We packed all our belongings from our three day stay in our Prague apartment. Somehow we managed to pay our bill of 24,000 crowns and get all of our acquisitions in the car. We left at 9:36, the weather changed, and we had a beautiful sunny day driving to Heidelberg. We filled up our gas tank while still in the Czech Republic because it was only $5.60 a gallon compared to the $7.00+ that we paid at the beginning of the trip. At 11:30 am we entered Germany where we cruised at 105 mph!!! Needless to say we made good time. The roads are wonderful because the Nazi’s were the first to invent divided highways. Under President Eisenhower the US began to do the same. At 12:45 we stopped at an Autohof (busy gas station, truck stop) and ate outside after going through their buffet line.

At this point we would like to say something about the toilets in Europe. We have been so impressed with the cleanliness and the ingenuity of their flushing systems. Today’s was the most interesting. The toilet seats rotate under a cleaning system after each flush….I could not believe it when I saw it start to move all the way around and come to rest in its original spot all clean. Wow! We would all like one of these at our house. However, we have to pay for this service…it’s almost always $.70 (except in Prague, where it was free) but to me it was worth it as I have had some weird experiences in the past…having to bring my own Kleenex many times.

We arrived in Heidelberg about 3:30 which is our last stop before returning to our “Day’s Inn” in Amsterdam. David has promised us we could do laundry immediately upon arrival at his home.

After checking in at the Marriott we took the tram down to the old town (Bismarckplatz), where we could stroll down the main (shopping) street in search of a the perfect view of the castle, the infamous bridge and the river, and, of course, to choose the perfect restaurant for dinner. This part of town was bustling with tourists and Sunday afternoon strollers. Of course, we couldn’t resist the souvenir shops and tourist stores, and felt compelled to again contribute the local economy.

To our surprise, Heidelberg came across as the least clean of all the cities we have visited. We stuck our heads into a few churches and walked half way out onto the bridge to get the perfect view (the money shot, for those of you in the know!). We even made a few purchases, ate a huge dinner, and took loads of pictures. The castle on the hill was built centuries ago, and became a ruin during the 30 Years War in the 1700s. Of course, we were entertained to see scaffolding on the castle ruins, demonstrated that even ruins need to be renovated! The oxymoron of the day

Our hotel is right on the Necker and we enjoyed a beautiful view of the sunset from the terrace. We are off to bed early as Jeff and David are anxious for us to get an early start in order to see Cologne – 2 hours to the north - before getting to Amsterdam. We all leave Amsterdam on Wednesday, Mary and Jeff fly together to Chicago where they part ways and Joy flies into DC, she hopes and then to NY and home next Sunday afternoon.