Ladee's Travels

The bus dropped us off at a well organized staging area near the old section of town and we began our walk.  The business signs are very interesting. I wish that I had started a photo collection earlier.  Wrapped chocolate in one of the store windows.  You can see the castle from this area.  I broke with the group and decided to stay in this section.  I had a bratwurst.  As it quickly got darker, I found a seat and table. I chatted with a grandmother and grandson in a comfortable "little German, little English" way.  And I started playing with my camera to take long exposures.  I had clicked and then forgot so this artistic gem is the result of picking up the camera while it was still working.  Haha.  Entertaining myself!  The lights on the castle soon came on and it was a beautiful scene above the town.  I was ready to return to the bus area so I made my way back through town, took a few photos al...

We walked in to the inner courtyard.  Some of the buildings look like they are livable ...  Some appear to be an outer shell.  We continued down a walkway to the "Tun".  It is the extremely large wine vat in the cellars of the Castle.  At first we thought that this was the big one.  But NO! Keep on walking.  The cellars are nice, have seating areas and a place to buy food and drink.  This is the large "tun".  It holds 58,573.8125 US Gallons.  130 oak trees were used to build it.  It is seldom used as a wine barrel these days, is mostly a tourist attraction, and can also be a dance floor since one was built on top of it.  We leave the building and look at a lookout.  A view of the river and the dam.  Time to return to the bus.  The tree has lights and likely looks very pretty lit.  Ahh, coblestones. Gotta love them.  At least they do not have puddles from the re...

Luckily the bus took us to the upper parking lot.  You can see by the incline in the photo below that there weren't many level spots.  The castle is a ruin and an important landmark in Heidelberg.  It is among the important Renaissance structures north of the Alps.  This is the view from a courtyard looking down at Heidelberg and the River.  One of the round towers.  Church of the Holy Spirit is in the center left.  And the center of this photo.  Walking around the outside moat area.  And across a bridge and in through the arched doors.

[From the Bus Window] After lunch we docked in Mannheim and boarded the bus for the Heidelberg tour. Mannheim is the third largest city in the Germany state of Baden-Württemberg.  Mannheim is home to many large corporations.  We didn't tour Mannheim, but I can see that the river life is industrial.  It is located at the meeting of the Rhein and Neckar Rivers.  We headed southeast in the general area of the Neckar river towards Heidelberg.  We had a quick view of the regular town (as opposed to old town which we will see later).  These homes are taken as we drove up a steep road that led to the Heidelberg Castle.

From the tour brochure: On this excursion you will visit Heidelberg, the world famous university city on the Neckar River. The tour begins with a visit to the castle.  The formerly splendid residence made of red sandstone has been a ruin, maybe the most beautiful ruin in all of Germany, since it was destroyed by the French in the 17th century. The castle tour leads into the courtyard and into the castle garden. From the Grand Terrace you will have a wonderful view of the city and the Neckar River. The tour continues with a stroll through the enchanting old town. Duration approximated 4.5 hours. Walking grade: The excursion by bus is followed by a longer walk.  You may need to climb several stairs.  Price: 46 euros/ $48 Views from the castle. Bratwurst from the grill and chocolate and cherry crepe. Last photo is the view of the lit castle from the market.