Monday...Monday!

Our arrival in Mannheim, Germany was somewhere around 2:00 AM. One doesn't notice such events, the cruising is so smooth, except that I wasn't sleeping well and was sitting up watching the arrival. Our accommodation is described as a French Balcony, floor to ceiling glass panels facing the river...minus any balcony chairs. A non-sleeper can literally watch the world flow by.
Following a somewhat rushed breakfast (I always fall asleep just prior to the appropriate waking time), we disembarked at 8:30 for a bus journey to Heidelberg. The bus transportation is now owned by Viking as well, brand new Mercedes coaches of the finest quality. It is a wonderful way to get to visit locales that are not adjacent to the dock. Getting out of  Mannheim was like any Monday morning commute following a great weekend. Mannheim is a huge industrial city in the south western part of Germany, third largest in the German state of Baden-Wurttemberg. The Rhine and Neckar come together there. The city is home to Daimler, John Deere, Caterpillar, ABB and Siemens etc., so a large industrial/manufacturing area. It is known also for rowdy soccer fans as many teams (6 Division 1) make their home there as well.
As the buses turned away from Mannheim to head to Heidelberg, we spotted an attractive looking hockey arena, home of Adler Mannheim (Mannheim Eagles), who play in Germany's highest hockey league, the  Deutsche Eishockey Liga. A little research last evening showed me that there are 4 Canadians currently on the team, including Glenn Metroplit and Bobby Raymond who both have had NHL experience.
From Mannheim to Heidelberg, the differences are significant. Where the former is known as an industrial leader in Germany, the latter is renowned for its university. Heidelberg is known as one of Germany's oldest and most romantic cities. Its university rivals England's Oxford University, and the magical, mostly ruined, picture-book castle overlooking the baroque Old Town makes the it a very special place to visit. It is very international in makeup with students from around the world. When I download my hundreds of photos, you can be sure that this part of our visit will have been well recorded.
While we were visiting Heidelberg, our longship moved from Mannheim to Gernsheim, where we boarded and headed to Rudeshiem...there was a change in the air and an indication of a change in the weather...An excellent German schnitzel dinner and a glassblowing demonstration put the wraps on another excellent day!