This week, a couple of my sorority sisters were in town and we were able to meet up!  They came to stay a couple nights with us and since Mannheim isn't a very touristy town, we headed over to Heidelberg, which is very touristy.

We started off by heading to the castle.  After a couple mishaps with the GPS, and driving down some pretty steep and narrow cobble stone streets, we finally found the parking deck and began to make our way back UP the mountain to see the castle.  The views from the top never cease to amaze me.  You can see the Neckar, the bridges connecting the two halves of Heidelberg and vineyards on the other side of the river.  Simply gorgeous.

Our first stop inside the castle walls - the big taps!  There were a TON of Asian tourists there, which made taking pictures an interesting challenge.  I thought that going in the middle of the week would mean less people - nope.  Not even close.  I'm beginning to think that Heidelberg is just always crowded with people.  Anywho, back to the taps.  I love how you're impressed by the size of the first one you see - after all, it IS about 12 feet tall.  And then you see the BIG one.  This one is easily 25 feet tall.  And impossible to photograph.  Since Aaron had to work, I was able to have the camera all to myself.  Let's be honest though, Aaron is a way better photographer than I am.

After the taps, we headed to the Deutsches Apotheke Museum.  This time, we went through it the correct way, not backwards like Aaron and I did last time.  I still love the replicas of old apothecaries.  The jars, the bottles, the equipment, the storage - it's a scientists dream!  

We then headed outside the castle proper to explore the grounds a bit.  This time, we found an ... interesting ... fountain.  I tried playing around with the settings on the camera a bit more here and I think I got a decent shot of it.  The grounds seen, the castle toured, and slight hunger pain starting, we headed back down the mountain to the Altstadt, this time via a tram!  We didn't know that this was included in our ticket last time or else it would have have saved us a LOT of effort in walking up...and then back down...the mountain.  Oh well, it made for a good story.

Lunch, and the subsequent gelato, was in the Altstadt.  Being girls, we of course did some shopping!  And there is a lot of it.  Thankfully for our wallets, we only had a couple of hours.  I did manage to finally procure a German flag though, a transaction which I was able to conduct solely in German - success!  It's the little things.

The best part of the day?  Getting to hang out with my sisters.  Every time I hang out with other Beta Xi's, I realize how much I miss living in the sorority house and hanging out with them.  I am so glad that we were able to get together - I was in much need of some girl time.

- Meghan -