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Saturday, July 6th - day off in Heidelberg
I sleep in a bit as today is a rest day in Heidelberg. I got Benoit's address in Montreal last night but I miss his departure this morning. Uwe saw him and brings me his regards, as well as he and Werna's addresses. I find the opportunity to tell him that he is a wonderful lover to Werna. It is rare when the man does most of the giving in a relationship. I don't say what I am also thinking, that I hope he gets over her and moves onto someone better.
As soon as Uwe leaves, I am approached by a skinny kid from Chicago, a 19 year old named PJ Karafoil. He's extremely chatty and looking for someone to hang out with today, that someone being me, it seems. He looks like an Italian/Jewish gangster without the fedora. After getting my agreement to hang out together he begins to plan our day - laundry, grocery shopping, and picnic and watching the weekend fireworks over Heidelberg Castle after dark, best viewed, he says, from a hill across the river along "Philosophers' Walk". His energy amuses me and I just go along for the ride.
His morning is tied up with sight-seeing and business chores while I spend the 10-to-1 hostel lockout time relaxing in a park and writing postcards and my journal. When the time comes, I cycle downtown to meet PJ at the appointed place, a morning street market that is closing down when I arrive. I am framing up a picture of a handsome, bare-chested youth taking down a market booth when PJ finds me. I am a little disappointed in his timing because over the next couple minutes I see other possible shots that would have been more exciting. PJ grins as he notices me watching the young worker, so I stop watching him. 
PJ and I walk through the remaining booths at the market, picking up fruit, wine and cold cuts for our picnic later. He has been in the city for a couple days and knows where to look. He raves about the good prices but I am still over budget for the day. We stop at a sidewalk 
café in the Kirchplatz and order a mineral water, which the waiter tells us is a whopping 4.5 Deutschmark. I stew over the price, but 15 minutes later the waiter has still not returned with the drink and is nowhere in sight. We give up and leave.
PJ chatters incessantly. He is beginning to get on my nerves. I am not used to 19 year olds and I try to turn him out by half-listening. He is talking about his favourite movies and touches on "My Beautiful Launderette", an early Daniel Day-Lewis movie about a love affair between a white skinhead (Day-Lewis) and a Pakistani boy in London. It is touching, funny gay story about the clash of immigrants, skinheads and tolerance and one of my favourite gay-themed movies. Then he moves onto "Torch Song Trilogy" and I clue in that he is moving from one gay theme to another. I remember him making the occasion reference to gays earlier when I was half-shutting him out. But he has also mentioned a girlfriend earlier.I ask him directly if he is gay or bisexual. Be says he's bi, but adds that he'd be comfortably gay if his best friend Max, back in Chicago, would be willing to be his lover. I am gay, I tell him. He is thrilled and says he's been trying to hit on me all day. This gets me laughing as it explains so much.
We make our way to Philosopher's Walk, a broad, dirt trail that climbs a wooded hill on the north side of Heidelberg. PJ has done his homework well. It's a gentle smooth trail with picnic areas and rest spots with benches nicely laid out to our left, overlooking the city and castle on the south side of the Neckar River. We find a nice spot at a height of 100m with a clear view of the castle and spread out our picnic on one of the tables. We hang out there the two hours before the weekend fireworks show, as the sky gradually darkens.
The fireworks begin and the view is so romantic. No one has passed our spot for half an hour or so. I reach out and take PJ's hand. He's obviously been waiting for me to make a move. He throws an arm around my shoulders and kisses me fully and passionately. We are both in an affectionate mood, full of hugs and caresses. I pull him back, further from the trail, and give him a blow job while he watches the fireworks. It is quite fast as we have been anticipating it for so long, and because we don't want to get caught. As luck would have it, we have just finished brushing off the dirt and straightening our clothes when a group of eight young men and women came up the trail and stopped at our clearing to check the view. The fireworks only lasted ten minutes and I missed most of it, but I have no regrets. After the group moves on up the trail we sit cuddling on a retainer wall to watch the finale. We make our way down the faintly visible trail holding hands and stop for a kiss before entering onto a city street.
It is still too warm so we are in no hurry to get inside. We buy a soda from a Greek restaurant and share it as he is waiting for a bus back to the hostel. I ride back on my bike after the bus comes. Later, I run into PJ in the washroom of the hostel while listening to another guest complain about some Korean kids who have left the lights on and the window open and now his room is full of mosquitoes. For once I don't care. PJ and I wink and blow silent goodnight kisses to each other when the other fellow isn't looking.
PHOTO 1: main platz, Heidelberg
PHOTO 2: Heidelberg and castle
PHOTO 3: Heidelberg Castle
PHOTO 4: Kirchplatz
PHOTO 5: Philosopher's Walk sign
PHOTO 6: the city and castle from Philosopher's Walk
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