Heidelberg

Rick Steves

Another day, another day-trip,why not? We decided on Heidelberg this time. It's about a three hour train ride from Munich, but Rick Steves didn't include Heidelberg in Rick Steves' guide to Munich, Bavaria and Salzburg. 

Heidelberg is really great though, Rick Steves, so here's what you missed. Before we headed up to Heidelberg Castle we went up the hill on the opposite side of the river for a glimpse of the castle.  

It was a pretty scenic walk across the bridge where the town is divided by the Neckar River.

On our way, and through the more residential part of the old town we were met by this little fellow... He led the way for a short time, before we parted ways and continued up the hill. 

Along this strip were some pretty impressive houses overlooking the river and castle. 

The Heidelberg Castle is huge and very fairy-tale looking. 

The city has some lovely old buildings - the University cafeteria dates back to the 16th century! The city thankfully escaped bombing during WWII, although the bridge did suffer some damage during the war. 

The castle grounds were surrounded by gardens, fountains, and plenty of spots to take in the view overlooking the river.




It was interesting to see parts of the castle so exposed to the elements. Sometimes there was just a wall with windows and doorways exposed, or like in the picture below, an entire wall crumbling away in contrast to perhaps newer extensions of the castle that have remained intact.



We stopped for lunch and a few drinks in the main square which was right by the main shopping district. The castle had taken most of the day to get through and we didn't head home until about 7pm that night.

We also saw a cool old Porsche... and here's a photo of it...



- Kate