heidelberry finn?

mark twain became beloved to me only after i realized that he too was an international traveler. and also after i realized his connection with heidelberg.

in one of those touristy bookshops on the hauptstrasse in heidelberg, there is a book by werner pieper called "mark twain's heidelberg." i bought it one day after lunch at the excellent chinese buffet at "dong dong" (yes, the name of that restaurant was the source of much mirth among friends while i was there, but you couldn't beat their buffet). it takes excerpts from twain's "a tramp abroad," a book in which his affection for the germans is apparent only when you look past his jokes and jibes. he was after all a humorist, and i wish we had focused more on that side of him when studying him in high school. "huckleberry finn" put me to sleep, though i haven't gone back and read it again since, and perhaps now, that opinion may change.
the interesting thing is that it's widely believed that heidelberg was the source of inspiration for "huckleberry finn." though based mostly on twain's experiences growing up and working in mississippi, there are definite signs of heidelberg's influence. when twain arrived in europe for that trip, he seemed to be going through a bout of writer's block. the retreat in heidelberg was supposed to provide inspiration, a change of scenery perhaps. the raft trip down the mississippi in the book seems to have been inspired by twain's trip by raft - down the neckar river in germany. he traveled from heidelberg to a town further up (or down) river with his trusty companion, "harris." and heidelberg, when translated into english, means "huckleberry mountain," which could be the source of the hero's name.

this is of course all conjecture. i'm probably getting my facts mixed up, and since my book is in a box somewhere (along with the complete "a tramp abroad"), i'll have to wait until it's unearthed before i can get my facts straight.

if you haven't yet, read twain's essay, "the awful german language," please read it. it's fantastically funny, especially for those who've been trying to learn the language. my favorite excerpt follows below:

"Gretchen.

Wilhelm, where is the turnip?

Wilhelm.

She has gone to the kitchen.

Gretchen.

Where is the accomplished and beautiful English maiden?

Wilhelm.

It has gone to the opera."

Every noun has a gender, and there is no sense or system in the distribution; so the gender of each must be learned separately and by heart. There is no other way. To do this one has to have a memory like a memorandum-book. In German, a young lady has no sex, while a turnip has. Think what overwrought reverence that shows for the turnip, and what callous disrespect for the girl. See how it looks in print -- I translate this from a conversation in one of the best of the German Sunday-school books: