Heidelberg

The churches, cobblestone streets, historical architecture, food (ahh the Jagerschnitzel, Pomfritters and local Lager), pale in comparison to Heidleberg Castle which dominates the skyline above Old Town. To get up to the castle I took the Heidelberger Gerbahn or Heidelberg Mountain Railway.

The castle is immense and even though much of it was damaged during the 30 years war and later from the cannibalizing of the quarry stones to build new homes in Heidelberg, it is most impressive. Construction was started around 1214 and continued on and off until Westside was erected in the mid 1680's. There is a massive moat around the structure that I would say never needed to be filled with water because it is so deep that if anyone fell into it, they would be luck to ever get out. Until you stand inside a structure of this magnitude, you cannot begin to understand what an architectural feat it would be to build something like this.

From outside the castle, you can see for miles and miles. The view takes in the whole countryside with the red tile roofs below, the church spires throughout the city and the beautiful Neckar River that runs to the horizon. I chose to walk back down to the city instead of taking the railway and that was a major workout but a lot of fun to view the homes on the way down.