Disputing Heidelberg

The train ride from Frankfurt to Heidelberg reminded me again that Germans like scalloped shingles, steeply pitched roofs and out in the country roofs typically have solar panels. I've seen a few windmills as well. Houses are more modern looking in Germany too. Similar to shapes and styles you'd see in the US with concrete walls instead of aluminum siding. Housing colors stick mostly to whites and creams unless made from stone/brick, which is rare.

I know little about Heidelberg except that Martin Luther spent time here in April 1518 known as the Heidelberg Disputations defending his theology including the bondage of the will.

Knowing that I was only spending one night in Heidelberg meant I had to be quick about seeing the sights in town. I started by taking the furnicular up the hill to the Schloss, a gargantuan castle perched high on a hill overlooking Heidelberg and the Neckar River. First I paused to eat lunch in the garden outside the castle. I feasted upon gouda cheese, leftover pretzel, hot dog balls with smiley pirate faces stamped into them, green grapes, a whole tomato and pineapple yogurt. The first part of the castle was finished in 1214 by Ludwig I and later expanded into 2 castles around 1294. In 1537 a lightning-bolt destroyed the upper castle. Through subsequent wars with the Swedes and later the French the castle sustained heavy damage. The French used mines in the thick walls to damage it as much as possible before they finally left around 1693. In 1764, another lightning-bolt destroyed a portion of the rebuilt tower and the people decided it was the divine will that the castle should not be repaired or used any longer. The tour I took was excellent, though I can't remember much of what was said. Names of rulers and dates just don't stick in my head like the funny stories about the added toilets on the 2nd floor that used the law of gravity to deliver their products onto the ground below. Or the vomit basin in the main dining hall for those who wished to continue eating even though they were already full. Plus it doesn't help that there were a long line of rulers in the Wittelsbach royal family. At any rate, the views of Heidelberg were gorgeous and walking through the renovated parts of the castle was entertaining. You really had to use your imagination as much of the castle, having been so badly damaged by fire/war over the years, had literally disappeared. One of the most surprising sights was the enormous barrel below the castle which could hold 49,000 gallons of wine. Yikes! It was so large the people only filled it three times before deciding it was simply too much wine to drink. Cleaning the barrel was no easy task and only small adults and children who could fit inside the tiny door were able to scrub it down. Now that's a qualifier for Dirty Jobs.

Heidelberg is one of those towns that I would love to spend more time in simply to enjoy the atmosphere, but would need a few more things to keep me busy. The university fills the town with young adults, but when you don't speak German, it's hard to talk with them. The town had a nice vibe and calm feel. Not to mention the gorgeous view of the town along the river surrounded by verdant hills of forest. Sigh. Beautiful.
[the big barrel]
I finished at the castle around 5pm and decided to take a walk along the Philosophenweg (Philosopher's Way) on the other side of the river. What I didn't know was that to get to the trail you had to walk up hill on a winding alley like stone path. It wasn't too bad, but it was challenging. The view of the town from the other side was quite nice. I could pick out the 1km path where I had walked from the hostel and the places I had visited already. Walking along the path you notice small fenced areas on the hillside that seem to be backyards or vacation spots people have permanently staked out below the public park on the hill above. After a half hour I decided to head back down to town and walk through the streets to enjoy the atmosphere while I scouted a place to eat for dinner. Like most smaller, quaint towns there is a large shopping area filled with modern clothing and shoe stores along with the typical pharmacy, salon and restaurants. Usually these are all in one pedestrian area.

I found a restaurant listed in my guidebook that seemed to have a good menu outside--meaning there were enough words I could understand in the German that it sounded like I could find good food to eat. Fortunately they had an English menu and I chose the Meatloaf with Fried Potatoes and a Maibock beer (lager style brewed in house). When you hear meatloaf you expect to eat beef right? Hence my surprise when a large slab of Spam looking meat arrived on the plate on top of a mound of potatoes. Turns out the meat was pork sausage based. It tasted quite good, but was still a surprise. After walking all day I made sure to take the bus back which was a nice treat.