Mr NYC in Germany

This past week I was in Germany for a work BUT I did get to do two side trips -- one to the Rhine River Valley and another to the city of Heidelberg. Both are located in the State of Hesse and are beautiful and fascinating. they gave me a new appreciation for Germanic culture (the good kind, not the obvious scary kind).

One of the first things we saw (after a scary by amazing cable car ride) was this huge statue erected right after the Franco-Prussian War of 1871, a monument to the triumph of Kaiser Wilhelm 1 in that war, uniting Prussian and various German principalities into the mighty German Empire (it lasted until 1918 after World War I, the country then turning into a socialist republic, followed by the Nazi-era Third Reich, followed by the Federal Republic of West Germany/Communist-era German Democratic Republic, followed by the present-day re-united Federal Republic of Germany -- I know, it's exhausting). 

Anyway, this statue is of Germania, the Goddess or Godmother of Germany, dating from the time of the Holy Roman Emperor -- she's Germany's Romulus, its spiritual founding mother and the personification of its people. Beneath her are figurines of Kaiser Wilhem and his generals and information about the great victors that made the Empire. 

Then we trekked around a path that provided amazing vistas of the Rhine River, vineyards, and castles popping out of the trees below. Hesse is the home of Riesling, the wonderful white wine, so vines are everywhere, and our hiking trail even had a small "wine hut" where we stopped for a spritz -- a small glass of Riesling combined with water. It was very refreshing and fortified me to the complete the hike.

We also saw some nice architecture, a funny sign, and a beautiful old church before we took a ski-lift ride back down and had a lovely dinner (I didn't take pictures out of fear of dropping my camera but I've committed the images of the great view to memory).

Next day we went to Heidelberg via the Autobahn -- I was told there's no speed-limit on this infamous highway but the cars didn't go any faster than you'd find on an American one.

When we got to Heidelberg, the first thing we saw was anti-vaxx march which was a little depressing but, hey, it confirms that Germany is a free country (I took a video of it but it's too large to upload here). On a happier note, we took a tram to another cable car that took us to Schloss Heidelberg, a castle with a long, amazing history that connects it to various wars and royals and that has spectacular views of the city of Heidelberg and the Neckar River that flows through it. It was overwhelming -- and it included some interesting signs and modern art on the grounds.

I spent most of my time working but, on my final night, I got to enjoy some delicious Lager in a stein and schnitzel for dinner.

All in all, a great trip, and I hope to visit others part of Germany some day!