Sprudel!

Sprudel Water

Sprudel. That’s my new favorite German word. (It means “soda” or “bubbly” and it is the word you see on the water bottle of the fizzy water.) In France, when you order bottled water, they was ask if you want gas or no gas. I would prefer to be asked if I want “sprudel” wouldn’t you? It is just so much more lively! Sprudel can also be used to describe a bubbly personality. I just like saying it.

In fact, some of the most fun I had when I visited Heidelberg, Germany a couple of weeks ago was playing with the German language. My paternal grandmother, though Hungarian, used to speak lots of German. (For example, when cursing.)  She was full of “sprudel” herself. So I guess every german word I hear makes me think of her. And that makes me laugh. Hearing german also conjures up old characters like Seargant Schultz and Colonel Klink from Hogan’s Heros, along with other bad charicatures of germans. But I loved that show…

Pic of Heidelberg that I didn't take myself

My trip to Heidelberg was quick, and I didn’t get to see much of the place, except at night. Picture a fairytale town, on a river, with a castle on the hill - and history dating back to about 700 AD. It was untouched by bombing in WWII.  I found it captivating as I strolled though the Old Town area and glanced up at the old castle, all a-light at night.

Castle at Night

Heidelberg is full of interesting history. The jawbone of the 1 million-year-old “Heidelberg Man” was discovered there. (Oldest human remains ever found in Europe.) U.S General George Patton died there. The castle remains date as far back as the 1300′s when Prince Elector Ruprecht III began building it. (I couldn’t resist sharing that fact, because of my fondness for Steve Martin’s character “Ruprecht” in the film Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. If you saw it, you know what I’m talking about. Please note that these Ruprechts have nothing to do with one another, except in my mind. ) Thank you Wikipedia for all of these brillant facts about Heidelberg that I didn’t have time to learn while I was there.

If course, the people I met in the course I led that weekend were full of charm and sprudel too. We had a wonderful time together. I’ve noticed that each course I teach over here involves a warm-up period where the class has to get past my “american-ness” and the “american-ness” of the course design. But once we get past that – and we always do – we are reminded that people really are the same underneath their culteral wrappings. The same was true here. (I should mention that I’ve been told more than once now that Europeans think that holding 2  thumbs up with a big grin as a way to signal your approval is just a little bit over the top. So don’t do this particular gesture in Europe and you’ll be fine.) 

I was very grateful to be leading once again with my lovely colleague Tina  – a German native. She made up for my american-ness. She also told me what Sprudel means!

I won’t be making a SHOP report in this post. Tina and I did sneak in a little shopping on friday night during our walk through the Old Town. They had some great shops. I just didn’t take good notes or pics. I will say that you can find some excellent stuff to buy in Heidelberg, though. Just in case you are wondering.

EAT and PLAY are combined here, as most of the play-exclusive of the class- was part of the eating.

I was delighted with my choice of dinner on the first night. I decided to try a local specialty – Heidelberger Bierhuhn. That means chicken braised in dark beer. It was tasty! Kind of like bar-be-que, only not as sweet. I chose this from a menu at a traditional german restaurant. Another item on the menu was Rumpsteak Vom Grill. Without my glasses, I thought it said Rumpsteak Von Grill. (Vom means “of that” and Von means “of”, so it was very close.) Anyway, I thought, what a great name for a character! You know, like Baron Von Munchausen. Rumpsteak Von Grill, new short-order cook on South Park. Or maybe a rapper who’s “got much back” and some fancy dental work. I found this all quite amusing, as only an american with too much exposure to pop culture can.

I must say that the portions in Germany rival US sized portions. A hamburger I ordered in the hotel was bigger than a Whataburger. (Remember those?) And it came with about a pound of potato chips… barbeque flavor!

Germans know how to eat healthy, too. Tina pointed out this place as we were walking along. A store that only sells seafood. All kinds, all ways. We saw two of these places just in the Old Town. I’m told this is very big in Germany.

One of the best things about the hotel/conference center where we stayed was the food on the breaks. Germany really knows how to do cakes and pastries! At every break there was something delicious waiting for us, along with other unique things like real cherry or banana juice.  

My most satisfying food experience, however, was the answer to a question I’ve been carrying around for years. I got to try a “Berliner.” If you’ve been around a while you’ve probably heard about the famous line by President Kennedy in a speech he made while in West Berlin. He proudly stated “Ich bin ein Berliner” as a statement of his support for West Berlin. Now the legend goes that because of a grammatical error,  he had mistakenly proclaimed that he was either, A. a dinner roll or B. a jelly donut. I have heard it told both ways. And while it wasn’t really killing me all these years not knowing which thing a “berliner” really is, I was delighted to finally learn the truth. A berliner is a jelly donut. (And a tasty one, I might add.) Rasberry filling, light, delicious and pictured here.

I know, this post had few pictures and no video. I got lazy! But don’t worry. Shortly after I returned home I had some very special visitors and lots of new Paris adventures. Coming soon… my birthday in Paris, a trip to the Ballet, and other exciting happenings, complete with lots of pics and video. 

I don’t have a theme song for my trip to Heidelberg. In it’s place I’ll offer this: As I’m in my apartment in Paris writing this, down the block some people are partying wildly. I can hear their music. Right now they are playing Patrick Hernandez’ Born to Be Alive. It is extra special because I can hear them all singing along with their french accents. It is a very sprudely moment. Imagine and Enjoy!

Advertisement