And in my dream I was <br />just halfway up the Holy Mountain <br />of homesickness called Heidelberg. <br />I had just crossed the Neckar river <br />and, dripping wet was climbing what <br />the travel agents without culture <br />keep calling the most lovely promenade. <br /> <br />A Schinkenbrot right near the fork, <br />I've missed the Philosophenweg <br />as well as what is called the Schlangenweg. <br />I munched and chased the food <br />with generosity straight out of Baden, <br />a potent Kirschwasser, Schladerer, <br />and watched, while nodding joyfully, <br />the river and the Altstadt, as well as <br />in the shadows, the town of Mannheim. <br /> <br />Now, freshly strengthened it was off <br />to try the Drachenschlucht, precarious <br />it is and not for the faint of heart. <br /> <br />Then, lovelier it cannot get, the Garden, <br />the one made for exclusive use of the Philosophers. <br />A beam of light, some quick reflection <br />now beckoned from the distant shore, <br />it was the Koenigsstuhl, the restaurant, <br />I smelled the Sauerbraten now. And in the blink <br />of philospher's keen vision, I flew, a bird <br />whose real nature comes to life in Heidelberg. <br />Who needs a cable car to taste the wine <br />in ancient barrels, made of sacred wood. <br /> <br />I woke with the sweet taste of Neckar wine <br />still on my lips and to the voice of one Professor, <br />who's been up in Valhalla for some forty years. <br />It has been good to pay a visit to refresh <br />my memory from student days, so long ago. <br />I will be in demand once I get up above the town <br />where all are happy, just looking down upon <br />the scenery, while drinking wine outside all seasons.<br /><br />Herbert Nehrlich<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/heidelberg-revisited/
