In the face of greeting the cold, I want to share some pictures from a street festival that takes place every year at the beginning of autumn in the inner city. So you see, these pictures are a couple of weeks old already, and I have not posted them in time due to other stuff that had to be done.
Usually, I am not overly fond of street festivals because they are so crowded and noisy (Christmas markets, however, are an exception), but this year I went with two very good friends, and we had a wonderful time on one of the last warm and sunny weekends of the year.
The city was filled with people and music, and all along the pedestrial road and on the squares, there were stalls were you could buy food and a lot of other things.
~ such as these cute little animals ~
~ or exotic lamps ~
~ or Tibetan singing bowls ~
~ or wild garlic pesto and fresh bread ~
It is a traditional thing in Germany to enjoy fermented grape juice in early autumn. This stuff is sweet, sparkling, and slightly alcoholic, and called “Federweisser” when it is made from white grapes, and “Roter Sauser” when it is made from red grapes. The white one is more popular, though.
It is traditionally enjoyed with “Zwiebelkuchen“, a savory pie made with onions, eggs, bacon, and cream.
In front of one chocolate shop, there was a little table set up, and they offered free hot chocolate shots with different flavors.
My friends got one each, but it was not for me because it was make with milk.
We made our way through the whole inner city, and several delicacies were enjoyed along the way (again, not by me).
~ I think this was macadamia maple something ~
~ nutella crêpe ~
~ do you see the nutella wanting for freedom? ~
After all the bustle everywhere, we were happy to find some tranquility in a quiet alley.
~ Buddha statue and prayer flags in the yard of the ethnological museum ~
Then we were ready to throw ourselves back into the crowd. At the inner city train station, a DJ was putting on music, and people were chilling, dancing, and having fun.
~ the train station kiosk had smileys on the menu ~
We headed down to the riverside road to make our way back.
Next to the castle, the old bridge is the most famous emblem of Heidelberg.
~ the gate of the old bridge ~
Next to the bridge gate, there is a bronze monkey holding a mirror to remind people of the vanity and illusionary nature of the world. You can put your head in there, and there always is a group of tourists standing around the monkey and waiting for doing that. But we finally had the monkey for ourselves.
~ the monkey has two mouse friends sitting next to him ~
The most enjoyable part of the whole festival, for me, was the flea market along the riverside road. People sold everything from old tumblers and dishes, cutlery, toys, and grammophones, to vintage clothes, books, and a complete set of indoor furnishing (which I wanted very badly – for myself – because it was so lovely ). I did not buy anything, but just strolling aroung was great fun.
After several hours of walking around, we were very aware of our feet, and ended up chilling in the courtyard of the university mensa.
Now, the warm days are over, and I always wear my winter jacket when I go out. It will not take long until I start heating up my clothes again before putting them on … Hello cold!
