Heidelberg

The ship stopped long enough this morning to drop off most of the passengers in a little town called Wertheim am Main , where we boarded the buses for a 2-hour trip to Heidelberg.  Wertheim has a leaning tower... not as exciting as Pisa, but not bad for first thing in the morning.



forest town with fourcastles

From the Main valley, we headed up into the Odenwald forest -- the region from which the Brothers Grimm gathered their folk tales.  It is dotted with little cities (some with castles).

Heidelberg is a city of 150,000 located on the Neckar River.  It is home to Germany's oldest university, founded in 1386.  We first headed up to the ruins of Heidelberg Castle.  You have to imagine 4 large highway buses going up winding roads originally built for carriages... soon to be joined by 8 other buses from two other river cruises. 

It was rainy and crowded, but we managed to see what we could.



the moat--they used to keep game animals here
(for easy hunting)

facade of north buildings

The castle had a wine cellar that held a large amount of wine, and what they claim is the largest wine barrel in the world.  It seems to me that a couple of the ones at Sebastiani were bigger.

old town - from the castle

Afterward, we headed into the old city for lunch at a hotel located just off the cathedral's plaza and we had time for some shopping on the Haupstrasse (Main Square Street).


castle, from the city

walking on the old stone bridge

The old stone bridge is "guarded" by a monkey carrying a mirror -- people arriving could check to see they were presentable before entering the city.  No explanation as to why they chose a monkey for the job.







We rejoined the ship in Mittenberg. Tomorrow we reach the Rhine River.