Alles klar?: "Ein Heute ist besser denn zehn Morgen."

I think I forgot to mention in my last post that I finally got my DAAD money! Now I just have to be careful to not spend it all!

On Friday, I met Clare and Matt on campus and we went to find the Germanistik professor who needed to sign our registration. We had to wait in line for an hour and a half, and then it only took 30 seconds for him to actually sign the form. Sometimes this university really doesn't make any sense. Afterwards, Clare and I headed into town. We went to H&M and the Kaufhaus to get some things, then to the grocery store and such. Though I had wanted to go out Friday night, nothing came to fruition so I just relaxed and went to bed early.

Yesterday I spent the day in Heidelberg. There was a university-sponsored trip put on by the same group with whom I went to Bad Kreuznach. We met at the Hbf at 9:20am and got on the train around 9:50. We switched trains twice until we arrived in Heidelberg around noon. There was a big soccer match happening that day in the area, so there were many rowdy fans on their way to the game. At one point, a group of them walked through the train station singing their team's song that they sing in the stadium. It was a neat thing to experience. There were also at least 30 police officers on the train, all headed to the game. Since I've been here, I've only seen a few police officers, and all of them were responding to an incident. I see police officers much more often in the US. I guess I just found it funny that the one time I actually see a large group of officers, they're heading to a sports game. Germans really take their soccer seriously.

Once we got to Heidelberg, we split into two groups, those who would do the tour in German and those who would do the tour in English. Of course, I stayed in the German group. We walked through the city and stopped at some cool places. We admired a fountain that depicted Mary holding baby Jesus above the devil, we went inside in a Jesuit church and an Evangelical church, we stood where a synagogue was destroyed during Kristallnacht, we went into the home of Friedrich Ebert, we stood on the bridge over the Neckar River that was partially destroyed during WW2, and we finally went to the Heidelberg Castle. We were at the castle for the better part of two hours and roamed it freely. The castle was constructed sometime in the 1200s, but by the 1700s it was mostly destroyed. It's amazing to see what 500 years of turmoil and war had done to such a creation. At one point, Clare and I were standing inside the grounds of the castle eating our ice cream and admiring the building. An older woman came up to me and asked me where they could get some ice cream. Yet another encounter to add to my list. After the castle tour, we took the trolley back down to the city. it was 4pm by then, and they gave us 2.5 hours of free time. During our free time, Clare, Marcella, Niall, Matt and I sat at a local cafe and got some food. Matt also had a friend from home who was at the university in Heidelberg, so she met up with us. After eating, we did some shopping in the city. We all bought ourselves some sort of souvenir, as well as some local specialties from a chocolate store and gummy bear store. The 2.5 hours went by rather quickly, and before we knew it, it was time to go back.

On the first train, the five of us sat near the bathrooms. This train was newer and therefore had nicer facilities, which included an electric door that opened when you pushed a button. At one point, an older woman went into the bathroom. A minute or so later, a police man came up to the bathroom and motioned towards the button. I knew the old woman was in there, but for some reason didn't speak up to tell the police officer. We all watched as the door slid open, revealing the woman over the toilet. I was impressed with her quick reaction, as the older lady jumped right up to shut the door, not missing a beat. I would have been mortified, but she maintained her cool when she emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later.

We arrived back in Mainz around 9:15pm. Myself, Marcella, Niall, Matt, Titouan (France), and Martha (France) headed to Rewe (grocery store), and then to a local bar, stopping for a Kebap along the way. We each had a drink or two at the bar and stayed for an hour or so, until we all decided that we were tired and wanted to go home. Unfortunately for me, the only bus that runs by my place stops at 8:30, so I had to walk.

Today has been very low key. I've just been relaxing in my room, procrastinating on some homework. We don't have class this Thursday, as it's their labor day, so I get a four day weekend! I'm excited about all the possibilities.