Timone told Sam and Lauren about the Erter Mai celebration
in Heidelberg that sounded fun, but had a risk. It starts Wednesday night up on
a hill in Heidelberg where people have fires and generally hang out and bbq the
whole night. It takes place at Heiligenberganlage, which is an old Nazi
theater. It was built during the time of National Socialism by an architect
from the Reich Labor Service and Heidelberg students.
Back to the risk; It starts at night, is a long walk from
the train station on top of a hill, and the last train leaves at 11:30pm. The
next train leaves at 5:30 am. If you miss the 11:30 train, you’re looking at a
very uncomfortable night.
We left at 7:30 and arrived at around 8:30. It took us one
and a half hours to get to the site. By that time, we would have had to turn
right around and head to the train station. We didn’t want to do that so we
figured we’d hang out for a bit and take the 1:30 train. (That mythical 1:30
train was somehow Lauren’s idea. She was wrong.) The walk was really awesome.
Once across the Neckar river, we were no longer in Hessen, and we began our
hike up the mountain. The sun was long gone, and we had an awesome view of
Heidelberg Castle. It was lit up and looked massive. I’ll have to go back and
check it out during the day. We were navigating by way of Lauren’s (sometimes
false) confidence that she knew the way, and a cell phone photo of the map at
the train station. While we paused on the bridge taking in the beauty of a
rainy night lit by a large city, I asked a guy on a bike if he knew the way to
Philosopher’s Trail. In German: Philosophenweg.”
Images found online. That circle in the middle where the big fire was. People were set up all up and down these steps. Safety personel were there too in case of emergency. While we were at the beer garden, an ambulance drove off twice. I hope it wasn't anything too serious.
We followed his directions, and then decided to simply
follow the groups of people heading in that direction. They had backpacks with
what I assume is food and/or beer. I wish we had brought more food. We joined
the herd and hiked up the mountain on a paved road that faded to an access
road. In the dark, there was still no need for flashlights because the cloud
cover reflected the city lights and provided just enough light to navigate the
trail under the tree cover. Mostly, it was follow the people in front of you.
We heard English a few times on the way up which is now not surprising. I guess
the three of us aren’t the only Americans in Germany. Especially in a big city
like Heidelberg, and on a night of celebration with hundreds of young adults.
We arrived to an amazing sight. The theater was full of
people. There was a big bonfire front and center. A drum circle was providing
the soundtrack for the night. People all the way up the steps had set up BBQs
and looked like they were ready to spend a long time there. A couple groups had
tents (smart idea.) Candles and small torches lit up the theater with a yellow
glow. Nobody had lanterns or bright flashlights. The theme here is fire, and
food. We found a spot to rest and take in the sights. Sam and Lauren popped
open a bottle of wine and passed me a honey waffle. I took a few sips of their
cheap red wine and relaxed. Yep, I drank MORE than one tiny sip of wine.
I found this image online. Mine didn't look this cool, and there weren't this many people because it was raining. You get the idea though.
It began to rain as we sat there talking about how awesome
this was. We need things like this in the States. Maybe there are, but I don’t
know about them. I put on my rain jacket, and passed my umbrella to Lauren who
had forgotten a rain jacket. It had been raining on and off for the past few
days, so I was expecting this. We took a lap around the whole area to see what
people were up to. Mostly people had set up small portable BBQs and were
cooking small bits of meat. (I really wish I had stopped and bought a döner in
town. Döner is a Turkish flatbread filled with meat and veges that originates
in Berlin) We made our way all the way to the top, said “wow,” and headed back
down to the main fire. It was super hot near the fire and the rain was no
longer noticeable. The drum circle was thumping, some people were dancing, and
I could only think that Kirky would love this.
With no food, no drinks besides wine, and only one umbrella,
we decided to turn back and retire to the Biergarten for a while. I bought
Kartoffelsoupe und Brotchen for 4 € and was very thankful for the warmth. The
crowd at the covered Biergarten was growing due to the increasing rainfall. We
were now squished between people so I tried to make friends.
An older gentleman was to my left and he had his two kids
with him across the table. I asked him if he had walked up the mountain, and he
replied that he did. A few short sentences later I was completely lost and
couldn’t continue in German. I hate not being able to hold a conversation, but
I also hate studying. Such a pickle! Sam jumped in a continued on with me
awkwardly in the middle. With the noise level they had to lean toward each
other to talk. I don’t know why I didn’t move. I should have.
By the time we left and arrived back at the train station it
was 1:30 and the late train Lauren said might be available was definitely not.
We were f*ed. It was either wait 3 hours and pay 30 Euros for a ticket on the
ICE, or wait 4 hours and take the free train home. After a few bouts of
frustration, slight anger, and regret, we accepted the fact that we were going
to have to spend the next 4 hours at the train station. I tried to sleep on a
bench with no success. It was cold and uncomfortable. Duh, it’s a train station
not a Motel 6. Later we moved to another wing where it was closer and I pulled
out my Frisbee to kill time. Sam and I tossed it back and forth for a while.
Sam hit the wall, the ceiling, the ground, and the lockers. If it was near us,
he nailed it with the Frisbee. He hit a homeless guy with an erratic throw that
I didn’t catch. He was walking by and had some unlucky timing.
I didn’t get home the next day until around 8:30. I ended up
sleeping through the holiday where you’re supposed to go outside and have fun
instead of working. Oh well. I made a decision to go, and suffered the
consequence. I’m still glad I went and saw that. I don’t think I missed
anything by going.
No comments:
Post a Comment