RajThere are lots of things to write about but I don’t have much time so I will only list down the important ones.
• My colleagues from India who are accompanying me have a tough time with the lunch served in the office even though vegetarisch (i.e. vegetarian) main course is served. But I like the food here and have totally no problem at all. So all of them complain about the food and all I can do is sit and sympathize with them even though I enjoy the food.
• We didn’t do much over the weekend. The only noteworthy place we visited was Heidelberg. It’s a beautiful city. It looks like a typical European city one sees on those postcards. Mannheim, my host city, on the other hand, is very modern. We basically just went to two of the biggest attractions in Heidelberg, the castle (Schloss) and the main street (HauptStrasse). The place was full with tourists even though all the shops were closed cos it was a Sunday (which seemed a little strange). I mean, why would they not want all the business from the tourists? I have uploaded lots of pictures of the place as well as few others of Mannheim (More pictures will come soon). So go take a look at my “Trip to Germany” set on flickr. There are some 50 photos right now.
The first pic you see right here are of the view of the city from the castle.
The second pic is of one of the walls of the castle.
• We passed through an area outside Mannheim called Kafertal Wald where there was a huge US army base. The place was full of Americans, American military vehicles and most of all, American flags. There was a Wal-Mart nearby as well. It was weird.
• The weather here right now is just like the weather in Bangalore. Complete with the wind and unexpected rains. So its very comfortable for me.
• As you might have noticed, I have picked up quite a few German words. Not sentences, just few common words and names of places. It can be helpful at times even though most people here do understand English. I haven’t faced any major language problem yet. Lets hope things stay that way.
Great Photos but i do not see you anywhere?
havin fun in Germany eh . kool man.
coooooolllll…. enjoy maadu maga….
chocolates…. hmmmm ;-!
my Hubby spent 8 months in Germany before we got married. he was in the army and was actually at that base that you were talking about.
Awesome dude!
Awesome pictures. Heidelberg - the land of printing press, I guess.
There are many American bases, including air force bases and also NATO bases in Germany and Italy. I guess they are more concentrated in the part where you are.
And Walmart, after running loses in Germany has sold all its stores to Metro AG.
@lucio: Thanks. I never post my pics on flickr or my blog. I want to be a mystery for most readers
Plus u know how unphotogenic I am (and vain!) 
@aravind: Ya, I do have fun atleast on the weekends
@preeti: Ya, I’m trying my best to have fun. Haven’t had too many chocolates tho!!! :p
@becky: Heh! What a small world we live in
@vinaya: Thanks!!
@greensatya: Thanks. Indeed, Heidelberg is famous for making printing presses. I’ve passed thru “Heidelberger Druckmaschinen” many times.
I knew abt the existence of American and NATO bases but it felt weird to see one myself.
//Walmart, after running loses in Germany has sold all its stores to Metro AG
Huh, I didn’t know that.
Nice pictures. Good to know u r enjoying your trip. Oh well, our ppl’ always blame about food coz we all r spoiled brats with home made stuff.
When you are in a new country, experience the beauty, food and its traditions. We don’t ahve to carry what we had before on a short trip.
Walmart works where ther are middle class ppl.
nice pics! do post some more
@priya: Thanks
Well, can’t really blame the people cos the food is very different but one must try to adjust
@abhinav: Thanks. I will!
wow.. so u r in germany, and you didnt find anything different from india. strange, man.
beautiful pictures.
so everything must be new there, must be an exciting experience.
o0o the castle is amazing!
@freeze: Thanks. Its not that I didnt find anything different, I just didnt find anything “foreign”.
The experience sure is exciting
@xohra: Ya, it truly is!
Great pictures again.Looks like you are enjoying your trip and surprised to know that you are not having language problems.During my stay I felt that knowing the local language is very essential.
Yes enjoy the food.This is the best thing I like about visiting any new place,I love to try out different food items.Who knows if I’ll ever get chance to have them again.And the longer menu you have the food you have tried the better it is, at least for me .So enjoy and have fun.
Hey,
What a coincidence I recently did a trip to germany for thr world cup and visited the same places as u…pics posted on my blog!
Hope u had a grt time too!
@sharda: Thanks. I totally agree with you that knowing the local language always helps. I am trying new food. I even tasted turkey and pork for the first time.
@anand: I am giving a good time. Saw ur pics. Great work!
Hi!
But even many Heidelberger do not know this - the OEG is one of the few trains used like a tram.
Many greetings from Heidelberg
The “tram” you saw is not a tram - it’s a real train
@biostudium: Hi!
I think you are talking about the 5/5R route “tram”. Thats really interesting. Even I noticed that it looked different from other trams and ran much faster than the others once outside the city
Thanks!