Looking Up in Heidelberg

Strolling on the Hauptstrasse, in Heidelberg's Altstadt.

At the end of our Rhine cruise we headed for Heidelberg, home to Germany's oldest university (founded in 1386!) Heidelberg straddles the Necker River, a major tributary of the Rhine. It's a fun city to visit, with its many nice shops and cafes.

Schloss Heidelberg towers above the Altstadt (Old Town)

The picturesque Schloss Heidelberg is perched high up on a mountainside, overlooking this romantic city. Construction of the castle began in the 13th century. It was later destroyed by fire (two separate lightening strikes!) and a series of wars in the 17th and 18th centuries. Parts of the castle have been restored, but much of it remains a ruin. 

The Heidelberg Tun

The castle cellar is home to one of the ancient city's treasures- the Heidelberg Tun. The tun is a HUGE wine barrel, made in 1751. It has a capacity of nearly 58,000 gallons. Its wine-storing days are long gone. Now it's one of Heidelberg's major tourist attractions.












In Heidelberg I found myself always looking up! I had to look up to see the beautiful old castle ruin, of course, and to see the church towers high above the narrow streets. One afternoon when I was strolling on the Hauptstrasse, I looked up to see where bubbles floating through the air were coming from! A little mechanical bear was blowing them. He was perched on a red chair attached to a balcony railing above my head. There was no sign to explain why the bear was there, or why he was blowing bubbles. This mysterious bubbly bear was one more reason to love this charming city.



There were lots of other beautiful things to see on- and above- the streets of Heidelberg. High on the corner of one building I found beautiful mosaic portraits of famous German citizens. Religious statues adorned the corners of many other buildings. The Hauptstrasse Starbucks had a beautiful Madonna and Child sculpture on its corner. Not something you see at most Starbucks!

Most corner statues were of a religious nature. Some celebrated more down-to-earth pursuits:)

But the best part of visiting Heidelberg was the chance to see some of my friends who live nearby. Martin Ost brought his son Adrien into the city and we had a lekker snack at a very cool cafe called Urban Kitchen. Adrien is my godson. He was born in Pennsylvania while his parents were working in the states. Now they're back in Germany, so I don't get to see them so often.

Martin was wearing a "Johnny Cupcakes" t-shirt that I had bought him in Boston. He collects t-shirts, so every year I send him a few unique selections made in the USA. I'm sure he's the only guy in Heidelberg who was wearing a Johnny Cupcakes t-shirt that day:-)

Before we left Urban Kitchen, Martin told me to check out their unusual rest rooms, so I did (taking my camera along!) A door labeled with a word that I guessed said "rest rooms" opened into a circular area with a large stone sink in the middle. Doors off of the circular washroom were cleverly labeled to indicate which were ladies' rooms, men's rooms...and whatever rooms:-) 

Das ist super cool. 

Cruising on the Rhine, Engelbert Humperdinck Country

Jim's students enjoying a cruise on the Rhine.

It was a chilly August morning when we boarded the boat in Koblenz for our Rhine River cruise. The sun felt good when it finally gained strength during the second hour of our pleasant trip. A waiter brought us hot tea and croissants- a perfect snack for watching the Rhine River valley go by! 

We passed steep hillsides carpeted in vineyards, and quaint villages with half-timbered houses facing the river. Many of the villages had signs announcing their names. Larger towns like Boppard didn't display their names (as if everyone should know...that's Boppard!...no label necessary). We learned this scenic town's name because our boat stopped to pick up passengers- LOTS of passengers, it turned out. We were glad we had already staked our claim on a table with two chairs at the port side railing on the open top deck. 

Boppard's most famous inhabitant was Engelbert Humperdinck. No, not THAT Engelbert Humperdinck...the one who lived in Boppard in the late 1890s, a German composer famous for his opera Hansel and Gretel. The E. Humperdinck most of us are familiar with was a British singer named Arnold Dorsey, who adopted Humperdinck's name in 1965 ("Please Release Me" was one of his big hits). A street in Boppard is named after the original Engelbert Humperdinck (Humperdinckestrasse), and the proud citizens erected a monument to him. 

Boppard waterfront

We disembarked at Bad Salzig and found our bus waiting for us. Everyone held their breath as the mammoth vehicle climbed a steep switchback road to get us on the highway to head for Heidelberg. We were amazed- somehow our driver negotiated those sharp turns! From the top we had a wonderful view of the Rhine. We'd love to return and cruise a longer stretch of this beautiful, romantic river.