Me hanging out in the Heidelberg Student Jail
Saturday: Not a whole lot went on today...sleeping in of course and just hanging out. My wife was not feeling too well, so we basically just stayed in and watched TV. One of the more interesting stories I read was the fact that military suicides are outpacing combat deaths in Afghanistan. This is truly unfortunate and should be eye opening for our leaders. There is something definitely wrong going on…and forcing us to sit through more suicide prevention classes is not going to help. The article doesn't give a reason for all the suicides (154 suicides in the first 155 days of the year), but does mention combat exposure, post-traumatic stress, misuse of prescription meds. I'm sure there will be more news to come on this subject.
Sunday: Today was a bit more active we slept in (of course) and then hung out for a bit before deciding to get out and do something. We headed downtown and decided to check out the Heidelberg Student Jail (Studentenkarzer). This place was in use between 1778 and 1914. Heidelberg University managed the jail and used to put it's unruly students in this jail for minor offenses such as excessive drinking, insulting officials and disturbing the peace. They were forced to stay in this jail, but were allowed to attend classes in the day. What is interesting about the jail is all the graffiti that was left and preserved for all this time. It was pretty interesting to check out. We then went downtown to "people watch", have lunch, and purchase some gifts for my daughter's upcoming birthday. Downtown Heidelberg is always entertaining and a nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon. There are many choices to eat and on a sunny day there are a number of places to enjoy your meal outside at a table…so you can enjoy the view, the air, and of course "people watch".
We spent the evening cleaning up the house a bit, and watching TV shows. Not too exciting, but we were able to get out a little. Next weekend is a four day and we'll be doing a little more hopefully.
A look inside one of the rooms in the student Jail with all the graffiti art
A street performer we saw while walking in downtown Heidelberg
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