Mannheim

The castle in Mannheim is also the university. Pretty sweet place to get a B.A. We visited Mannheim last Tuesday, taking the train 25 minutes past Heidelberg. It’s a decent-sized city with a bustling downtown core, with nicer shops than anywhere nearby. The castle is a few minutes walk away from the main train station and we found it easily.

I love university towns in Germany (or, in Mannheim's case, university city). I’ve only just realized what an impact having a university can do to an entire town. It can make a sleepy, out-of-the-way place full of life. It encourages coffee shops and cafes where otherwise normal people would be too busy to sit and talk philosophy for hours on end. It makes it ok to sit with no purpose on a brick wall, sell DIY felt crafts, and it can make a city feel suddenly responsible for injustices that, besides matters of conscience, don’t really affect the citizenry. University towns are delightful.

The castle museum was beautiful and educational and really a good use of time. I was mostly intrigued by the story of Stephanie, Napolean Bonaparte’s adopted daughter, who lived for a time in the castle. An orphan raised and educated by nuns, Napolean adopted her and then used her through marriage to strengthen his empire, when she ended up in Mannheim. Those daughters of hers which didn’t end up as European queens ensured their daughters did. How’s that for ambition?

We found some cute little boutiques and some upscale department stores. We stumbled upon a fall market around dusk where I got a dinner that was sort of scalloped potatoes on home-made dough baked in a clay oven. Delicious. As I ate it, Shar recognized the lead singer of a German techno-pop band, chased her down, and had a Ger-english conversation with her. She was impressed a Canadian had heard of them.

We took the last train back to Sigrid and Peter’s and I could see my breath as we walked from the train station through the little village, already sleeping.