A trip to Speyer

  I chose the hottest and muggiest day to travel to Speyer, a town in the vicinity of Heidelberg.It gained some notoriety through a GI called Elvis who allegedly lost his heart there. No, I'm not taking you there.Speyer is famous for its cathedral that was begun in 1025. Wikipedia offers its complete history if you're interested: Speyer.My mission wasn't sightseeing but visiting an old friend way back from Ireland who landed in a nursing home there. He had sold me his wine business in Dublin when he retired. The road trip also went past Schwetzingen. Yes, it has a castle which I never visited but the area is the pinnacle of growing white asparagus. You can buy early asparagus from Morocco in March. But a real German asparagus lover frowns at the idea and waits for Schwetzinger or local one to appear on our local markets.Alas, the season is over. Another place of interest which had escaped my attention so far traveling thru Germany is the Hockenheim Ring.If you're familiar with Formula I motor racing, the name means something to you.I don't want to belittle Nascar Racing or the Daytona 500, but it's just a cast-off of Formula I racing whch embraces the whole world. It also comes to Indianapolis Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Besides Monaco, Dubai, Japan, Bahrain, UK, Barcelona, The Grand Prix has two race courses in Germany, The Hockenheim Ring and the Nuerburg Ring. The town of Speyer itself resembles so many towns in Germany that have old parts of town, mostly pedestrianized with gorgeous timber framed houses, endless opportunities to sit out and have a coffee of meal. Weather permitting, of course. And it did. We're waiting for a weather front to come thru.