Road Trip Week

Week of May 18

I did not have class this week and we were planning to maybe travel around Europe. We decided to spend some time travelling around Germany and ended up visiting France as well. We went to Strasbourg, France; Tubingen and Metzingen, Germany; Weinheim, Germany; Ladenburg, Germany; and Dilsberg, Germany.

Strasbourg, France
Strasbourg is located in the Alsace region in France, close to the German border and less than 2 hours one way from Heidelberg. It was once part of Germany, but was returned to France after WWI. Strasbourg is the official seat of the European Parliament, although sessions are only held once a month here. We sporadically decided to drive to Strasbourg, thus were not prepared for the rainstorm that was happening when we arrived. Nevertheless, we took a boat tour around the city and got to see its lovely sites between the smear of rain drops. We had an interesting dinner before we left at this charming little restaurant. They were serving what we thought were pastries with different fillings - cheeses, or meant and cheese combination. What turns out is that they were essentially toast pieces of small bread with these toppings. While the meal was scrumptious, we were wondering what happened to the rest of the meal...you would have to eat about five of these to curb your hunger. Maybe this is the secret behind the book, why French women don't get fat. Anyways, the best part of the trip besides the lovely scenery was our desert at this restaurant...pear and chocolate chip pie. It was indescribable!

Photos:
1 - On our rainy drive in
2 - Florian and I on the boat tour
3 - Sights of the city







Tubigen and Metzingen, Germany
I had been hearing about this amazing outlet center in Metzingen, Germany about 1.5 hours away from the Mannheim-Heidelberg area. Of course, with my love of outlets especially in Florida, I had to check it out. I was particularly interested in the BOSS outlet, which later turned out to be a bit disappointing as they didn't have a large selection for women. The outlet center was okay, not as many deep discounts as those in the U.S. If your a guy, the BOSS outlet is golden. After Metzingen, we headed to nearby Tubigen for dinner before we drove back to the Mannheim-Heidelberg area. The area is known for its universities and was very lovely. We found a great mexican restaurant that was really yummy - if we see Mexican the dinner choice is automatic!!

Photos:
1 - In Tubigen at Florian's namesake, a flower store



Weinheim, Germany
To get up to Frankfurt from where I live, I could go to Weinheim...thus I have only seen it from a tram perspective. However, it is a lovely little German town with a cute center. We took a hike up the mountain...it was quite strenuous. I don't know how I made it up and down!!



Ladenburg, Germany
I also pass through Ladenburg on my daily commute to Mannheim, but of course only get the view from my bus window. It is a small, charming German town as well. However, it still has the ancient ruins of the cities fortifications.



Dilsberg, Germany
Dilsberg is close to Heidelberg, and is not the typical German town set down in a valley, but the old part of the city is built on top of a little mountain and is still surrounded by its old town wall. The old part of the city is really tiny and the paths are narrow and wind around the old town. It wasn't very touristy when we went and had some nice crepes on our stop there.

Photos:
1 & 2 - Views of Dilsberg