After soft boiled eggs in an egg cup no less, a thing which stumped
Zeke. I guess I failed as a parent, I never served him an egg in the shell
in an egg cup, but he caught on quick. These egg cups were just a flat sheet
of metal in an arch with a circle cut out for the egg to sit in. I
punctured the bottom of mine digging for egg and a slow yellow drip sprung
out. We cleaned up, got ready and headed out to Heidelberg.

     Everything was covered with eggs, and toilet paper. It seems that they
have Mischief Night on the night before May Day in Germany not the night
before Holloween. I thought those kids buying beer last night seemed a
little too gleeful. They weren't just drinking. They were drinking and
egging. Gerdas car was not damaged so we took off and drove through the egg
and paper covered town. We hit the Autobahn and in 75 minutes we were in
Heidelberg. We drove around a while trying to find a free legal spot and
after the second attempt we got one. Asked a pedder how far it was to the
Schloss and he said, "1 Km." It was about 3 or 4 times that far but it was a
nice walk, mostly. I noticed a distinct absence of eggs.

     After 6 blocks or so the streets turned into a pedestrian mall that
continued for blocks and blocks. It was filled with people shopping, walking
and just hanging out. The day had turned out to be a beautiful one, sunny
and warm. Various street performers had staked out the corners with the most
foot traffic looking to fill the hat. There were musicians and mimes in
elaborate costumes, not just some lame-ass white face and rainbow
suspenders. The atmosphere was festive. A little way down and to the right
seemed to be very crowded so we headed that way. This was the Heidelberg May
Day Rally.

     All across Germany the major cities hold Labor Rallies on May Day and
the leftists all come out to espouse their various points of view. People
were handing out literature, wearing signs, and lecturing, both from a main
stage on occasion and in small informal groups in the street. In between
speeches from the stage, a brass band would play oom-pa music. We went to
the tent where they were selling beer and bratwurst, bought some and sat at
a table and hung out a while. Had a couple more beers and just sucked in the
ambiance. The music, the activity, the earnest speeches of which we couldn't
understand a word. And bratwurst and beer. Welcome to the workers paradise.

     In Berlin there was a riot. But in Heidelberg peace was in the air. We
went in search of the Schloss. Further into town, passed two impressive
churches a few more blocks and then up, up, up to the entrance to the
Schloss. 3 DM please, each. At least we didn't have to fight them to get in.
After the walk up the hill, you're huffing and puffing so much you make an
easy target.

     This castle is huge. After getting in it's still another quarter mile
twisting, turning but always up, up, up. Finally it evens out into gardens
and  greens. A small village is actually enclosed within the walls with
shops, a pharmacy and everything you need for the siege. Statuary covered
the walls. A portion of wall had fallen away revealing a cross section of
the rooms within. The place had class. It was worth all the walking. The
walking helps work off the beer as well. So we checked out all the views.
Spent a couple of hours crawling through the nooks and crannies but finally
left a had a much better time walking down, down, down. Visited one of the
churches, got some ice cream (or was it egg custard) and eventually made it
back to the car and then 100 KM later, home, after a quick stop at Gerda's
moms to borrow some milk and eggs of course.

     After a bit Gerda took us to see her work, a kindergarden. It was huge
and easily the nicest one I have ever seen, except for all the eggs and
paper covering it. They really treat the kids well in the education system
and it all starts here. With rooms for music, sports, arts, naps as well as
regular classrooms and of course, a playground with swings and slides and
all. These kids can look forward to going to school. After the tour Gerda
and I returned home. Tony and Zeke went to visit a neighbors house where the
son collects VWs. Tony is into that as well so they discussed the cars,
places to get parts and all that motorhead stuff. When they returned we left
for downtown Kaiserslautern, looking for a place to eat and the elusive
Katya, Gerda's older daughter who had been mysteriously absent during the
length of our stay so far. Anya, the younger daughter stayed home with her
boyfriend and ordered out for pizza with pepperoniwurst. We didn't find
Katya but we found a couple of her friends at a restaurant so we decided to
stay there and eat. The one friend was very outgoing and nice. The other,
like an evil twin, was bored and completely self-absorbed. Guess which one
was our waitress.

     Then we ate and drank German beer, of course, I think I had wheat. I'm
convinced that the light will always be better than the dunkle. Zeke ate
spinach pasta in a cream sauce with ham chunks. Tony, Gnocchi. Gerda and I
had the wurst salad. It was weird. It was a salad with julienned hot dogs on
top. I'm surprised that I liked it. We had to keep yelling for service as
the girl had far better things to do talking to her friends that wait on
tables. Since the deal on tips is always just a real small one there is no
incentive for the waitpersons to bust their butts. Everywhere else they were
attentive though and prompt.

     Next stop, the Irish Pub. Full of American servicemen and packing
entertainment. A duo featuring a guy from St.Petersberg, Fla. and a girl
from "downtown deutchland." What they lacked in talent they made up for with
effort. They were entertaining. After a couple a pints of Guinness we ambled
home to crash.

     The remains of the pepperoni pizza was on the counter. Smack dab in the
center, a hard-boiled egg.

Next time - Trip to Brussels

Pictures - Inside the Schloss, view of Heidelberg from it