2004-2014: 10 years, 10 cities, 10 language schools!

10 one-month stays, sometimes longer…

Small tribute to each of the ten cities, from A to Z.

5th city: Heidelberg (Germany).

My stay lasted 2 months (May-June 2010).

A

A like… Alte Brücke, or “Old Bridge” in English. Officially Karl-Theodor Brücke, it is one of the architectural symbols of the city.

B

B like… Baden-Württemberg, one of the 16 Länder (provinces) of Germany, the one where Heidelberg is located, lies in south-western Germany and includes a border with both France and Switzerland.

C

C like… Crèpes, or pancakes (in English), to be tasted preferably at the shop attached to the Market Place church wall (Heiliggeistkirche).

D

D like… Defeat. Switzerland lost its quarter-final game 1-0 against Germany in the 2010 Ice Hockey World Championships in Mannheim, not far from Heidelberg. I was there, with 50 other Swiss fans, amongst 10,000 German fans…

E

E like… Enormous. Switzerland – Canada 4-1 (preliminary round, 2010 Ice Hockey World Championships in Mannheim), hard to believe, but I witnessed that unexpected Swiss success against the NHL stars!

F

F like… Football. FIFA World Cup 2010 began in South Africa as I was staying in Heidelberg. The city street were wearing the colours of the participating teams.

G

G like… Goal! As soon as a goal was scored in South Africa, the Heidelberg pubs were on fire!

H

H like… Hauptstraße. A 2-km-long pedestrian street! Marvellous 🙂

I

I like… Ich hab mein Herz in Heidelberg verloren…

J

J like… Jung. Young in German. Heidelberg (150,000 inhabitants) and its 20,000 University students, is a young and vibrant city.

K

K like… Königstuhl, a 567 meter high mountain. On its slope, the famous Heidelberg Castle.

L

L like… L 13. In Mannheim, a short 15-minutes train ride from Heidelberg, the square-patterned city-centre has curious and minimalistic street names: just a letter and a number, for example “L13”.

M

M like… Mannheim – here we are again – with its 300,000 inhabitants, is the second largest city of Baden-Württemberg, behind Stuttgart.

N

N like… Neckar. Affluent of the Rhine River, crossing Heidelberg.

O

O like… Orgy. Of sausages, sauerkraut, and, well, beers!

P

P like… Philosophenweg. The Path of the Philosophers (Philosophenweg, in German), is a lovely path, overlooking the Neckar, the Old Bridge, the Old Town and even the Castle.

Q

Q like… Quantity of rowers on the river. Yes, rowing is popular on the Neckar!

R

R like… Relearn German. After a 17-years long break, it was about time, in Heidelberg in 2010, to relearn German, the first national language of my country.

S

S like… Schwetzingen. 10 km away from Heidelberg. Schwetzingen, its asparagus, its castle, its mosque inside of the castle gardens.

T

T like… Touching the Old Bridge monkey, does it bring luck? No idea. But to take a selfie with his own head inside of the monkey’s head, is trendy for sure…

U

U like… Universität. Heidelberg University, established in 1386, comprised even a jail for undisciplined students. Here is one of the cells…

V

V like… Vuvuzela. It was 2010, World Cup in South Africa. Vuvuzelas every day, consequently.

W

W like… Weinheim. In Weinheim, a town 15 km north of Heidelberg, you can taste… Wein. Wine, I mean. Local wine, even.

X

X like… XIVth century. Heidelberg University was born in XIVth century (1386).

Y

Y like… cYcling. Heidelberg is sporty (rowing, running, etc.) and perfectly adapted to its numerous cyclists.

Z

Z like… MarktplatZ, the Market Place, the perfect place for a local drink.

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Do you have some tips for people planning a long stay in Heidelberg and its region?

Feel free to let them as a comment below this article 🙂

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Next month: Berlin (Germany).