Heidelberg, Germany.

Eric gets a 4-day weekend every month and should have had one for the weekend of the Fourth of July, but because his unit recently returned from Afghanistan no one got the weekend off completely.  If we were going to make plans, we had to stick close to home.  Since it was Eric’s birthday weekend, he decided that he'd like to see Heidelberg.  We live just 70km from Heidelberg and have heard it’s a must-see! 

Heidelberg did not make Rick Steves’ 'Best of Germany 2013'- he said it was “too famous” and "stained almost beyond recognition by commercialism."  Shoot, commercialism never bothered me none, I loved it there!  And so far, is one of my favorite places! 

This is where we were originally going to be stationed, but because of the downsizing, Heidelberg is getting consolidated with other Army posts, so the Army instead put Eric in Kaiserslautern.  This would have been a neat place to live!  Oh well..

Heidelberg is a university town on the Neckar River and is considered to be one of Germany’s most vibrant cities.  It dates back to the 5th century.  We started our day by walking across the Alte Brücke (old bridge).

The Alte Brücke from a different angle.....

And then I took a few pictures of the  Brückentor (Bridge gate).

The Heidelberg castle sits above the city and is what most tourists come to Heidelberg to see.  It is beautiful!  It was destroyed by a 17^th-century fire and has been in ruins ever since, but it is still impressive!  I just could not get over the gorgeousness of the entire city!  I kept saying "It's so pretty!" over and over and over.  I know Eric was getting irritated, but I couldn't help it, Heidelberg was just so pretty!  I don't know any other words to describe how pretty everything was!  Or how appreciative I was to be seeing it!  And more so, I don't know the right words to say how appreciative I am that Eric and I can give Isabelle these experiences!  I guess italics and exclamation points are the best I can do.....  

It was just SO pretty!!!!!!!

So instead of irritating my guy the entire time we were in Heidelberg, I just concentrated on snapping pictures, and thought to myself... "It's just SO pretty!!!!!"

I'm a big believer in signs and I don't believe in coincidences   I believe wholeheartedly that everything happens for a reason and that God is speaking to us all the time.  I find that He communicates with me mainly through signs.  The very first week Isabelle and I were here, we all went on a walk and met a neighbor up the street from us wearing a South Dakota t-shirt.  I mean, really, what are the chances?!  
And on this particular weekend, before we left Heidelberg it was getting very hot so Isabelle and I decided we wanted gelato.  {Gelato is the Italian word for ice cream.  It tastes very similar to ice cream (but better) and looks just a little different.  It looks like whip cream except that it's frozen.  It's amazing!}  We went into the nearest gelato place and this is what I saw...

So unexpected and so cool!  For me, God's signs let me know that I'm on the right path or provide gentle guidance when I'm not.  Yes, I'm sure if we went back to the same gelato shop, this flavor would still be there, but to me, this and the South Dakota t-shirt was my sign from a higher power that I am exactly where I am supposed to be at this point in my life.  {A high-five back at ya, God!}