visitor

I had my first visitor last week!  Ben Simonds, a second-cousin once removed, has been studying abroad in London this past semester.  A his classes have ended and his tests aren't until May, he is taking the time to travel Europe.  Although the relationship sounds distant, he is related to me in the same way as my German cousin Annika, just on different sides of the family; my great-great-grandmother is his great-grandmother, just a generation ahead.  Ben arrived early Thursday morning.  Annika and I picked him up and we all went to Koerperwelten (the Bodies Exhibit which is also touring in America now).  The offices for body donations and the hospital for exhibit creations are located in Heidelberg.  Gunther von Hagens is from Heidelberg which makes viewing the exhibit here feel original.  After getting our fill of corpses, Ben and I strolled down Hauptstrasse which is the pedestrian shopping street.  At the end is the path up to the castle so we just kept on walking.  We went to the gardens first which have a fantastic view of both the castle and the city (as you can see in the picture).  We also went into the castle to view the world's biggest wine barrel.  It was built in the 1700s and after the wine caused the wood to decay, they drained it and ceased to use it.  It fills and entire room and you can climb stairs to reach the top.  I saw it the last time I was in Heidelberg but that was in 2001 when I was only 15 years old.  We sat in the sun-filled square infront of the Rathaus (government house) and enjoyed a beer.  Then we walked home to see the boys.  

Ben was great with Max and Tom!  They could of course understand everything he was saying but he could understand none of what they were saying.  They didn't seem to notice but Ben kept looking to me for help.  Luckily with kids that young, you can get by without the need to hold a conversation.  We spend the afternoon playing playing hide-and-seek and enjoying the weather outside.  Sabine prepared a wonderful dinner with lots of appetizers.  As Ben is a business major, he was excited to talk to Nils.  In the morning, we walked several miles along the Philosophenweg which runs on the hill opposite the castle.  It is another nice view of the town and the castle.  It is where my blog picture and any picture of the castle for that matter, is taken.  After a run and a shower, we headed back into town to pick up a few souvenirs before Ben had to catch the train.  I think he made some very German purchases - a beer mug and gummy bears.

It was wonderful to have my first real visitor and to show off Heidelberg.