Beautiful Germany - Heidelberg

Since I won't be traveling for a while now, I thought why not start a new mini-series and introduce the most beautiful cities in Germany to all my international readers? I will also start including actual links to some of the things I'm pointing out, so that you can easily find your way around those cities. Enjoy!

First stop: Heidelberg!

The series starts in the town where I was born: Heidelberg. A beautiful little city in southern Germany, right on the river Neckar and with a long history of academic exellence. Heidelberg University was founded it 1386 and is still one of the leading Universities in Germany, especially in life science and medicine. Heidelberg is also home to the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) as well as the European Molecular Biology Lab (EMBL) and several Max-Planck Research Institutes. It really is on the forefront of scientific research in Germany, and the university is the only German university that makes it into the top 50 World University Ranking.

But that's not the only interesting fact about this beautiful city. In 1945, the city is taken over by the US military and is subsequently declared as US and NATO headquarters. Legend has it that an American general fell in love with the city and decided to spare it and settle down in it instead, which explains why the beautiful city center is still intact even today (although it has also undergone renovations of course). For years, Heidelberg was surrounded by US baracks, but these are being closed this year as the troops move to Wiesbaden instead. Still, Heidelberg has a strong connection to its transatlantic allie and it's no surprise to find many American tourists flogging the city in the summer.

If you ever find yourself in Heidelberg, make sure to check out the town's landmark, the Heidelberg Castle. It is perhaps the most iconic landmark of this little romantic city and best viewed from the "Philosophenweg" , a small trail leading up the mountain on the opposite side of the river.

The castle outlined in the early morning fog

You can also enjoy a stroll through the city center, along the main street "Hauptstraße", and taste one of Heidelberg's specialties, like "Studentenküsse" (Student's kisses, a chocolaty treat wrapped in an iconic little box). My personal favorite among Heidelberg's many restaurants is "Villa Lounge", a young, modern restaurant with comfortable leather chairs and affordable food. The best coffee in town is brewed by Moro Caffée & Thé, a small, hole-in-the-wall place along the Hauptstraße that offers coffee in all its variations as well as pastries and other delicacies. Another iconic landmark is the "Hotel zum Ritter", a hotel that is located in a beautiful renaissance building right at the old marketplace and its impressive church. Just opposite the marketplace, in the sidestreet "Steingasse" you can find one of many breweries in Heidelberg: "Vetter's Alt Heidelberger Brauerei" where you can sit next to huge copper kettels and taste freshly-tapped beer. If you want to try out other breweries in the region, check out the map for the Kurpfälzer Bierstraße. It includes locations of all the breweries in the region.

Last but not least, continue down "Steingasse" and enjoy the view from the old Neckar-bridge up towards the castle. Every tourist should take a picture there!

Enjoy my hometown!

P.s.: If you want to have a *real German experience* (at least a very classical one) check out this video from a recent version of the old song Ich hab mein Herz in Heidelberg verloren enjoy ;)

Things you might want to know about Boston

Ok, this one is mostly for future exchange students: the things you might want to know about Boston, UMass and life in America - list :) I might have to make it two lists actually.... let's start with the city!

Sightseeing in Boston:
Boston is great, but it's actually smaller than some might think. A lot of things can easily be reached by foot or the T, even the popular sights! If you prefer to be driven around, there are a couple of city tours which will help you get a first orientation for the city. Here are my must-sees in Boston:

Harvard Square and Harvard University - come on, you're here, you might as well check it out :) There's always something going on at Harvard Square, they have everything you could possibly need and the food is pretty awesome too! They also have a little store with foreign specialties, so if you absolutely cannot live another day without Milka, check it out!

Copley Square and Newbury Street - two things that can easily be combined. Copley Square has two pretty churches which are always worth a visit as well as the Boston Public Library, which is a bit of a must-see. Right next to it runs Newbury Street, which starts out at Boston Public Garden as a bit of an expensive shopping street but eventually changes to more affortable shops and craft shops towards the end. It also has some nice little cafés and outlets that are worth checking out!

Prudential Center and Hayes Convention Center - not far from Copley Square is the Prudential, which is basically a small shopping mall on the ground floor of two big office buildings. They also have a scenic lookout on one of the top floors, if you're looking for the bird perspective. More importantly, they have a cheesecake factory as well as a food court, The body shop and a catwalk over to the Marriott hotel with more shops including GAP, American Eagle and Victoria's Secret :) I spend way too much time there! My personal favorite is the Starbucks IN Barnes&Noble (bookstore!) that serves Cheescake Factory Cheesecake *happy*


Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market - the place to be on a sunny day! There's always something happening, its nice to shop here and it's in the harbor area (yeah, I know, me and my harbors) so it's just right down my alley. Not far from it is Haymarket, where you should do your fruits and veggie-shopping since it's a LOT cheaper than in the stores! Haymarket is open on Fridays and Saturdays and its always pretty crowded but also a lot of fun! They also have some nice gift shops as well as little craft shops inside Quincy Market and you should check out Red Barn Coffee Shop in Faneuill Hall - my personal favorite!

The North End - not far from Haymarket (just across the Greenway, actually) is the North End. If you like Italian food, this is the place to be! (If you don't, you're weird...) needless to say I am VERY happy whenever I'm in the North end ;) Not only can you meet actual Italian people here, you can also follow the Freedom Trail and learn a lot about Boston's history! Plus the brickstone houses are just so pretty! AND they have Mike's Pastry :D

Boston Common and the Public Garden - right in the middle of the city are the two parcs Boston Common and the Public Garden. The Common is more... well, common and very open and perfect for a nice stroll between shopping springs, the Public Garden is a little fancier (SO pretty) and just absolutely awesome! A real oasis in the city! They offer swan boat rides here, which apparently are a hit with the tourists... Also, right next to the Common is Beacon Hill, which is always worth a tour, and there is city hall with its golden roof and lots of colleges and dorms around the parc, so even if you're just people watching, it's always fun!

About couch surfing....

IF you want to study in the US you'll probably also wanna travel some. There's a great, inexpensive and fun way to explore the country you're visiting: couch surfing! The concept is pretty simple: Locals open up their homes for you and let you sleep on their couch or in their spare bedroom. Those people are usually pretty easy going, like to travel and are excited about meeting people from different countries. The exchange is that when you come back, you also offer your couch to whoever is surfing in your region. This way, everybody benefits in a world wide community! Of course, you have to be up for it. Sharing an appartment with a complete stranger isn't everybody's idea of fun... BUT if you choose your hosts carefully and put a little thought in your profile, you might just have the time of your life! PLUS you'll be spending time with a local who will most likely have some indsider tipps on the region you are visiting!

Personal experience: The reason I bring it up is because I am currently surfing in Montreal and its been great so far! My host is a real darling, I have my own room and bathroom (that's luxus) and he gave me some tipps on what to visit while I'm here. He also cooked poutin for us yesterday, which is a local specialty. Unfortunately he has to work a lot so that he cannot accompany me on my trips, but then again, its the middle of the week - what else would he be doing? :)

So, yeah, check it out! www.couchsurfing.org and have fun exploring!

- 3

I'm packing... I think I will be packing and repacking till sunday... it's hard to find the perfect mix of clothes for 6 months and 6 different countries... But, luckily I've found a couple of ways to send a suitcase back, so once I'm leaving for California, I'll probably send a bunch of stuff back home... Should make it easier...

For my overnight stay in London, I've reserved a room ath the International Students House. 26 pounds for one night in central London sounds fantastic, I just hope it's not a pighole... if you wanna check it out, visit http://www.ish.org.uk/accommodation/short-stay-accommodation

Also, I need to do a little advertising for my around the world ticket :) I've booked via ReissAus! http://www.aroundtheworldticket.de/ticketangebote/ they have great routes but also offer custom routes and can give you an individual pricing offer. I've checked a couple of around the world ticket offers and theirs was the cheapest. They also offer single flights with students discounts, so make sure you check out their prices before you book somewhere else :)

Ok, so much for that... gotta get back to the suitcases... three more days to go *yay*

Countdown to take off: - 60

In about 6 weeks I will be leaving for London, where I will start my journey around the world. I have my visa, I have a room in Boston and I have my ticket - I'm (almost) all set! All I have to do now is get my vaccination -.- three injections in four weeks = no fun. But, oh well, you gotta do what you gotta do right? Darn vaccinations...