Day 29 and 30 - Spending some time with the Glauer family - Planned Spontaneity

July 19, 2018 to July 20, 2018

Day 29 and 30 - Spending some time with the Glauer family

Transitioning into the last half of the trip

When we met the Glauers 4 years ago they had just completed a world tour on bikes with all 4 of their boys in tow the year before. You can read about that here . We had such an enjoyable time with them that we have been in contact ever since and they have been very welcoming to us to make sure we visited them this time around.

Yesterday (Thursday) we had a lazy sleep in and I got somewhat caught up on this blog.

Looks like I'm trying to decide whether to blog or sleep :)

Then during the midday Erika and I walked around the neighborhood and over to the Schloss (castle) that is only a 5 minute walk from their house.

Unfortunately the castle was closed to get ready for an art show so we walked around it and took pictures from the outside

Seems obvious that this castle used to have a moat

We had some lunch and on our way back to Glauer's came across this park

I found it interesting that in this park and a few others we have seen was a sign that stated smoking was not permitted for the health of children. You see so many people here that it would be nice if there were more places like this.

Here we saw another of those shrubs that Erika would like to identify so she can see if they are available at home

We just like taking pictures of the cool architecture here

Thursday afternoon Julie invited us to go with her and the boys to the swimming pool. We all rode our bikes, about 3 km to the pool.

The first surprise was the bike parking lot, huge and almost full

We bought tickets, went through the gate into a huge area that included 4 different pools, probably 200 acres of grass and big trees for shade, volleyball courts, football pitch, trampolines, small children's playground, basketball court, beach volleyball and so on. of course changing houses, and some concessions as well

We stayed at the pool until the evening. Martin eventually joined us. As we prepared to head home we agreed that no one wanted to cook this late in the evening. Backing onto the water park was a pizza restaurant. We decided it was a good place to go to as who doesn't like pizza. The boys had fun with the building toys provided at the restaurant. The oldest, Moses, ordered a tuna pizza. I doubt very highly any of my grandchildren would eat or even think of putting tuna on a pizza.

Everyone had a good appetite when the food came. The 4 boys ate more than the 4 adults

Cycling back it was so cool and lovely. Just dusk so our lights were standing out but you could still see your surroundings.

Even the youngest, Herbie, at 7 years old, is completely confident and competent on his bike, goes just as fast or faster than we do with our e-bikes and knows his way around traffic.

Today, Friday, we got up fairly early to have breakfast with the family before everyone was off to school or work. Then we went with Julie to the school at 10 AM for a year end assembly to which parents and friends were invited. It was a great chance to see Herbie and Caspar perform in their groups. Herbie sang with his class and Caspar played guitar in the band. The music was VERY good for the age groups involved, they have a wonderful music teacher.

All the children were good singers, especially Herbie

Caspar, who is a 4th year student, was very good on guitar

A nice tradition that the school has is that at the beginning of each school year, the older children form an arch for the new students to enter the school through. Then at the end of the school year, the younger grade made a tunnel for the 4th year students who will be moving up to the next school in the fall. It was so cute to watch the tall children and their teachers crouch down to fit through the arch way made by the six year olds.

After the school thing, we went out and looked for some lunch, stopping into a church on the way.

The church had obviously been renovated and up dated. Stain glass was lovely but the white walls were quite bare looking.

They did leave some of the old frescos alone. It shows how much more ornate and colorful the interior must have been in its early days.

Even the organ was very simple in its design.

Many of the houses have working shutters. As we were walking back to Glauers we noticed that the clips that hold the shutter open were little heads of men. Erika loved these little shutter catches.

We found a nice bakery where we had some lunch. We each had one of these which was stuffed with cheese, asparagus, ham and other yummy things.

This is the street that is right behind the Glauer's place

In the afternoon, Erika and I took the tram to the downtown area to walk about the city. Heidelberg has one of the longest pedestrian and bicycle only shopping areas in the country. But first Erika had an appointment with a massage therapist. Julie had a voucher for a 20 minute session and insisted on giving it to Erika to help relieve the tension in her shoulders. He was very good and a longer massage would have been nice. Unfortunately, he was fully booked and could not add any time.

This statue is on the main shopping street right by a large book store. Appropriate.

I love this idea for using an old bike for flowers. I have an old pink bike at home that may get repurposed.

Robert Wilhelm Eberhard Bunsen (/ˈbʌnsən/; German: [ˈbʊnzən]; 30 March 1811[N1] – 16 August 1899) was a German chemist. He investigated emission spectra of heated elements, and discovered caesium (in 1860) and rubidium (in 1861) with the physicist Gustav Kirchhoff. Bunsen developed several gas-analytical methods, was a pioneer in photochemistry, and did early work in the field of organoarsenic chemistry. With his laboratory assistant, Peter Desaga, he developed the Bunsen burner, an improvement on the laboratory burners then in use. The Bunsen–Kirchhoff Award for spectroscopy is named after Bunsen and Kirchhoff. (Wikipedia)

The ceiling of one of the old churches in Heidelberg. We enjoyed the beauty of the interior but were unable to take any pictures of the exterior as it was saran wrapped and being worked on. I found the colors very pretty and peaceful.

Clockworks for the old bells in the cathedral.

The creepy stalker picture was an attempt at getting a picture of this young couple in traditional dress. They looked lovely.

Balloons for all occasions?? (An inside joke in our family)

I, Erika, love the wooden German Christmas ornaments. This display showed who they are made in steps. I guess it helps to understand why they are all so expensive.

Another step by step example of wooden ornaments.

They were setting up for a concert. I was impressed that they were using era appropriate instruments.

The smaller, ornate, original organ. So pretty.

In the main square there was a display of old fire engines. There were also a large number of fire fighters in uniform cruising the streets.

Okay, kinda got a kick out of the t-shirt on the far right.

On the old bridge in Heidelburg over looking the Neckar river.

We did not get up to the schloss this time but did enjoy the view of it from the river.

What can I say, we walked a LOT and needed a pick me up.

So we have had a pretty relaxed visit with our friends and will get back on the trail tomorrow.

But it will feel very different in that we won't have anywhere that we are trying to get to for about 3 weeks. We will just have to see where spontaneity takes us.

Today's ride: 15 km (9 miles)
Total: 1,187 km (737 miles)

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