It feels weird to have a Christmas season where people aren’t traveling. Welcome to 2020. Pretty much nothing about this year has been normal.

I saw this sculpture in Heidelberg’s old town. A friend was leading us through back streets to avoid the crowds, which explains why I had never seen it before. 

The sculpture is about a block away from the main Street. There was a small brass plaque at the base: kein trinkwasser. I know enough German to know that isn’t the name of the work but a warning. Don’t drink the water. 

I didn’t see any information on what it is called or who made it. Looking online didn’t yield immediate results, but I eventually found out it is not new but was built in 1991.

It is the Sume, or “seed” fountain and dedicated to Heidelberg’s children. I’m not quite sure why.

I was surprised to find that it was such a recent creation. After all, people have lived here for a couple of thousand years and “modern” Heidelberg dates from about the 4th century. Given that the fountain was in the altstadt or old town the assumption would be that it was a few hundred years old at least.

Just a reminder that tourists shouldn’t make assumptions. Probably good advice for non-tourists too.