May 24

I kind of figured out the alarm system last night/this morning. My clock radio operates in 36.2 second minutes approximately. This is rather unfortunate, and I’m sure it has something to do with the way these types of clocks use the AC frequency to tell time. Anyway, if I set it back far enough the night before it works fine; the cell phone works well as back up too. I got up and made it out the door around nine for some exploration before I was to meet Dr. Heckmann for lunch with his wife and child. First I explored the area coming into Ingelheim from the east. I managed to find a nice path that runs along the river Selz. It was quite nice, and reminded me some of the Kent Trails, with its similar traffic and woodsy/residentially look. I walked it for a bit before heading back and walking up the hill that is Binger Straße, the main street in Ingelheim, on which my apartment is located. It is a nice little town with a lot of traditional buildings that you might expect in a Dorf. Quite cool actually. At the top I sat down in the shade of a fountain for a bit, watching an older lady walk around some of the buildings nearby before settling down for a cigarette on a bench. As I headed back, the bells at St. Regigius began tolling loudly and for quite a while. Today is of course Whit Monday, or Pfingsten in German, which is a holiday celebrated by Catholics here, and observed by everyone. I passed many elderly Germans strolling into the church as the bells regaled all of Ober-Ingelheim. On the way back I crossed the street to explore a small park that I had noticed on the way up. It turned out to be a war memorial for those from Ingelheim who had perished or been lost in the World Wars. It was sponsored by the founder of Böhringer, and was a quiet, very shaded place. As I entered it was really rather magical, as blossoms from the trees overhead were drifting down from the breeze rippling through them. Dr. Heckmann would later tell me that there are many of these, even in the immediate area. The wars were very much a reality for the Germans, for whom they took place around. After my stroll, I retired to my apartment for a short nap and some reading before I was to be picked up. He came to get me in his Volvo wagon, and took me through the cobbled streets to his flat. It was in a building that had been repurposed several years back from somewhat of a useless space into a thriving flat. We took a walk before dinner to see some of the sights of his part of Ober-Ingelheim. We stopped at a now-Protestant, then-Catholic church with epically high, ornate ceilings and medieval wall still surrounding it, topping out at about 5 meters. The church had an old graveyard, which was quite interesting to see, and hadn’t been used since the fifties. Very much overgrown, it was host to a variety of antiquated grave stone designs, among which were some quirky-looking, tower-like markers. After the cemetery and castle look-see we headed up the hill on a paved path in the middle of a vineyard. Ingelheim is the Rot-Wein-Stadt of course, so wineries and vineyards abound on the slopes of the valley. I’ll have to make it up there again and next time take some pictures because the view is quite magnificent and expansive, covering the whole valley really. Eventually we entered the city again, and walked by some remains of the old city walls, now serving as walls for private residences. There are towers that were part of the wall that you can see from time to time, with roofs like dunce caps jutting up from their stocky bases. Typically they are integrated such that they are the middle of a circle junction, like in Standale, quite creatively methinks. We headed up on one of the nicest looking, most traditional streets in the city, passing a Bäckerei/Konditorei on the way back to his place. People drive quite quickly in places where it seems like they really shouldn’t. By the way, in case you wanted to know, Ausfahrt (exit) and Einfahrt (entrance) are used interchangeably for driveway in German (now you know), but certainly not on the highway. Dr. Heckmann’s flat is very bright, open and inviting, with wood floors and window-walls looking out into the valley a bit, because of the absence of a building. I got to meet his wife and child, who were both charming. His daughter is around 8 months now, and very much enjoys guests. She is quite the smiler, and talker, sporting a growing red mane…perhaps not mane yet though. The Heckmanns were making Wiener schnitzel and potatoes, with a nice salad to boot. This was my first experience with any sort of schnitzel, and it was quite fantastic. I didn’t expect the lemon for it, but it is certainly a must. MMMMMMMM!! It is good! The Heckmanns are wonderful hosts, and fun to talk to. After dinner we had coffee flavored ice cream with fresh German strawberries atop it. Certainly very tasty. The little one started getting fidgety (she’s been having some stomach aches recently), so Mrs. Heckmann retired her for a nap. I talked for a while with Dr. Heckmann over cappuccinos with hand-made foam, and the little brown sugar chunks that Prof. Pruim talked about during our Ostfriesch Teestunde. We talked for quite a while, about just about anything (ALDI is a German company owned by two very rich brothers, and since stores in Germany typically close around 8 p.m., so do the ones in the States: it all makes sense now). After a bit, he took me back to my apartment where I relaxed and read for a few hours. At five, I decided to take a run along the Selz River to see some more of the place. It kept on getting longer and longer, so I turned it into a jog/walk for the purpose of not collapsing. I ended up running all the way to the next city/part of the greater Ingelheim conglomerate south: Großwinternheim. Actually, I kept going for a while even after that, but eventually stopped in order to make it back before dark (with plenty of time I might add). The countryside is gorgeous, and I wish that I was able to take some pictures. If I get a bike, there will certainly be some pictures taken, because I will be tearing that path up. There were some sheep grazing, and plenty of barns with all sorts of horses as well (you’d like this area Katie). Things were being grown everywhere, grapes and everything else too, quite green and verdant. The path was well used by bikes and walkers/runners alike. As I expected, there were very few nods or greetings, but I did get some “hallos” from a couple of groups of elderly bikers. When I reached Ingelheim on the way back I decided to head further north to explore the path there as well. When crossing streets, you’re supposed to wait for the red man to become green and be in a walking position (sadly these are not the East German inspired little men that I was hoping to see). Well, I was waiting for the little man to turn, and he never did, though some cars stopped, so I decided to cross anyway. Apparently I did it too slowly or did something else wrong because I got a honk from the owner of a black Golf, some angry shouting and some hand gesture before he sped away. Oops. The path north took me to the campus of Böhringer, and I walked around a little bit, eventually coming to the place where Dr. Heckmann showed me yesterday. I walked back to the apartment through the train station where I stayed for the night, listening to music, reading, and of course writing this. Tomorrow I start at a little before nine. I can start whenever I want after that; I’ll probably stick with seven or eight, not sure yet. Oh, and apparently I need a German bank account to get paid with. I’ll probably get some groceries and look into a phone and bike tomorrow; I’m pretty excited, we’ll see how this goes.