As you already know, I’m an indulger. Someone who enjoys going on adventures by myself. I’ve been trying to recreate that wholesome feeling I used to have. I tried face masks, cocktails at home, chilling on the sofa — nothing. I felt heavy, broody, depressed. I tried several times to write about each attempt, but it never felt right. Never felt fulfilling.
This past Thursday, though, I got my spark back.
Solo Date at Heidelberg’s Goods
Located right behind Heidelberg’s main station — and in my former neighborhood, the Bahnstadt — you can find Goods Heidelberg directly on the western side of Heidelberg’s Congress Center. It has a charming outdoor area and an even more modern, stylishly furnished interior.
I sat down and was immediately greeted by one of the eager and very friendly waiters. He handed me a menu and told me he’d be back in a second. I took my time, took some pictures — because it never really happened if you didn’t post it — and ordered a lemonade and a Tartufo pizza.
The pizza was heaven. The lemonade was lovely — homemade. I sat there enjoying the varying beats drumming out of their boombox and just took it all in. The weather, the people, the feeling. Heidelberg, I’ve missed you.
Afterwards I splurged, moved inside to charge my phone, and ordered a Raspberry Spritz. As yummy as yummy can be. The Tartufo pizza technically didn’t come with mushrooms, but I was given the option and chose tomatoes instead. Delicious, regardless.
It was a magical day. Shoutout to the very lovely staff.
Lemonade at Goods (Yuzu and Lime) Tartufo PizzaRaspberry Spritz
I kind of left you all hanging. Instead of heavenly posts about Lake Eibsee, you were bombarded with posts about financial insecurity and depression. I promise — none of those have vanished. Would be too easy, right? But let’s move on and actually look at a Journey of Joy moment.
In Part I we covered how I got there. In Part II we’re doing a quick and dirty rundown of how things went on my way from Heidelberg to Grainau.
Day Two
I woke up in the early morning on Saturday. I slept okay — unfortunately, since the B&B was quite old (though charming), I heard every minor step my fellow tourists made in the middle of the night or early morning. Still, I had a smile on my lips. I had waited so long for friends to join me on trips, and this was one I finally just went on by myself.
I went into the bathroom and took a long hot shower with the door open. Paranoid, yes — I wanted to make sure that if someone happened to open my hotel room door, I’d be ready.
After the shower I put on my comfiest clothes and went downstairs for breakfast. I had something — honestly don’t remember what. I noticed that beside me there was just a small group of adventure tourists who looked very sporty, probably heading up into the mountains. Since it was April, it was way too cold for them to be cyclists.
I went back upstairs and, honestly, laid back down. Since I didn’t have a TV at home at the time, I took full advantage of finally being able to curl up in bed and just enjoy. I came across Shopping Queen — a show I hadn’t seen in ages — and dove in a little too well. For those of you living in Germany, you already know that on Saturdays you get the entire week’s episodes together in one neat package. So I indulged, enjoyed, and almost didn’t visit the lake at all
The Lake
I mentally gave myself a kick in the butt and put my clothes on. When I checked in, I had generously been given a bus ticket for the area, so I took the next bus to the lake. It almost seemed like every handful of tourists in Grainau had gotten on the same bus. Seats weren’t filled. The weather was unforgivingly dreadful — dark, gray, moody. I thought about my pictures and how they wouldn’t look as great without any sunshine. We made our way through empty streets straight to the lake, dark thick woods surrounding us on all sides.
We arrived after a twenty-minute ride. I got off the bus and started walking. Straight ahead.
There it was — the beautiful Lake Eibsee. I walked around and captured these gems.
Eibsee I Eibsee II
Almost Starved to Death
After about an hour I took the bus back to Grainau, happy with my trip and — most importantly — my pictures. It never really happened if you didn’t post it, right?
Another twenty minutes later I was back at the hotel and getting hungry. Since I hadn’t booked any lunch or dinner options at the B&B, I looked online and found a small store nearby. I figured I’d grab some apples or bread to tide me over. I was too late. It was already closed — and mind you, it was about 3 PM in the middle of the day. I cursed myself for getting my hopes up. Growing up in a village in the Black Forest, I should have known there was no way that store would be open that “late.”
I turned around and spotted a restaurant on my way back, making a mental note to go at 5 PM. I went back to the B&B, watched more TV, and at 5 PM sharp — stomach growling — I headed out. I thought I might try the restaurant right across from the B&B, but of course they didn’t open for another thirty minutes. So back to the first restaurant I went.
I was welcomed by an older man — maybe forty — who was the only waiter and host. It was a typical old restaurant with Italian cuisine. He was nice. Too nice. He asked what I was doing in Grainau and I, foolishly, told him I was a tourist traveling alone. Then the compliments started. With a lit candle on the table, a beautiful girl like me shouldn’t be sitting alone. He should be joining me.
I smiled awkwardly and cringed. Ordered my Radler and a very tasty lasagna, which I inhaled in twenty minutes because this guy was giving me the heebie-jeebies. I left as fast as I could.
At least the lasagna was good.
After that brief adventure I spent the rest of the evening in my room. I called the taxi company to arrange my pickup for the next day and just reminisced.
It was a fun trip. My first solo one during the pandemic.
