July 5, 2017. Wednesday. Heidelberg, Germany. The 4th of July is pretty interesting to experience while overseas. And by interesting, I mean we pretty much forgot about it yesterday. Next year we will return to the usual celebrations of our democratic experiment, but in the meantime it was sort of refreshing to remember, as Eden said, the U.S. is not the center of everything. I think that has been a recurring theme for all of us this summer — appreciating local food, culture, music, and cuisine, while cringing at the Subways, McDonalds, and Burger Kings in almost every city.

Today we woke up literally in the shadow of the Alps. We ate our (complimentary) breakfast on the deck overlooking the mountains and valley. We all agreed that we we wanted to take the gondola up the mountain, and the kids were really into taking one or more forms of wheeled modes of transportation down. In the end, to save money, we took the gondola most of the way up and then rode the go-carts from the 2nd level to the first level, and then the trotti bikes (stand up large scooters) from the first level to the base. Both were a blast, and the scenery was amazing. It was a little nerve-wracking as a parent to have the young ones in full control of their destinies on some of the steeper trails, but overall everyone did great and emerged unscathed.

After a short grocery stop in Grindelwald (for sandwiches on the road, as we do most days!), we were on our way to Heidelberg, Germany. Our route took us through beautiful Interlaken again, but west this time along the western lake, and then north through Bern and Basel. Once in Germany, it was Autobahn time! No speed limits, although our van only made it up to 165 km/hr (102 mph) before I decided to ease up. Speed is limited near cities and in construction zones, so we ended up not really going that much faster most of the time. And the unlimited speeds meant that people would fly up and drive fairly erratically. In general, a much more demanding experience than elsewhere.

We arrived in Heidelberg around 7:30 pm. Our flat is just outside the old town and close to the famous castle. After settling in (a game of pool and jumping on the trampoline), we walked into the old city. I (Lin) was on a mission to introduce the kids to currywurst, which we were fortunate to find quickly. After that it was gelato and a nice stroll through the Markplatz and then onto the old bridge to view the castle. As we head north again, the sun is setting much later, so we were able to walk back to our flat at 10:15 in soft late evening light.

Heidelberg seems like a nice university town. We keep on suggesting to the kids that these towns and cities would be great places to come study for a semester! It is a clean old part of the city, but with fewer narrow streets than Aix, Barcelona, or Rome. Still, the river is nice, and the ambiance fun yet laid back. Even on a Wednesday evening, the old city was hopping, but in a tame way.

Tomorrow we return to Paris, and then (on Friday) to London. I think we are all sad to have this driving tour come to an end!