The Seefer Road Trip Begins

The idea was hatched over a year ago. I already knew that I would be teaching for a semester in Florence, and Chip knew that he would be visiting me here at some point. Wouldn’t it be great if Jake and others in his family could visit too? And somehow, while discussing this thought, primarily over family meals, the proposal for the “Three-Generations-of-Seefer-Men Road Trip Across Germany” came to life. And now, over a year later, it was about to become reality.

Why Germany? First of all, the Seefers come from German roots. Chip’s dad Paul even completed his graduate degree at the University of Heidelberg and, although he’d been back since, his two sons and his grandson had never been to Germany. He’d always wanted to share his native land with them, and this was the perfect opportunity!

But first we had to get Jake. Chip woke up early on April 6 to walk to Jake’s hotel to pick him up. They returned to the Hotel du Pantheon, where I was waiting. How great it was to see Jake again—it had been much too long! And is it possible that he’d grown even taller in those two months I’d been away? It sure looked like it!

After breakfast we took a taxi to the train station, where we caught a train to Mannheim, Germany, an approximately six-hour ride. This was Jake’s first European train experience, and he seemed to enjoy it. The six hours flew by as the French countryside rolled by, eventually becoming the German countryside (we tried to guess the moment we entered Germany). And suddenly the train pulled into the Mannheim station, where Chip’s brother Doug was to pick us up. And he didn’t come alone—their dad came along too.

How wonderful it was to see everyone again! There were hugs all around before we headed to the car to make the short drive to Heidelberg, where we would be staying for the next two nights.

Doug and Paul were both in their element. Although Doug had arrived only that morning, he was already an expert at driving the Autobahn, and loving every minute of it. Even in his rental, he was proud that he had managed to pass a BMW! And Paul, well Paul was just happy to be back in Germany, this time surrounded by his boys. He had arrived in Heidelberg the previous Tuesday, giving his time to get his bearings. And during the drive back, he caught us up on what he had been doing, and about everything we were about to see.

Heidelberg, with a population of about 140,000, is a town in Southern Germany that sits right on the Neckar River. The town’s name comes from the German word Heidelbeerenberg, which means “Blueberry Mountain.”

There is evidence of life in Heidelberg dating back 600,000 (yes, 600,000!) years. The “Heidelberg Man,” in fact, is believed to be the oldest human in Europe. His jaw bone was discovered and dated in 1907 in the nearby town of Mauer, where it is believed that he died. Fascinating stuff!

But we weren’t here for archaeological purposes. We were here to discover the town through Paul’s eyes. It was here that he attended graduate school at Heidelberg University after World War II, beginning in 1949. Heidelberg University, founded in 1386, is the oldest university in Germany. Its library, which was built in 1421, is also the oldest public library in Germany. There’s a lot of history in this town! We couldn’t wait for Paul to show us around.

We first checked into our room, the Hotel Goldener Hecht, hotel that has been in operation since 1717. It was perfectly located in Old Town, right at the foot of the Old Bridge.

Every room in this hotel, situated in an ancient building, is unique and is named after someone famous who once stayed at the inn, whose likenesses were painted along the stairwell. Chip and I stayed in the Carl Zuckmayer-Turgenjew room. Doug was in the Victor Hugo room. Jake was in the Jean Paul-Gottfried Keller room. And Paul had the best room of all—the Mark Twain room. It is said that Mark Twain fell in love with Heidelberg and wrote about it substantially, including references to this very hotel, in his book A Tramp Abroad. I can’t wait to read it when I get home!

Anyway, all the rooms except ours were in the front of the hotel with gorgeous views of the Old Bridge gate. (Chip and I were on the side, overlooking the construction that was going on at the building next door. Oh well!) But that was okay. We didn’t plan to spend a lot of time in the room as we had less than two days to explore Heidelberg.

Paul was feeling a little tired after the drive, so he sent us out on our own, with one important instruction: Find a good place for dinner. We were on the task! But first, we stopped in the restaurant next door, also called the Goldener Hecht (“golden perch”), for refreshment, namely in the form of beer and wine.


After we were suitably refreshed, we headed first to the Old Bridge, which seemed quite obvious given that it was literally right in front of us. The bridge certainly is old; it was built between 1786 and 1788, and the medieval gate you see Chip and Doug walking through here was once actually part of the town wall, before the bridge was ever built. When the bridge was erected, the two Baroque tower helmets were added (if you look closely, it looks as if they’re helmeting Chip and Doug in one of these pictures!).

After crossing over the bridge and back, we explored Old Town, with its cobbled streets, large public squares, and attractive Baroque buildings. We could see why Mark Twain loved this town, and why Paul also fell in love with it during his graduate days.

And then we discovered the perfect place for dinner: Romantik Hotel Zum Ritter St. Georg. The building the hotel is in was built by a cloth merchant and his wife in 1592 and has been a hotel for decades. Its gabled brownstone architecture really sets it apart from the other buildings in Heidelberg; in fact, it’s the only Renaissance-style building in the entire town. Today it is on the list of historically important buildings, and for good reason.

We were excited to return later that evening for dinner, and Paul seemed very pleased with our choice. He had actually walked by the hotel earlier in the week and was impressed by what he saw. And in all his student years, he never dined here. The Red Ox was more up his alley! (More on that later.)

In addition to being a beautiful dining room, the service was impeccable and the food was divine. Chip and Paul each had Wiener Schnitzel, Doug had filet of perch (but of course he was served last!), Jake had a big steak, and I had what was called the Frühlîngsmenü, which was multi-course spring menu, complete with an aperitif, soup, salad, entrée, and dessert. Yes, I shared, and it was all marvelous!

By the time we walked home, the sun had gone down, leaving the Old Bridge gate magically illuminated.