Heidelberg, Germany

I know this post is WAY overdue, but indulge me for a minute here. I was organizing my photo library and am feeling sentimental. Plus, Heidelberg is my 2nd favorite European city and absolutely deserves its own blog post (even if I am 10months late)! So this is just the inevitable result of photo editing on a Tuesday night. Accept it. And welcome to my first experience in Deutschland. October 2012, a perfect weekend + perfect way to wrap up two weeks of travel. 

Snippets & tidbits: a building in the main town of Heidelberg, a best friend, heiße Schokolade, a view of Heidelberg, the cathedral in Speyer, and the architecture within the Heidelberg castle. 

The first "snow" of the season & my favorite HEIDELBERG photo 

(it actually was a runner up in a photography contest at my university!) 

The story behind the trip: my first semester academic travel last year {posts here here here and here} ended in Strasbourg, France, right on the German/French border.  That, coupled with my desire to visit the German side of the family sometime during my freshmen year, presented me with the perfect opportunity to do a mini trip to Germany! My friend Mackenzie and I diverged from our academic travel group in Strasbourg, met up with my German family and the four of us had the best time exploring Heidelberg + the surrounding region. Sadly, it was only for the weekend and over much too soon. It truly was an incredible trip. Autumn foliage + beautiful architecture + yummy food + rich history. Heidelberg easily was declared my favorite city of Fall 2012. 

After spending a day touring Heidelberg, we drove through the countryside ⇡ to reach SPEYER

Confession time:  I totally had this misconception that Germany was ultra industrialized and synonymous with dark/gothic architecture. I don't know exactly what I expected to see, but certainly not rows and rows of colorful/historic buildings.. Germany definitely proved me wrong! But in the best possible way. I love how beautiful and bright the two cities we visited were. 

And last, but not least, this post would be incomplete without a special thanks to our incredible hosts Anna + Peter!! They were so kind to have us in their home for the weekend and play tour guide for us around Heidelberg + Speyer. The highlights of the weekend definitely involved having fondue with them for dinner one evening, Peter's frequent ice cream stops (despite it being freezing outside), plus just feeling the love of a family when ours were so far away. The weekend may have been short but Heidelberg will always hold a special place in my heart! 

Thanks for following along and allowing me a trip down memory lane.. Stay tuned because next week is the start of a 10 day adventure across France/Switzerland/Italy! I can hardly wait!  

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