PM: Begin night shift
12:00AM: Eat lunch
4:00AM: Eat afternoon snack
8:00AM (Ideally, usually closer to 9): End night shift
9:00AM-ish: Nap
2:00PM-ish: Wake up, get dressed, go sightseeing (The bus leaves at either 1:40 or 2:40)
5:00PM-ish: Eat dinner
6:00PM-ish: Return and sleep

The reason why I call the longer rest period my nap and the shorter one my sleep is because, as you probably know, I really like to eat, and my body seems to be more focused on my eating schedule than on my sleeping schedule. I consider my day as beginning when I have breakfast food, and when I wake up at 7:30, I usually have a bowl of yogurt and an apple. Also, I sleep way deeper and feel way more rested after my "sleep" than I do after my "nap."

Until later today,

-Ryan