Saturday, April 14, 2007

Absinthe minded…

Last night we went to old part of Heidelberg with my office mate and his girlfriend. We went out for dinner and drinks once before with Franz and Maria while we were still in Bad Schönborn. This time around, we arrived at the Bizmarkplatz by strassenbahn at around 20:30. I almost never spend time there except on Sundays and holidays, so it was nice to see it hopping for a change.

Last night, the weather was perfect -- mild enough so that those of us that are warm natured needed no jacket. People were out in droves enjoying the incredible streak of weather we’ve had. I can’t remember the last cloudy day.

We walked a kilometer or so from the Bizmarkplatz to the big cathedral near the Kornmarkt. On the way, there was a group of seven or eight teenage girls (from South Africa I believe) singing what sounded to me like African hymns (à la Ladysmith Black Mambazo). They weren’t asking for money, just walking around singing beautifully intricate harmonies to the surprise and delight of the entire street. We were treated to another performance right beside our table during dinner. Guess you never know what you’ll see in Heidelberg.

For dinner, we had pizza, beer and wine at an Italian restaurant beside the big cathedral. Virtually all restaurants have tables outside where people eat, drink and people-watch by candle light. It is incredibly beautiful and romantic. Once dinner was over, the festivities were kicked into high gear. Franz asked us if we’d ever drunk absinthe. We answered "no" and were off to a bar on the Untere-strasse to give it a shot (several shots actually). Warning: my recollection starts to get fuzzy from this point in the story on.

Absinthe is an interesting liquor only in that there is nothing particularly remarkable about it except its historically bad reputation. It reminds me of ouzo, in that it has a strong anise flavor. I must admit that it also reminded me of Nyquil! After drinking several shots, I can assure you that its purported hallucinogenic properties are not merely overrated, they're untrue (unlike NyQuil). People claim that it gives you a different sensation than "regular" alcohol but I wasn't feeling it (the different sensation that is). As is standard absinthe ritual, the shots were served with small pitchers of ice water -- a nice touch when you're drinking almost pure alcohol!

The bar where we imbibed the absinthe was very cool, playing traditional and some new metal at a volume high enough to discourage idle banter with anyone more than a half inch away from you. The place was mostly filled with college kids but people of all sorts were packed like sardines inside and outside. We left this place feeling little pain and proceeded to an Irish bar. After a few Hefeweitzens, stouts and Cosmos (I'll let you guess who ordered what), we were off to catch a taxi back to the ranch. I'm not sure, but I think we got in before 2:00.

I'm sure we'll go out with Franz and Maria again, but next time I hope I remember to clear my schedule for the following day. I'm getting old, and while my heart is still in it, my body takes every opportunity it gets to remind me that I'm not in college anymore.

Now that I've seen it for myself, I can highly recommend the nightlife in Old Heidelberg. I think I would have enjoyed it even without the aid of "absinthe goggles"!

5 comments:

essie said...

sounds fabulous!

My husband is in Heidelberg this month, I'll have to tell him to check it out.
Thanks for the great post;I'm with you an the absinthe, give me a heffie anyday!

Essie

grp said...

Hi Essie,
I somehow pierced the fog of my drunken memory and remembered the name of the street: Untere-strasse. This street parallel to the Haupt-strasse has one bar after another. Definitely an e-ticket for those of use who like the occasional cocktail (and sometimes the "occasion" presents itself every 10 minutes or so!).

essie said...

Fantastic!

I'd tell you that "hair of the dog" helps the day after, but somehow, I think you already know that! Got a call from the husband, who mentioned an Irish pub in Old Heidelberg, and said to thank you for the insider info-He spent the day at a golf course somewhere nearby...how did the cosmos rate?

grp said...

The Mrs. gives the cosmos a 6 or a 7. The Caipirinhas in the "metal" bar were better. Next time I'll try to do a better job of noting the names of these places.

Alan said...

When in Heidelberg, go to the address shown on this website

http://www.absinthemonde.de/

14 Untere Strasse

for the biggest and best selection of absinthe anywhere in the world.