Die Wochenende in Heidelberg - Verpissen Sie Turisten!

Willkommen in Heidelberg!
Es ist Zeit fur Herbstfest!
Here we will be having special exhibitions and displays, live music and djs, fine food and drink, craft fairs!
Wunderbar!!
Actually, nicht so wunderbar
Day starts off well with some bad ass breakindancing going down at the Bismarcksplatz, then it's on the Hauptstrasse.....or is it? ;)
One look at the hellish crowds thronging the route is enough, so I cross over the Neckar to escape the madness
As I'm on this side of the river, I decide to stick my head into 'O Reillys more out of curiosity than anything.....and I promptly withdraw said head faster than you can say 'Well be the holy, is it yourself is it?'
Fine for one night perhaps, when you're tanked up and out with a bunch of Irish lads on the tear (which I'm not), but otherwise Nein Danke
In a different class altogether is the Bar D'Aix opposite 'O Reillys
Small, old rustic yet stylish decor, German clientele, Leverkeusen vs Bayern on a big screen in the corner, which despite it's size, is unobstrusive
Bar D'Aix is everything 'O Reillys is not, without even trying

After a small but very tasty Croque Monsieur and a thirst quenching kleines 'Divers', I head for the Philosophen Weg or to be more precise the Schweizenweg (the steeper, less travelled route!)
The overgrown pathway is covered with sweet chestnut shells whilst crickets chirp away in the evening light; no wonder they call it the Philosopher's Way, there's great peace up here away from the madding crowd
I eventually make it as far as the Bismarcksaule Tower, climbing up a spiral stone stairwell to the top, the view over Heidelberg and the Neckar river valley is inspirational and were it not for the trees growing all round, would be even more impressive

Descending to ground level again, many of the stalls on der Altebrucke are packing up, so I head downtown in search of some good music or a decent not overly touristy bar, unfortunately both prove very hard to find!
I finally find a place called 'Drugstore' which has Cuban music, natives rather than tourists (some of whom are playing chess on the tables!) and some tasty snacks on the menu, one of which I try: Neuer Wein und Schwiebelkuchen
The wine is delicious, fruity, slightly fizzy and very refreshing, the onion tart is also top notch, tasty and succulent (feck i'm beginning to sound more like jamie oliver every day!) ;D
I move on again...there has to be some other cool bars here playing something over than Eagles covers or Girls Aloud? Perhaps not methinks as I stumble upon Unterestrasse and Heumarkt thronged with people, almost dangerously overcrowded
It's as bad if not worse than Temple Bar on a Saturday night with an uninspiring AC/DC cover band preaching to the converted - people, this is not good
After struggling through the great unwashed, I make it down to Hemingways for a quiet Heffe and then it's homeward bound

Maybe I'm being a bit cynical about the Herbstfest, ok so it was crowded but then most festivals are, it did have plenty of musical performances on, albeit fairly predictable ones, it had plenty of fare for kids and families which is fair enough as well and it caters pretty well for your average tourist, ie. it caters for the mainstream....and there's the rub, cos mainstream and i don't always see eye to eye!

cooper out