By Erik Squire

As promised, here is trip number two in my four edition series, journaling my travels abroad. In this article I will thoroughly divulge my incredible adventures in: (drumroll please…) Mid-Eastern Germany!

I took my early AM flight from beautiful Barcelona into the hustle and bustle of Frankfurt. When I walked into the Frankfurt airport I realized they had compartments INSIDE the airport for people to smoke.

Within an hour my very good German friend Philipp Karl, who I stayed with for most of my time in Germany, picked me up. We shared some hardy laughs on the drive home, as we talked about the old times of making home videos where Philipp was a renegade soldier who tried to train an army of superior chickens. I digress.

We arrived in Philipp’s unbelievable hometown of Seckenheim. The Gothic half-timber-framed buildings were what stuck out to me the most. I had only ever seen them in movies, and to see almost every house built like this made it seem as if I were on a set.

Philipp took me to the city where he worked, which happened to be the world famous Heidelberg. It is in the top ten most beautiful cities I’ve ever been to. The river Neckar separates the city and a bridge of towers and arches that connected it. Up in the distance was the most extraordinary castle, Heidelberg Castle, I have ever seen. Philipp and I had coffee in the outside sitting area of a café and soaked in the surroundings.

We walked through the city, which was almost entirely comprised of carefully constructed buildings of old. After Philipp went to work I took the ferry up the river and then made my way up to the castle. Heidelberg Castle sits high up in the city and once I arrived, I had a phenomenal view of the scenery below. I toured the castle, saw the sights, including an enormous keg that filled an entire room, and learned about a man who drank a bottle of wine every day and lived a very long time.

One day when Philipp was working again, I decided to visit my other friend Roger, in Karlsruhe. I took a rideshare to get there and was seriously gypped by the driver. It’s okay though, I got to converse with a very attractive law student on the drive down, so it was worth it.

When I arrived, Roger took me to his farm and let me drive his industrial sized tractor, and I even got a lift on the forks protruding from the bucket. Later, he toured me around the college city. He walked by beautiful structures, pleasant little parks, and perfectly planned squares. I took the train back to Heidelberg and got off at the wrong station. Apparently there are four stations for one city. My friends laughed at this, but only because they don’t understand how underdeveloped Maine is.

That night Philipp picked me up at the station, and we drove to a bar in Heidelberg. I had my very first beer, -I’m 22, but I don’t drink- I had to; after all it is such a large part of the German culture. We decided to make our way to the top of the city and experience the views by night. It was mesmerizing. The whole city was lit up and sitting perfectly positioned along the river. The night air was magnificent, both warm and welcoming. There I stood with great people, absorbing every bit of the moment that I could take in.

On our way home I asked Philipp to stop by the bridge that led into Seckenheim. Philipp had previously told about how his grandfather instructed him to crawl over the giant arch of the bridge when he was younger. His grandfather told him that in order to become an official citizen of the city, he had to cross over it. Let’s just say that, that night I became an honorary citizen of Seckenheim.