Doichlandin it up (drei)
My sleep was deep and sound but the alarm burst through my eardrums seemingly minutes after I hit the sack. Heidelberg was this day's destination so I was eager to hop out of bed and gather my things before hitting the road. Instead of train, one of the LT's would be driving us over there saving us time and money.
We pulled in to a parking deck at the base of the Heidelberger Schloss and took a short cable car ride to the entrance. What's great about this castle is that it really has all the aspects one would come to expect from an early Renaissance/ medieval towering fortress. Battlements and a mote surround what's left of the outside walls and the inner courtyard is boxed in by the product of countless hours of stone masonry that tradesmen centuries before set their lives to accomplishing. Near the center of the castle a few floors below the courtyard sits what I can only assume is the world's largest wine barrel. It could hold up to 228,000 liters fully stocked. Those ottomen really knew how to have a good time, apparently.
As I walked back towards the center of the courtyard I had a sudden flashback from when my size 7 feet trod this same ground 13 years before. I remember very little from my eight-year old Europe explorin' self so it was really something special to revisit an area at a time in my life that I can fully appreciate the things I'm getting to see and experience, and maybe 13 years from now I'll have a little better memory of the place.
After a good long walk around the caslte, we headed back into the old downtown area to find some lunch, but not before I picked up a model of the ruin (one more for my collection). I hadn't eaten breakfast yet so I was getting pretty famished. As per the recommendation of one of a local store owner we went to a restaurant that was also part of a hotel. As it turned out, it was not well priced as we were told so we elected to eat elsewhere though, they did have their own brewery so we had to sample (and by sample I mean enjoy a 0,5L glass) the offerings. We then moved on to find a place more suitable; it wasn't quite noon.
The city center, composed of maybe a dozen tourist shops, handfuls of cafes and restaurants, a cathedral, and a fountain, was now getting a little more lively as locals and tourists (tons of Asians) came out of their homes and hotels. The plaza was full of produce vendors and outdoor seating for the eateries. I had been wanting to enjoy a meal outside like this and the others agreed. The surroundings were just awesome; no better place in downtown Heidelberg to dine and imbibe. I had a currywurst with a BananenWeizen, a classic hefe with rich banana flavor added. The weizin was really the bulk of my meal and some of the best tasting liquid I've ever drained down the ol' gullet.
After a long lunch it was time to walk off some of them calories. The main cobblestone pedestrian street was at least a mile long with shops and cafes lining either side all the way down. It took several hours before we made it to the end. I don't really have room here to describe the variety of stuff along the "strasse" but almost every shop warrented at the very least a peak in the window. Butchers and bakers and candlestick makers along with chocolatiers, cigar shops, clothing stores, and specialty item stores were among a few places available to shop. At one point, we saw a cool looking cathedral down an alley way and took a few minutes to step inside. The powerful organ reverberated through the buttresses; I sat down on one of the pews and talked to the man upstairs for a few minutes, remembering all this was for Him.
After a healthy dose of shoppin' and droppin' I strolled through some random restaurant in search of a restroom. After that was taken care of I noticed a sign in the restaurant that piqued my interest. They were having a special: coffee and a slice of cake in exchange for some money. It sounded like a great deal to me so I went ahead and sat down in their outdoor seating area to give it a shot, eager to try some German cake I had heard so many good things about. The atmosphere was beyond pleasant. At this point I was by myself while the other 3 were tooling around close by in some other shops. While I waited for them to join me I relished a slice of fresh, flavorful apple cake and a demitasse full of quite simply the best coffee I've ever had.
The sun slipped close to the horizen and most of the shops were beginning to close their doors. Our return journy to the car was along the sidewalk that hugs Neckar River which bisects the two sides of this 900 year old city. Before we left town, we crossed the bridge, found a parking spot, and strolled through a popular greenspace filled with water fawl and futball players. A few people brought some small grills and were cookin up some brats for their friends. After a few more moments of undisturbed leisure on the soft, riverside grass, we were back on the road headin west.
It was nearing 10 o'clock by the time I finally got back to my hotel room, but I found myself rather full of energy despite a long day of touring. So, I rekoned, what better to do than go on a run to relieve my legs of all that excess energy undoubtebly left behind from that 1,5L of fine, German liquid bread I had over the course of the day? A little over a half hour later I finished the most energetic run I've had since I've been over here. Go figure. I got back to my room just in time to get a front row seat of a random fireworks display not even a kilometer away...times like these are not forgotten.
We pulled in to a parking deck at the base of the Heidelberger Schloss and took a short cable car ride to the entrance. What's great about this castle is that it really has all the aspects one would come to expect from an early Renaissance/ medieval towering fortress. Battlements and a mote surround what's left of the outside walls and the inner courtyard is boxed in by the product of countless hours of stone masonry that tradesmen centuries before set their lives to accomplishing. Near the center of the castle a few floors below the courtyard sits what I can only assume is the world's largest wine barrel. It could hold up to 228,000 liters fully stocked. Those ottomen really knew how to have a good time, apparently.
As I walked back towards the center of the courtyard I had a sudden flashback from when my size 7 feet trod this same ground 13 years before. I remember very little from my eight-year old Europe explorin' self so it was really something special to revisit an area at a time in my life that I can fully appreciate the things I'm getting to see and experience, and maybe 13 years from now I'll have a little better memory of the place.
After a good long walk around the caslte, we headed back into the old downtown area to find some lunch, but not before I picked up a model of the ruin (one more for my collection). I hadn't eaten breakfast yet so I was getting pretty famished. As per the recommendation of one of a local store owner we went to a restaurant that was also part of a hotel. As it turned out, it was not well priced as we were told so we elected to eat elsewhere though, they did have their own brewery so we had to sample (and by sample I mean enjoy a 0,5L glass) the offerings. We then moved on to find a place more suitable; it wasn't quite noon.
The city center, composed of maybe a dozen tourist shops, handfuls of cafes and restaurants, a cathedral, and a fountain, was now getting a little more lively as locals and tourists (tons of Asians) came out of their homes and hotels. The plaza was full of produce vendors and outdoor seating for the eateries. I had been wanting to enjoy a meal outside like this and the others agreed. The surroundings were just awesome; no better place in downtown Heidelberg to dine and imbibe. I had a currywurst with a BananenWeizen, a classic hefe with rich banana flavor added. The weizin was really the bulk of my meal and some of the best tasting liquid I've ever drained down the ol' gullet.
After a long lunch it was time to walk off some of them calories. The main cobblestone pedestrian street was at least a mile long with shops and cafes lining either side all the way down. It took several hours before we made it to the end. I don't really have room here to describe the variety of stuff along the "strasse" but almost every shop warrented at the very least a peak in the window. Butchers and bakers and candlestick makers along with chocolatiers, cigar shops, clothing stores, and specialty item stores were among a few places available to shop. At one point, we saw a cool looking cathedral down an alley way and took a few minutes to step inside. The powerful organ reverberated through the buttresses; I sat down on one of the pews and talked to the man upstairs for a few minutes, remembering all this was for Him.
After a healthy dose of shoppin' and droppin' I strolled through some random restaurant in search of a restroom. After that was taken care of I noticed a sign in the restaurant that piqued my interest. They were having a special: coffee and a slice of cake in exchange for some money. It sounded like a great deal to me so I went ahead and sat down in their outdoor seating area to give it a shot, eager to try some German cake I had heard so many good things about. The atmosphere was beyond pleasant. At this point I was by myself while the other 3 were tooling around close by in some other shops. While I waited for them to join me I relished a slice of fresh, flavorful apple cake and a demitasse full of quite simply the best coffee I've ever had.
The sun slipped close to the horizen and most of the shops were beginning to close their doors. Our return journy to the car was along the sidewalk that hugs Neckar River which bisects the two sides of this 900 year old city. Before we left town, we crossed the bridge, found a parking spot, and strolled through a popular greenspace filled with water fawl and futball players. A few people brought some small grills and were cookin up some brats for their friends. After a few more moments of undisturbed leisure on the soft, riverside grass, we were back on the road headin west.
It was nearing 10 o'clock by the time I finally got back to my hotel room, but I found myself rather full of energy despite a long day of touring. So, I rekoned, what better to do than go on a run to relieve my legs of all that excess energy undoubtebly left behind from that 1,5L of fine, German liquid bread I had over the course of the day? A little over a half hour later I finished the most energetic run I've had since I've been over here. Go figure. I got back to my room just in time to get a front row seat of a random fireworks display not even a kilometer away...times like these are not forgotten.
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