Move Over Heidi...: German Sundays

In Germany, Sundays are nearly sacred as the Germans truly hold it as a day of recreation and relaxation. We heard from everyone several times the things that you do not do on Sundays when you live here because it violates the "German Sunday". It is a crime for you to cut the grass on a Sunday. We were told repeatedly that our neighbors would call the police and we would be cited. Some other no-nos are hanging your clothes on the line outside, washing your car, and making home improvements (including using a hammer to put one picture on the wall). All of these things would upset your neighbors on Sunday! The best news is that the workers may not work on the apartment on this day :) In addition, most places are closed and the cities are very quiet. You see a lot of people on bike trails running, biking, and walking their dogs.
TJ and I have decided to take full advantage of this day and it has quickly become my favorite day of the week. Most of the time we will be traveling whether it be far, or a neighboring village like we did yesterday. We woke up yesterday to watch SNL on our sling box as it was just getting over in the US as we were getting up (PS I love you Sling Box). And after laughing hysterically decided to hike a trail in a near by forest that we had seen on the way to Schwetzingen. It was awesome...Tut loved it too as his sniffer was in full swing! Here are a few pictures of the hike...

Part of the forest...

Here is a great photo of the man and, of course Tut, who constantly had his nose to the ground!

We were only there maybe an hour and a half...but this was Tut afterwards. He was so tuckered out! And this is how he spent the rest of his German Sunday.

TJ and I, on the other hand were thrilled to visit Heidelberg (a 20 minute train ride south) for a midevil festival. There were booths, performers, food, and of course beer!

TJ had something amazing, and we have no idea what it was!

We didn't stay at the festival long as we couldn't understand what the performers were saying and the beer was less than desirable. So we walked about Heidelberg...take a look at this beautiful town...

This is a very typical street and this one happens to be right in the middle.

This one is for all of you Catholics out there...The Church of the Holy Spirit.

This picture is taken across the river from the festival and right above the main area is the castle. It is one of my favorites as it is preserved authentically. It is a must see if you come to visit!

The town is seperated by the Neckar River and this is taken from the bridge. It was a beautiful day!

This is one side of the city's skyline.

Alot of people will hang out in parks on Sunday. They will have their dogs, books, friends, and food and camp there for the day. TJ and I found a great spot, but we only stayed their for about 45 minutes. TJ took a small nap and I people watched (what an education, by the way).

We love German Sundays! We ended it by having dinner and ice cream in the shopping district and then headed home for the evening. Next week will be much different as we will be coming back from Oktoberfest in Munich. Hopefully the three hour train ride will cure our hang overs...we'll see!