The Hike and the Champions Cup

June 6
It was a Saturday morning and the farmers markets were open so Irene and I took a stroll out of the apartment to the nearest one just a few blocks away.  The plaza that I drank my first German beer had transformed; the dining tables had been replaced by produce stands, refrigerated trucks full of meats, fish and cheeses and the busy hustle and bustle of customers.  We made a few purchases our selves and headed back to the apartment to fix some breakfast.

Bavarian Weisswurst Breakfast

We had a Bavarian style breakfast, weisswurst (white sausage), which consists of boiled white sausages with honey mustard, a pretzel and weissbier (wheat beer).  But in our case we didn't have any beer on hand so we had coffee as a substitute.  Perhaps later when I visit Munich I will have an authentic weisswurst breakfast accompanied with some good Bavarian wheat beer.    

Heidelberg

There are small mountains that surround Heidelberg that the local residents and students enjoy hiking and mountain biking it trails.  We hiked to the top of one of mountains to an old Nazi amphitheater.  The weather was hot, humid and accompanied with a few light rain showers to cool us off.  Out efforts for reaching the top of the mountain were rewarded with beer from a beer garden.  We drank Radlers, a mixture of beer and citrus flavored soda.  Very refreshing.  Next we hiked a different path down the mountain to monastery that brews their own beer and runs a restaurant.  I ordered a wurstsalat (meat salad) which is basically shredded strips of sausage with a tart sauce and pickles and of course, more beer.

Irish Pub

Tonight was the Champions League championship game between Barcelona and Juventus, an event which is the equivalent that of the American Superbowl.  After getting some rest from our hike we headed to altstadt (old city) to watch the game in a Irish pub.  We arrived early enough to snag the last two bar stools and had a good view of the game on the projector screen.  The game was enjoyable to watch over a few pints of beer and in the company of many soccer enthusiasts.  There was also fireworks being shot off over the river in Heidelberg, but the game was just too good for me to step out of the pub and take a look.