Visiting Heidelberg

Over the weekend I had the chance to spend the day in Heidelberg, Germany.  I'd heard such good things about this city.  Heidelberg has a very German feel to the city and there is a lot to see.  Heidelberg University is there which is the oldest univeristy in Germany founded in 1386!  Wow!  But on to what we got to see that day.  We saw Heidelberg Castle, the Christmas Market, and rode on the funicular railway to the top of the mountain and had an impromptu walk through the woods of the Konigstuhl (hill top).  Sounds random, I know, but there is so much to do in Heidelberg.  This was a good break from the usual.

First we visited the castle.  This one is impressive.  It is red and massive.  It is in tact for the most part but is considered castle ruins.  The older parts of the castle were built around 1214 AD and renovations followed throughout the centuries including damages.  Inside the castle, there is a small Alchemy museam, guided tours, and even a cafe where you can take your picture with huge, and I'm talking huge beer barrels.  We got some views of downtown and the Carl Theodor Bridge.  We were all set to see the Christmas market surrounding the castle, but were informed that it didn't start for another 4 days.  No problem.  We could take a cable car from the castle area downtown to Kornmarkt for their Christmas market.

So after riding the cable cars we made it to the market which was only a block over.  The Christmas markets in Heidelberg are spread around the city so there is more than one.  We could hear the sounds of German christmas music and smell the scents of the Christmas foods.  We began by sharing a glass of gluhwein.  We also shared a kartofelpuffer mit apfelmus (potato pancakes with applesauce).  I love the contrast of the fried potatoes with the sweetness of the applesauce.  All served on a waffle plate!  This market was mostly food.  We walked over to another area to get a good picture of the castle from below.  You can see how the castle has parts built at different times in different styles.

B insisited that there was something at the top of the mountain and that we had to ride the cable cars to the top, so we went to check that out.  You can ride back up to the castle and then to another station that has a funicular railway.  We had no idea what was at the top.  The railway was kind of scary.  It looked like we were about to go up a 90 degree angle.  But the signs assured us it was only a 40% incline.  Still... We arrived at the top and found out that there was basically a restaurant there and a lot of nature paths for people to explore.  We walked a short path, about a mile through the woods just taking in the beauty.  There were fresh cut trees so it smelled like wood and pine.  It was glorious.  Plus the sun was about to go down, so we were getting peeks of light through the trees.  I told B I wanted to have an impromtu fashion shoot.  But he quickly shot me down ;)

After riding the railway down to the castle and then walking to our car, we headed home, getting to see some great stuff in Heidelberg.  I'd definitely recommend seeing Heidelberg, especially during the Christmas season!

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