Halloween and Heidelberg

We hope everyone had a great Halloween. Ours was not exactly what we are used to. John found a Halloween party in Mannheim, we had no idea what to expect. We dressed Henry in his costume (an alligator) hoping other children would be dressed in costume as well and headed out for yet another unknown.

When we arrived, we were pleasantly surprised. The party was in Luisenpark in the city of Mannheim. It is a large area in the center of town filled with walking paths, fountains, a botanical center and a large indoor/outdoor cafe. It was decorated beautifully with orange lanterns hanging from the trees, many jack'o lanterns, and spooky lights. Entertainment included train rides, puppet shows, spooky ghost tales, and music for the children. There was not any candy being handed out, which was unusual for us, Henry did not mind, but John and I kind of missed it. Oh, good news, Henry was not the only child in costume. Many of the children were dressed up. Witches were a common theme for girls and boys were ghosts or vampires - I think Henry was the only alligator. Halloween is defiantly less commercialized here, probably because they have not been celebrating it all that long. Needless to say, we did not trick or treat this year. We thought about taking Henry around to some of the JD families, but many are out of town on "holiday" this week because the international school is on break. On the way home, we did stop at KFC (it was that or McDonald's) for a late supper, that reminded us of home.

On Saturday we headed out for our first sight seeing trip. (It is so weird to get up on a weekend and not have a million chores to do or errands to run! Renting is not so bad after all.) The day after Halloween is "All Saints Day" so most stores and businesses are closed. Restaurants are still open and the trams continues to operate, so we headed downtown Heidelberg on the tram. The tram station is only two blocks from our home so it is super easy to ride. On weekdays it runs every 10 minutes and on the weekends is runs every 30 minutes. The cost is only 2.50 euro round trip for adults and 1.50 euro for children, so it is much easier and economical than driving and parking downtown.

Once we were downtown (it took about 10 minutes after stops), we walked for miles. Most of the stores were closed because of the holiday, but there were still plenty of people roaming around. Oh, the shopping - fabulous- I cannot wait to go back during a time when the stores are open. Christmas markets should be starting soon, and from what people tell me, they are wonderful. I did not bring any Christmas items besides our stockings and manger seen, so I have a great excuse to shop.

Although we did not tour the castle yesterday, we did get a nice view of it. It is called the Heidelberg Schloss (Palace). It is hard to believe it was constructed before 1214 and has survived war, fires and time. It is currently being renovated, but is still open for tours. We plan to return for a tour when we have more time. I think it will take some time just to walk up the "castle trail" to get to the entrance. When you have time, google it, it is very interesting. Below are a couple of pictures.

Heidelberg is an interesting city. The population is only 135,000 people, 28,000 of whom are students at the Heidelberg University which is also very old. It was established in 1712 and is full of history itself. From what I understand, there is still a University prison open for tours. Evidently, when students misbehaved back in the 1700's (partying and being disruptive), they were jailed for a period of time. I bet they didn't have be told twice.

On the home front, we finally got our upgraded cable package (nothing happens quickly around here) so we have a few more channels than CNN international and BBC shows. It is nice to have reminders of home, I love having Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity back, and Henry has missed Playhouse Disney. John and I are looking forward to watching a football game tonight (we should get the noon game at 7:00PM here) - GO PACK GO!!!

We are getting around Germany quit well these days. I have been to IKEA twice now and to couple of grocery stores. Before we left the states, we bought a Navigation system with European maps, which is a lifesaver. The road signs in Germany only indicate what city the road leads to, there is no indication if the road goes north, west, east, or south, so for a foreigner, it can become confusing without navigation. We have also learned that speed limit signs (when there are speed limits) are mearly suggestions. Henry and I have been on the auto ban by ourselves a couple of times, Henry must sense I get a little nervous because the other day he said "Hold on tight" when we were accelerating off the on ramp.

Henry is trying to make friends. When we were walking home from the tram station yesterday, he saw a group of German children and he started waving and said, "Hi guys, I'm Henry Archer". He said it about three times, each time a little louder until one of them finally smiled and waved back. It is hard to explain to him that they have no idea what he is saying.

I am spending time everyday trying to learn German. We have the Rosetta Stone software and it is pretty good. When Henry starts school in January, I will probably also start language lessons with a tutor.

Here are some pictures of the past couple of days. If you put your cursor over the picture, it stops the slide show and there is a caption.

We miss everyone.