Settling into ‘European travel headquarters’
Dustin Long
Overseas Columnist
I’m sitting in the library of Moorhaus at “Graimbergweg zehn” in Heidelberg Germany. The local time is 11:30 p.m. and the room is filled with students pouring over “Let’s Go Europe” books, maps of central Europe, Deutsche Bahn train schedules and books of travel notes from students of years past. The Internet connection is dwindling under the strain of last-minute hostel reservation network traffic, and overall, the house is buzzing with an air of excitement — the first long weekend of free travel in Europe.
Minus a few delayed bags and a case or two or three of the common cold, the first weeks of the Heidelberg program have passed without a hitch. The end of cultural orientation, where we learned about living in Germany, and intensive language lessons was marked this morning by our first formal exam; now that we’ve shed our jetlag and taken a moment to breathe and look back, here are the “Schlagzeile” (happenings) from Heidelberg:
The day of our arrival was, according to Program Director Daniel Daugherty and Herr Doktor Lerner, one of the finest in the history of the program. Sunny skies, open fields and rows of hills dotted with castles greeted us on the bus ride from Frankfurt to Heidelberg. After the ride, we struggled up the steps of Moorhaus with awkward baggage and heavy eyelids.
The next several days were a mad rush of confusion, awe, learning, sleeping, not sleeping and ultimate Frisbee in the castle yard. Having arrived in Heidelberg’s “Altstadt” (old city) on Wednesday, Saturday was our first outing. The group traveled up the Neckar River on the top deck of a cruise boat — out came a hoard of digital cameras. In unmatched tourist style we floated for an hour up to Neckarsteinach and left no hill, house, smile, castle or pose unphotographed. Standing high above the river and the city in the tower of a long-abandoned castle, I knew I had arrived.
That night and the next afternoon, several students hopped the train out to Ladenburg. I was lucky to be in the first group to arrive in the city, which sits about 15 minutes outside of Heidelberg, and I was pleasantly surprised when I found we had stumbled upon the ancient city’s “Altstadt Fest,” a precursor to Oktoberfest. Great music, all sorts of food, dancing and beer sampling filled the hours until the arrival of the 10:14 p.m. train back to Heidelberg.
Sunday morning of the first weekend is traditionally a time for new Heidelbergers to meet the local Gemeine Christi (Church of Christ) across the Neckar. As the warm weather may very well have set the spirit for the atmosphere in Moorhaus this year, our first Sunday experience also seems especially telling of the character of this year’s group. Accustomed to welcoming a dozen or so Pepperdine students the first weekend of each school year, the congregation was shocked when nearly the entire group showed up and filled out the small auditorium to a comfortable squeeze. After all this, and several cultural and transportation “learning experiences,” the library, which several days ago was filled with suitcases, has been transformed into a bustling European travel headquarters. By any measure, this year’s group has class and looks to be a great one.
09-23-2004