Wednesday, December 25, 2013

A COUPLE HEIDELBERG STORIES

                                       Heidelberg Lunch and Kiss
An Interesting Lunch
We arrived in Heidelberg  just about lunch time and our first stop was the Castle Restaurant where we were served a student lunch.  The meal started with a large green salad that was followed with mouth pockets.  What an interesting name for the large ravioli-like pastas filled with a cheese, spinach and meat filling. They were very different, but I really liked them even though it seemed strange not to have a sauce on them. Lunch finished with a very good apple strudel (apfelstrudel).
It was a delightful hearty lunch. The large restaurant is filled with long tables.

The Student Kiss
Our local Heidelberg, Germany guide told a story related to the students at the local university.  Heidelberg University was for boys only in days of old. However, they soon discovered that girls from finishing schools congregated at what now is Heidelberg’s oldest café in the center of the old city. Everyone liked Fridolin Knosel the good natured pastry cook who owned the café. The girls, accompanied by their watchful governess, frequently encountered merry students. Under such conditions innocent flirtations were kept under wraps.
However, the young ladies’ secret longings did not escape Mr. Knosel who decided to help them. One day with a big grin, he surprised them with a chocolate pastry he called a ‘student kiss’. The governesses did not object to the girls accepting the pastry.
Since then, much time has passed and much has changed. But the ‘student kiss’ is still available from the same café and serves as a reminder of the romantic past and has become part of Heidelberg’s history and image.
After concluding our city walking tour, we walked through the ancient towers and across the old stone bridge for a different perspective of the city. It was an excellent spot to get a really good view of the castle high up on the hill. After taking a couple of photos we returned to the café to buy a couple of kisses.
It is fun to learn these cute little stories as one travels as it helps to bring history alive. This picture is a copy of the kiss wrapper.  I managed to get a couple of the treats home to share with family as I related the story.

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