Travel: HEIDELBERG, GERMANY (Eurotrip)

I don’t know where I was born. Well, I know where, but I know nothing about the place, having moved abroad shortly after and not having any recollection of being there. Two and a half decades later, it was about time I returned.

We arrived in Heidelberg at dusk, checking into the rather pleasant and modern NH Hotel before venturing out into the dark for something to eat. Our destination: Das Boothaus, a bar/grill restaurant in a rowing club overlooking the Neckar River and with some seriously good grub - a vegan burger the size of my face, along with some of the best steakhouse fries I’ve ever had. A great choice for our first evening in Heidelberg.

The following morning started with breakfast at the NH – fresh breads and muffins, cold meats and cheeses, cereals and fruits, and a small selection of cooked items. Sufficiently full, we headed out into the glorious sunshine towards Heidelberg old town. It was about a ten minute walk to get to the start of the Main Street, and then another fifteen to get to the heart of the old town, but it was pleasant to walk past all of the shop fronts and restaurants before the town had really woken up.

Our first stop was the tourist office, where we picked up a self-guided walking tour map and set off. The tour took us along the calm river towards the Old Bridge and its brass monkey statue, some really beautiful churches, and skinny brick-laden streets with colourful houses on each side; and offered brief information about the most important things to see.

My favourite thing about Heidelberg was definitely the architecture, and it’s worth taking a closer look at the buildings you pass by – I loved catching sight of little soldier heads holding window shutters open, gargoyles hanging off of churches, interesting windvanes, and dates etched into the stonework. Admittedly, I hadn’t really known what to expect when visiting Heidelberg – my experience with German cities to date has purely been based on Berlin, so to visit this almost alpine city was a pleasant surprise.

As the day went on, the town got busier with tourists and locals alike, and every time we walked through the main square, there seemed to be a new happy couple emerging from the town hall to flowers and cheers from their friends and family. It was lovely to see the al fresco celebrations set up outside for them, with glasses of bubbly and canapes on hand after the ceremony.

Suitably inspired, we stopped for our own al-fresco refreshments at Rada Coffee & Rosterei and bubble tea from Bubble’s, both of which were necessary for our next strenuous activity – a walk up to the Schloss (Castle). This was up the steepest path I’d climbed in a long time, so I was very glad to be there in summer and not in icy winter!

The views from the castle courtyard were great – looking down onto the Neckar and to the pretty buildings on both sides of the river. We continued on to the castle gardens for another great view from the side which offered a picturesque view straight down the river and of the large castle itself.

Our Heidelberg wanderings had taken us up to early afternoon, and then it was time to really get back to my roots. We picked up the car from the hotel and began driving through the Odenwald, a beautiful valley full of green rolling hills, little tram lines, and quintessential German eateries.

Our drive took us to another very steep and very narrow hill in Oberflockenbach, at the top of which was the house that built me (or at least did for the first few months of my life). Having lived in suburbia for all of my life since, it was weird to see how positively rural the first place I lived was. A white house, high on the hill, opposite which were just rolling fields with a few apple trees scattered here and there. Not a bad place to start life, I’d say. 

We’d aimed to find another old haunt later that afternoon – a castle with a terrace, the name of which escaped us. Looking at the map, we figured Hirschhorn might be a good bet so drove on out to the quiet town – exactly the type you think of when you think stereotypical Europe. Another ridiculously steep path led us up to the castle, so we had a quick peek around before returning back to the riverbank to rest a while in the pleasant early Autumn weather.

Unconvinced as to whether Hirschhorn had been the right castle or not, we decided to check out Hornberg too - again, a very beautiful castle with perhaps an even more beautiful terrace looking out as far as the eye could see. A wedding was taking place there that evening, and you could understand why people would pick such a stunning place for their special day.

After such a busy day, we were fairly hungry by the time we got back to Heidelberg. Close to the hotel was a well-regarded vegetarian restaurant, red die grune kuchen, where we were kitted out with plastic gloves, and then served ourselves from the selection of vegetarian items on offer – polenta gnocchi, various salads, spinach and feta hand pies, curries, and more. It’s pay by weight, but a very decent price - we managed to get a hearty plate of food for around 10Euro each.

It’s up to speculation as to whether I would have visited Heidelberg was the state of the world not the way it is now, and thus encouraging us to travel a bit closer to home, but I’m really glad I did. Fingers crossed it won’t be another two and a half decades before I make my way back to this lovely city again!

Tips for visiting Heidelberg:

-        The castle is a must. You don’t have to pay entry to take advantage of the gorgeous views from the courtyard and gardens, so it’s definitely worth the trek.

-        As beautiful as Heidelberg itself is, I really enjoyed getting out of the city. If you have a car, just drive and you’re bound to be treated to some of the best countryside on the continent. The surrounding area is crawling with quaint villages and castles alike, so go find one!

-        Take your time. There are many guided tours of Heidelberg, but I really enjoyed doing a self-guided one which enabled us to take the time to detour, stop for coffee, and choose what and where we wanted to spend our time.

I hope you enjoyed today’s travel blog post! Now that the world is beginning to open up even more, I’ll be doing plenty more travel blogs – stay tuned on Twitter @CiarasCountry to be the first to know when the next one is posted, and let me know where you’re headed too! Thanks for reading!