All work and no play...

You know the line. I'm dedicating this post to letting you know I have been eating, resting, and exercising well. For instance, on the afternoon I met Keith at the University in Heidelberg, I left early that day for a "little hike". The hike started (as so many here do) with stairs. From the marketplace in Heidelberg to the Castle level on the hill there are 311 stairs, I first counted these stairs when I was 11 years old. They are the same as always.

Staircase from Kornmarkt to Castle

Then I continued up what is called the ladder to heaven. It rises 1500 feet over a distance of about 3/4 of a mile. So just a bit less intense that the Manitou Incline. Is is essentially a stairway from the city to the top of the mountain in kind of a straight, very uneven shot.

"Heavens ladder"

Looking back down over the incline railway, one can see about how steep the hill is. The ladder is about as steep as the railway.

Bergbahn, funicular, inclined railway - by any other name it is a less sweaty way to travel.

Once I got to the top, I realized that getting back in time for my meeting meant riding down the funicular instead of walking down. I was pretty sweaty and there was a breeze blowing. I was happy to be out of the wind. On the way down I saw a wild deer next to the tracks. I have not seen wild deer in Germany before. This was so cool. I took a bunch of quick photos.

Even through the reflection of the window you can see the deer.

When I looked at the photos later, I noticed something extraordinary. See if you can spot it yourself.

Below and to the right of mama...

I got to my meeting with Keith in time and we had a lovely meal at the "Copper Pitcher."  for some reason, I didn't get a photo with Keith this time. After lunch Keith took me on a tour of the University library system and I ended up in a library for about 4 hours reading that day. Learned so much.

The Copper Pitcher

Almost every day I have found time and opportunity to walk.  This past week I walked with my Uncle through the local forest. The birds were singing and the scent of Bärlauch was in the air. Bärlauch is a kind of wild garlic and it is currently near the end of its edible cycle. The green stuff on the ground is Bärlauch. If it is green you can just pluck leaves and eat it. Tastes like garlic; but it is a little like eating grass. Garlic flavored grass. MMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Bärlauch on the ground, birds in the air.

Our walk took us through a psychiatric hospital grounds where people we know have displayed some artworks made of sandstone. There were varying degrees of excellence there. I found this sandstone and wood combination well done and fun.

Fun sculpture.

On the walk back to his house we found some pretty big bike stands. Public art is all over the place here. Some is more interesting than others.

Parking my uncle instead of a bike.

I'm averaging about 12000 steps a day. Most of those steps are a lot flatter than the hike up the mountain. Even in the city, a path can often be found that has a stream, a middle ages fortification, some gardens...

"New houses" built right on the city wall.

And pretty much any step that is not on a city street ends up looking something like this.

A walking biking path through a wood. So peaceful.

My heart, lungs and legs are all at peak performance for me. My mind is as quiet as it has ever been. Next week I leave for Paris. I have not caught up on all the archaeology yet, but I will soon.