The beauty of all the lights at the markets were stunning. That's definite! Christmas trees decorated only with lights just look stunning, its makes think of paring down our tree at home for next year. During the day, we visited the Zeplin Fields, the Colosseum and documentation center, seeing where Hitler stood to make so many famous speeches at the rally grounds. Such interesting history, and having a guide who has a Masters in Modern German History was fantastic. Today, in schools
in Germany, the students are taught about the past times, Germany's days of the 3rd Reich, and the atrocities endured by many. The students visit concentration/termination camps, as a reminder to never again allow this to happen in Germanys history.Nuremberg as a whole is very "heavy'. I see nobody smile, no happy looks and so close to christmas. Oh well, I will say, enjoy the couple of photos. During the day is was 0dg, at night...who knows what it got too!
Anyway, Mark goes off to
make sure of where we catch the next bus to Heidelberg in 1 hr left. He gets directed to outside the building across the main road etc to the Willy Zob station...so just to be sure, we weren't feeling the peace on this one, he checked, the info desk said no, not here!!! panic stations!!!! time running out now!!! we race back across with two big bags in tow and two small bags, one bad knee, two tired people....back to the HBF, Mark races off to get the details again.....this time directed elsewhere..so he finally find (20minutes left) the DB office. And thank God for that, we had to print the ticket instead of a scan from the phone this time, and show our credit card we used to book...the man helping was great, so here we are crisis averted, just!!! So then, the bus is due!!! tick tock, tick tock...a few of us start to gather....tick tock...for the first time it seems, the bus is late. This is NOT how Germany works! The ticket ladies come out to tag bags, and says bus....late (no kidding) by 15 minutes. Ok....15 mins later, no bus. 30 mins later no bus. Ticket ladies say "Bus missing"....mmmmm, so we move inside from the freezing bus stop with the 4 uni students and one lovely lady....we all becoming friends now!!! We're inside & we all huddle! we are warm tho, and still the bus is missing!! Finally 1 hour later, the bus arrives, its a rush then to load and go...apparently that had the same deal happen on their bus as we did in the morning. Being stopped by customs officers who were definitely looking for something or someone, on the bus from Prague!!! of course!!! Looks like this bus was the holder of all "interesting things"!! So we load up, and go out fast!Now at this stage we have a 3 hr journey to make, and now in evening traffic...which was pretty full on, on the autobahn. Sitting in the top deck....everyone just nods off..not I tho...no way! that damn clock ticked and tock'd its way through. 1 hour was fine, 2nd hour...not so. Bored as I was, (unable to read on a bus) I was hypnotized by the clock now. Minute by minute...think nuts, and that was me! Arh, finally I change seats and watch the road ahead....oh dear
God, why did I!!!! The bus sways up top....and sways between lines on the autobahn as well. Scary stuff really. Anyway, cutting this short....arrived Heidelberg in 2.5 hrs. See, I said he was driving fast, caught up 30mins on a fast paced autobahn....if the fast lane does 160kpm, what were we doing then...certainly over 120klms!!! yikes..dont think about it! We're in Heidelberg!!! Our lovely uni students all said goodbye, was given lovely send off from newly made girlfriend Renata with hugs and kissess all round! We're in Heidelberg and all is well with the world again.It was stressful, you had to be here....and in some very strange way....exciting!