BEHIND THE BOOKCASE .... attic living in HEIDELBERG

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Tour de Heidelberg

In honor of Earth Day, I thought I'd blog a wee bit about my fantastic new set of wheels ... my Fahrrad (bicycle).  



It's a Victoria Fahrradfrende pur Alucity in blue specifically designed for 'city' riding (notice how deep the center bar dips - this is a tremendous aid when stopping and starting for the many red lights, pedestrians, baby buggies, etc).  I can very easily step through.  There are front and rear lights on this beauty, but I'm waiting to find just the right bell for it.

Heidelberg has many, many bikes just about everywhere and bike theft is one the most frequent criminal activities here.  On the other, it seems small potatoes when compared to Amsterdam.  When we were there this past weekend, we saw parking garages for bikes.  The one by the main train station had a three level garage that was jammed with bikes of all colors, shapes, conditions, etc.  Our tour guide said that last year there were 700,000 stolen bike reports made to the police department.  Too big to imagine!

Today's errands included a stop at the fresh market for lettuce, onions, tomatoes (tonight is deconstructed taco salad night just like Terie H. makes it).  We also stopped at the butcher's and she gave us some terrific corned beef for Rueben sandwiches on Friday night.  Marie and I biked over to the post office to mail Jack a small parcel (he's serving an LDS mission in Russia Ekaterinburg until Oct 2009) and then we made a couple of quick stops before a swing through Aldi (salami, raisin bread for toast, and katze sticks for Agnes).  By carrying our own cloth bags we didn't require any plastic bags.

I was reminded on Feminist Mormon Housewives that Earth Day events don't have to be anything big and spectacular, just something small we incorporate into our daily lives.  Once that's built into the routine, we can move on to the next 'earth friendly' behavioral change.  

On the way back home I stopped to take a picture of the end of our street ... I like being here, though I miss and long to see my dear friends (and my dad).



Green, even in small amounts, is where it's at.

3 comments:

  1. Way to be green! I'm inspired! Have I mentioned before that I think I was born to live in Europe?

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  2. Nice ride! I bet it is so refreshing to get out and bike every where.

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