German RomanticismHeidelbergHeidelberg SchlossHeiliggeist KircheKaufhofKaufhogLouis XIVNeckarNeckar ValleyRenaissance
Heidelberg
For our first travel destination outside of Frankfurt, we choose Heidelberg for the Easter weekend. It's a long weekend, but we don't have a car yet, so we decide to take a train to this famous tourist hotspot in the Neckar Valley.
We travel without suitcases, everyone in the family has one backpack for his/her stuff and a ticket, so we're good to go. We are slow getting out of the gate, as only a few minutes into our trip, the train literally comes to a screeching halt outside Frankfurt. Following a few more bucking and stuttering delays, the train makes it as far south as Darmstadt, where all passengers are asked to disembark. When all is said and done, we lose an hour by the time we reach Heidelberg.
Eager to make up for lost time, we check in and out of the hotel as quickly as you can say Heidelberg Schloss (or Palace), our first destination, and the most prominent symbol of the city. To get there, we hike a steady two miles at an increasing ascent in a cool drizzle, the lush green trees of the surrounding Königstuhl mountain and the glistening cobblestone roads adding tastefully to the experience.
Few places exemplify German Romanticism like Schloss Heidelberg, the castle now reduced to ruins since the French Army under Louis XIV razed it in the late 17th century. Long an architectural masterpiece of the Renaissance, the castle saw its demolition completed by a pair of lightning strikes nearly a half century later. The whole structure is little more than a shell of its former self, which, quite possibly, contributes to its overall charm. The grounds are still maintained marvelously, and Bash marvels at a couple of non native oxen (yaks, perhaps?) frolicking on the grounds nearby.
We commit a National Lampoon Family vacation moment by taking a break at a stone bench, which happens to be one of the major tour stops for visitors gawking on autopilot at the numerous monuments inundating the premises. One of the tourists grudgingly wipes the baguette crumbs off the bench before positioning himself for a frontal shot of the stone monument. We sheepishly make room for the guy before finding a more suitable place for our rest stop.
Even though we easily could have hiked to the cable car station that would have taken us up to Schloss Heidelberg with less hassle, I couldn't resist giving the family an extra workout following the extra hour we had to endure on the train. The kids are none the worse off for it, and we make some stunning shots from and of the castle towering over Heidelberg's old town and the Neckar river below it. It's not hard to see why tourists flock to this place. If they are not interested in the architecture or the history, there are numerous photo ops awaiting them that are simply stunning.
Upon descending from the Schloss, we take the route through the old part of town and its endlessly long pedestrian zone that features mega corporate stores (Kaufhof, Müller) as well as small shops dedicated to seemingly inconsequential items, like gummi bears or even just muesli. It's a welcome change of pace, just strolling through the pedestrian zone without having to worry about vehicles plowing through you. It's nice to see pedestrians and cyclists being rewarded for leaving the automobile at home for a change.
After an early dinner, we stop at the protestant Heiliggeist (translated: Holy Spirit) church, which, regrettably, is closed, even on the day before Easter Sunday. Built primarily during the 15th century, this is the one building in town that dominates the Heidelberg skyline beneath the ruins of Schloss Heidelberg lingering in the background behind and above it.
Despite the Deutsche Bundesbahn's worst efforts, it's a wonderful first day in Heidelberg and a great start to the Easter weekend. The weather pending, we have another ambitious hike planned for the next day.
We travel without suitcases, everyone in the family has one backpack for his/her stuff and a ticket, so we're good to go. We are slow getting out of the gate, as only a few minutes into our trip, the train literally comes to a screeching halt outside Frankfurt. Following a few more bucking and stuttering delays, the train makes it as far south as Darmstadt, where all passengers are asked to disembark. When all is said and done, we lose an hour by the time we reach Heidelberg.
Eager to make up for lost time, we check in and out of the hotel as quickly as you can say Heidelberg Schloss (or Palace), our first destination, and the most prominent symbol of the city. To get there, we hike a steady two miles at an increasing ascent in a cool drizzle, the lush green trees of the surrounding Königstuhl mountain and the glistening cobblestone roads adding tastefully to the experience.
Few places exemplify German Romanticism like Schloss Heidelberg, the castle now reduced to ruins since the French Army under Louis XIV razed it in the late 17th century. Long an architectural masterpiece of the Renaissance, the castle saw its demolition completed by a pair of lightning strikes nearly a half century later. The whole structure is little more than a shell of its former self, which, quite possibly, contributes to its overall charm. The grounds are still maintained marvelously, and Bash marvels at a couple of non native oxen (yaks, perhaps?) frolicking on the grounds nearby.
We commit a National Lampoon Family vacation moment by taking a break at a stone bench, which happens to be one of the major tour stops for visitors gawking on autopilot at the numerous monuments inundating the premises. One of the tourists grudgingly wipes the baguette crumbs off the bench before positioning himself for a frontal shot of the stone monument. We sheepishly make room for the guy before finding a more suitable place for our rest stop.
Even though we easily could have hiked to the cable car station that would have taken us up to Schloss Heidelberg with less hassle, I couldn't resist giving the family an extra workout following the extra hour we had to endure on the train. The kids are none the worse off for it, and we make some stunning shots from and of the castle towering over Heidelberg's old town and the Neckar river below it. It's not hard to see why tourists flock to this place. If they are not interested in the architecture or the history, there are numerous photo ops awaiting them that are simply stunning.
Upon descending from the Schloss, we take the route through the old part of town and its endlessly long pedestrian zone that features mega corporate stores (Kaufhof, Müller) as well as small shops dedicated to seemingly inconsequential items, like gummi bears or even just muesli. It's a welcome change of pace, just strolling through the pedestrian zone without having to worry about vehicles plowing through you. It's nice to see pedestrians and cyclists being rewarded for leaving the automobile at home for a change.
After an early dinner, we stop at the protestant Heiliggeist (translated: Holy Spirit) church, which, regrettably, is closed, even on the day before Easter Sunday. Built primarily during the 15th century, this is the one building in town that dominates the Heidelberg skyline beneath the ruins of Schloss Heidelberg lingering in the background behind and above it.
Despite the Deutsche Bundesbahn's worst efforts, it's a wonderful first day in Heidelberg and a great start to the Easter weekend. The weather pending, we have another ambitious hike planned for the next day.
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