Day 1: Mannheim and Heidelberg

Woke up at 3.30am to take the first train to Frankfurt Flughafen to pick up Py and Ying back to my place in Mannheim. After breakfast we went to Heidelberg, a 20min ride with the S-Bahn from Mannheim. Due to its vicinity from Mannheim, Heidelberg is no foreign place to me. But whenever I am there, I never fail to be attracted to its scenery along the Neckar River and wallpaper like picture of the Altstadt from the Philosopohenweg. Heidelberg retains its peace while trying to cope with the increasing numbers of tourists, especially from Asia.

Mannheim was well, hopeless in terms of sightseeing. As I type this entry, I will have to leave Mannheim 1 month later. Felt quite sad about it and the two of my friends could already understand why I feel so sian to leave my fort.

As for dinner, we had BBQ by the river behind my hostel. It was quite a great change for them and I think they enjoyed it a lot. Nothing much to write about Mannheim and Heidelberg on my side cos its MY FORT.
-bs

After BS came to pick us up, we headed straight for Mannheim where his hostel is. The weather was cooling, much to my delight. Took about an hour before reaching BS’s hostel. Then it was some BS-cooked omelette before off to Heidelberg. The scenery by the Neckar River is excellent and I enjoyed myself there, snapping pictures away. We had a picnic on the hill facing the river, drinking beer and eating chips. Life should just be this way.

We then made our way back to Mannheim where BS took us round the city. I quite like Mannheim, probably because it is less “touristic” and just like a bustling neighbourhood. Dinner was BBQ by the river as we indulged in mushrooms, german sausages, etc. Sipping wine and drinking coke certainly adds to the flavour. Oh yah, cheap things are not always good as our experience with the BBQ pit had shown.

PS: Turkey scored an extraordinary equalizer as they dumped croatia out of Euro on penalties. What resilience! Or is it just luck?

~PY~

Was quite pleased to see boon song not long after we arrived in Frankfurt. After months of liaising online we finally met to begin the long awaited trip! Yeah! And as usual boon song was reliably on-time to pick us up. He led up effortlessly through the airport to the train station. I wish one day I could lead my friends around in such a manner in a foreign country. It was very reassuring and I predicted a very good trip to come.

Bs’s hostel was great. Simple yet feels like home. I miss my sheares room (and the room only). Bs’s learnt how to cook quite well in the last 5 months and whipped up a pretty good omelette which I selfishly finished by myself. Heh. Then while I was bathing py and bs made spaghetti and more omelettes! Yum yum. It was a great breakfast followed by a relaxing panoramic tram ride and walk to hiedelburg. Py was taking all the photos for the trip so me and bs just walked and enjoyed the cool air and beautiful sights along the way. Bs spoke great german and was able to wow some local visitors along the way. i wished I could speak French like that! One day!

The walk in the old town was my favourite! The sights were amazing! Let the pictures do the talking! And the walk up the castle plus the picnic! Wow! I was really enjoying life. I totally understand why bs doesn’t want to go home. Life is good there. Taking in all the nice sights and just drinking wine and beer coupled with chips and chocolates… ahhh…

Next we were off to bbq by the… err… river. We grabbed some food at the nearby supermarket and did some shopping at H&M before we went for bbq-ing. The food tasted really good with the maggi soy sauce (which bs got in the local supermarket!). I loved the mushrooms with the sauce and butter! My favourite dish of the day. Thought there were some hiccups setting up the fire on the whole the bbq was a success! We finished all the food and left satisfied. Simple yet enjoyable. Think that’s how I would sum up Mannheim or bs’s fort. Yes. If I were him, I wouldn’t wanna leave! Especially as a student! I can’t wait to go back to school! Boo hoo…

The only spoiler of the day was tai gou turkey won again la. Tsk. I hate them! Why must they always pull a fast one on the last min?!! and stupid py just have to go on about “resilience”. Oh man. They are just plain lucky! Hmph!

And since I reached there I think I have drank more wine and beer than I had water! Ha! That’s all for day 1!

~Y~