Last night I reached my saturation point for “local.” Given my state of being extremely language challenged, I wanted to go into a place where I could read the menu and make low stress choices with predictable outcomes. Fortunately, I stumbled into The Talbot right by the old bridge in Heidelberg, a British Pub complete with darts, football (European style), and fish and chips. Suffice to say, it hit the spot and made me feel at least a little more at home to be able to communicate easily with the waitress for instance. The food was forgettable, but it was just the right place at just the right time to provide a psychological boost.

Since I’m likely to make this trip often in the future, it’s nice to know that places like The Talbot exist. However, it’s clear I’m going to need more than the twelve German words currently in my vocabulary to truly be productive and enjoy the experience.