We got up early to catch a train to Heidelberg. I highly recommend a EuRail pass if you’re going to do any decent amount of train travel in Europe. It’s far more cost effective and convenient. You simply hop on the train to your destination with no need to purchase tickets, and as I mentioned in yesterday’s post, it can be tricky to navigate at times.
Anyway, we arrived in Heidelberg and started walking towards the old town. We should’ve looked at taking local transportation because the walk to the scenic part of the town ended up being over a mile. This doesn’t sound too bad, but then our walking day really began. We walked along the longest pedestrian walkway in Europe (which is also about a mile or so I would guess). Then to see Heidelberg Castle, we had to climb a steep trail some 300+ feet. After that, we climbed another 300+ feet to get to the Philosopher’s Way Path (a paved walkway where you get some amazing panoramic views of Heidelberg). Despite being exhausted by the end of the day, I highly recommend a trip to Heidelberg if you’re anywhere near the area. It’s a magical place.
Now, a few more details about what we saw on our journey through Heidelberg. Our first stop was at Heidelberg University where we visited the student prison. Yes, the University had it’s own prison for 200 years (1700 until 1914) which was used for unruly students (being drunk in public, releasing pigs into the streets, etc.), and a student could be assigned a day up to an entire month. It became a rite of passage for students to spend at least some time in the prison, and the students would leave their mark by drawing on the walls. Included in the visit to the prison was a visit to a lecture hall and a university museum. Both were interesting. I recommend the whole experience. Now pictures,
Next, we climbed the steep trail to Heidelberg Castle. There is also a funicular train which you can use to get there if you don’t want to walk. The castle’s grounds and structures are awesome, and the history of the place is amazing. I’m not going to go into detail, but if you’re interested, it’s worth reading about online. But I’m just going to let the pictures speak for themselves:
Our final leg of the trip (after lunch) was to cross the Old Heidelberg Bridge and climb to Philosopher’s Way. Both destinations are worth seeing and extremely picturesque:
We found a bus to take us back to the train station which was a smart way to end a fabulous day in Heidelberg. I’m up to date for now. I’ll try to blog about today’s adventures a little later. We’re off to Rudesheim and a ferry ride up the Rhine. Take care.
No comments:
Post a Comment