More Heidelberg Fun Facts

Hello everyone!


After my rather soppy post I felt I should once again go back to my roots and talk about some things that I have noticed whilst living in Germany. I have been here for over two months now and I still can't figure this place out:

1) As I expressed previously, Germans love some meat. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, midnight snack. elevensies; you name a meal and I'm sure there is a meat involved. However, what I have noticed is that meat that can be purchased really cheaply like chicken or beef mince is incredibly expensive here. I'm talking nearly 9 euros for two small chicken breasts. However things like salami and huge sausages are a dime a dozen. Maybe Germans only prefer phallic shaped meats? I'm sure Freud would have a few things to say about that......

2) Germans all carry plastic bags around with them everywhere. Just in case.  Germany is at the forefront of European recycling and my housemate even said that being eco-friendly makes people a lot cooler here. I think it is admirable but some people take it a bit far. Take for example last week when I had a bit of a cold. I was waiting at the bus stop and by getting my phone out, I dropped a tissue on the floor without noticing. I was then pounced on by a very stern Miss Trunchball-esque woman who started berating me about littering. When I explained it was an accident and put the tissue in the bin, she replied " Es ist niemal ein Zufall". Which translates to "It is never an accident." Terrifying to say the least.

3) "Clubbing" in Germany is bizarre. I have deduced that young british people have a stereotype of being "easy" and "overtly sexual" across Europe and when you look at the likes of Ibiza, the Greek islands and so on, its not suprising. Back home you can't escape the myriad of tonsil tennis when clubbing, but in Germany it is the exact opposite. Public displays of affection seem to not exist. Maybe it is due to a conservative upbringing or maybe us Brits really are just too promiscuous but German clubbing (in Heidelberg anyway) is very PG-13. Very family friendly.

4) Having been here two months I still can't figure out what sort of town Heidelberg is. Is it a university town? a place where people retire? A tourist trap? Well from the varied range of people here, I still can't tell. There are lots of students, old people, young couples with families, homeless people, street performers and even a few select celebrities. Well I'm not implying that Brangelina have moved down the road but a few home grown treasures. Such as the infamous "Clapping Man" who without fail, goes down the main high street every day and goes in to every shop and restaurant. He doesn't say a word but merely stands there and claps. He continues to do this until someone else claps and then proceeds to the next establishment. Legend. Another favourite Heidelberg resident of mine is the woman who carries a giant sunflower everywhere whilst wearing the same huge bottle green trenchcoat and a polka-dotted bike helmet. This ensemble may not be on the catwalk in the near future, but she receives a thumbs up for consistency. One point though: she's never been seen with a bike. She may be called crazy but wasn't every visionary and true genius called crazy at some point? :) I'm expecting this particular look to make the history books one day.

Right thats all I can think of right now so Auf Wiedersehen for now.

Andy C

Birthday Celebrations.

Hello everyone! Once again sorry for the sporadic nature of these posts. I've been without a laptop for a few weeks so now that I have one again its time to start divulging the events of my amazingly exciting life.... well maybe not that gripping but you are reading this so maybe.....

Anyway, as many of you will know I celebrated my 21st birthday in good old Heidelberg and althought I was expecting a good night out, I was not prepared for the amount of suprises I had! I will also take this opportunity to thank so many people for really making this one of my best birthdays even though I am away from my loved ones!

So before my birthday began I had some nice Nottingham visitors who travelled from all across Germany to visit Heidelberg and celebrate me becoming an "official adult". So a big shout out to Matt York, Alex Marchbank, Hannah Garside and Katie"KCM" Maloney. I hope you all enjoyed Heidelberg and from the disgusting hangovers we suffered, I'm sure you all had a good night as well.

Then to all the Heidelbergers who came out for my birthday! It was an incredible night out and having been plied with drinks all night even a double tequila shot which was about half a pint (thanks for that Tara!) I throughly enjoyed my night and was in great company!

My next thanks has to be all the people who sent me birthday cards and presents in the post. Due to the slow nature of the German postal system, I managed to prolong my birthday for a good week by still receiving cards, birthday skype sessions and a special care packages from Miss Grace "Crazy Cat Lady" Storr, Christiana "Stavdog" Stavrou and Sophia "Booby" Beeby.  And of course a birthday couldn't go a miss without a special Birthday audio message from Mr Munnery. It really meant a lot to get all of this from people and im sure we will celebrate truly when I return for Xmas!

NOW for the biggest suprise of them all. On the weekend, Mumsy and Papa were planning to visit me in Heidelberg for the weekend which I was incredibly excited for. As I round the corner to the bus stop where they were dropped off, I get my biggest suprise: My whole family had come to suprise me! Mum, Dad, Dan, Sinead, Mike, Lucy, Auntie Mo and even Granny "G's" Mary! This then led to a lovely night out with the family, showing the highlights of Heidelberg, a great meal where we tried out the local cuisine ( my brave future sister-in-law had something called "wild boar". Germans = OBSESSED WITH MEAT), and exposing to Heidelberg's legendary Unterstrasse. Although only here for one day, I was incredibly thankful and had the best birthday weekend I could ask for!


Sorry for the slightly soppy post but it had to be done! Next post will have to be about Halloween or the lack of it in Heidelberg!

Andy C