Just across the border from the Rhine river lies a small college town of Karlsruhe. Sandwitched between Heidelberg in Germany and Strasbourg in France, Karlsruhe is unglamourous yet very attractive town. It is clean, residents are well dressed and there are plenty of young people, thanks to the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). Surprisingly, everyone in the town is comfortable in speaking English, contrary to the general reputation of a German city. It seems to have everything one desires for peaceful and happy life. Plenty of nature, walkable city, excellent local public transport (and well connected train station), lively city center (downtown in US lingo), libraries, all the famous department stores and most importantly, friendly people. In one way, it resembles Ithaca in upstate New York where Cornell University is located. It is boutique small town with elegance and quality of life of a large city.

The two things to note in the town is 1) the cheap beer, even by German standards, suggesting that students in KIT are not well paid or doesn't have much disposable income. And 2) the restaurant named "Goldies" with the tagline "Best Bad Food in Town". It is seems to be very popular, despite its bad food! Honesty makes for good sales!