I vividly remember a conversation Shane and I had after a few years of living in the Netherlands, during which we talked about how cool it would be to say we had lived abroad for a decade. Well, as of May, we’ve met that benchmark! We’ve officially spent a decade living abroad!
To celebrate, we spent the weekend in Heidelberg, Germany, which has been on my “to-visit” list for a while.
Heidelberg is a cuteee city northwest of Munich, anywhere from 3 to 5 hours by train, depending on whether you spring for the high-speed trains or not. For us, it ended up being 7 hours on the way there because (of course) we missed a connecting train by literal minutes thanks to a delay and had to wait an hour for the next one. However, we were rewarded when we arrived with some welcome champagne and a room with a view. Thanks to my sis for working those Marriott shifts at 8 months pregnant so we could still use her family discount! 😜
We were lucky to have beautiful spring weather that weekend, so we spent the morning touring the Heidelberg Castle. You can visit the grounds for free, but entry into the castle walls, which includes the courtyard, barrel center, and apothecary museum, is €9. To get there, you can walk up the hill from the old town, or you can take the funicular, which is also included in the ticket price.
Free guided tours of the grounds are available twice a day in English, which we fully intended to do, but we arrived at the castle earlier than anticipated and didn’t feel like waiting around. Alternatively, we did a free audio tour via the Baden-Württemberg monument app. Download it on your phone before you arrive, bring your own headphones, and then you’re good to go!
For me, the craziest part about visiting the castle was the barrel room, home to the “Great Barrel.”
Now, that’s a great barrel! This is actually the third iteration of the barrel. The first held a measly 130,000 liters of wine, the second, 200,000. The final version holds 220,000 liters of wine and (no joke) has a platform on top, which they expected was once used as a dance floor. 😆 All that wine, I imagine people were ready to dance!
After the castle and a little meandering through the old town, we headed for the Philosophenweg (Philosophers Way), a path on the opposite side of the river with great views over the old town and castle. Heidelberg is home to the oldest university in Germany, founded in 1386 (🤯). The path supposedly got its name in the early 1800s, as the professors and philosophers from the university liked to walk the path while they discussed whatever professors and philosophers discussed in the 1800s.
To get there, follow the Alte Brüke (the Old Bridge) across the river. The path up starts essentially immediately across the street. Be prepared because it’s maybe 10 to 15 minutes of walking up cobblestone stairs to reach the actual path. (We saw people trying to carry up strollers. Do not recommend.) Our calves were sore the next day (ha), but the views at the top were lovely! We went mid-afternoon with full sun, which I wouldn’t recommend. It was very hot. However, a walk in the morning or during golden hour would have been really nice (and made for better pictures!).
We spent the rest of our time enjoying the cafe culture. It’s hard to beat people-watching in a busy square with an Aperol Spritz in hand!
It’s honestly mind-blowing to think we’ve been living outside the United States for 10 years, and it’s interesting to think about the people we were when we first moved. On a light note, we landed in the Netherlands wearing sports t-shirts (check the airport picture at the beginning). Now, I would never wear a sports t-shirt in public in Europe on a day-to-day basis! (Don’t be offended Americans; it just ain’t a thing here.)
On a more serious note, living abroad shows you other ways of life. It may sound obvious, but all we had ever known before moving was life in the US; you did x, y, and z because that’s just how it’s done! Living in other places forces you to be flexible and, often times, throw out your expectations. Never did I expect my bike to be my primary mode of transportation (in Groningen and Munich), to live in a city where electricity and running water were optional (in Tena), or to currently have four bins to sort my trash (compost, paper, plastic/cans, & everything else, FYI). Nor did I ever expect to use the word bin (thanks, Lucie!).
Yes, there are downsides to living abroad; being away from friends and family is tough, and dealing with residency can be daunting. But, I can honestly say, I don’t regret a second of it, and I’m excited to see where life takes us in the next 10 years!
Until the next one…
Tschüss,
The Shwits 