Heidelberg day 1

I woke up today at 8:00am and headed immediately to the closest supermarket with Jonas. I insisted that I wanted a traditional German breakfast consisting of Pfefferbeisser (sausage), Landjager (another type of sausage), pretzels and Paulaner hefe weissbier (wheat beer). Poor Jonas just wanted cerial.

From the second that wheat beer touched my lips I made it my mission to make the rest of the day a beer tasting boosefest. I had many different types of beer, but the only ones I wrote down were Klosterhof bernsteinweizen (topaz wheat beer) and No1 welde (pilsner beer popular in just Heidelberg).

We packed two bags jam packed with No1 Welde, jagermeister, and melon schnaps and began hiking our way to the old town via a scenic lookout. The view was spectacular, but it was made that much more impressive because we were legally allowed to hike and drink beer at the same time. Oh my God nothing feels better! I can only imagine the feeling would be just as pleasurable as being able to go to the toilet while you're driving.

When we got to the old town we decided to get something to eat. We decided to get one of the most traditional German meals around; a Doner Kebab. Or at least Jonas told me it was traditionaly German. Maybe he just told me that to escape my 'I'm only eating German food' campaign?

Afterwards I forced Jonas to show me the university. I waddled into the math building in the hope I'd be able to chime into part of a lecture, but alas there were no classes at that time. I guess I'll have to reenact Good Will Hunting elsewhere.

At about 1:00pm we met up with about 10 of Jonas's friends in a park by the river Neckar. Coinsidently they'd been drinking all day too so it was a lot of fun. They all speak perfect English (or at least I remember them speaking perfect English) and are incredibly friendly and welcoming.

We went to a house party afterwards which was heaps fun. I got talking to a whole bunch of people about my travels and about Australia. This one German girl told me about her exchange experience to New York state when she was 16; she said her foster family was super religious and forced her to go to church every Wednesday and Sunday! She told me that because she wasn't 'saved' she was strongly ostracized by the religious community. I told her that her experience of America was an unfortunate and unlucky one and she should still try traveling through the states. I swear I've become a walking advertisement for the US...

After that we went to a pub in the old Town. God I love the pubs here. Even at 11pm they hadn't degraded themselves to club level. I could still sit down and chat.

Sadly though, all good things must come to an end. The group decided 12-1 (guess who was the 1) to go to a club. The place hardly had a dance floor but that didn't stop people from vibrating all over it. Despite that the night still ended on a high because the music was good and the drinks were very cheap. Only €2 per beer or cocktail.

Oh yeah, I shaved. I'm no longer the guy parents hide their children from! Its a good feeling. I felt that if I kept my beard growing any longer, I would get awarded a club by the international beard society for reaching caveman level.