Heidelberg Castle

Heidelberg Casle
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Our train arrived early evening and we hailed a cab to the Zumm Ritter hotel in downtown Heidelberg.  As soon as we went across the bridge, I was immediately enthralled with the town.  There is a bridge that looks directly into the heart of the town and you are transported back hundreds of years to what it must have been like living in this town, through battles (as is evident with the castle), festivals and markets.

My Uncle's Partner had a friend from that area meet us for dinner, so on our way, he showed us fascinating aspects of the town.  He is a tour guide at the castle and showed us things you wouldn't normally notice.  For example, at the cathedral across the street, there was a carving on the wall in the stone behind some of the shops.  They were in the shape of a pretzel.  Our guide told us that back in the 1700's the cost of the pretzel was fixed everywhere you bought one.  So people could buy a pretzel and compare the size to the carving on the wall to make sure that they were not getting ripped off.  As the economy suffered, so did the size of the pretzel.  We walked to another spot where there were more carvings of pretzels, and they got smaller and smaller, yet the price would stay the same.

Town
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The restaurant was wonderful, and very German.  We had lots of beer while we ate mushroom soup, spetzla, shredded beets and turkey.  Afterwards, our guide showed us the bridge that opens up to the middle of town, with a view of the cathedral and the hotel sitting right there.  The hotel being the oldest building in town because the French had built it long ago and while they leveled the rest of the town, they refused to destroy their own architecture.  However, the castle is the most dominant part of the landscape.  It towers above everything else, imposing and welcoming at the same time.  There was once a huge tower on the right side of the castle, now just a ruin from a long ago battle.  The French being blamed for this rubble.  It is interesting seeing most of the ancient castle in one piece and this one tower left as a window into history.  The oldest walls deep down in the castle have been dated back to around 700AD.  The newest parts of the castle are from between the 1400's and 1700's.  Our guide showed us a section on the bridge, where the stone appeared to have been replaced in the shape of a square.  Apparently, when the French were about to invade, a mine was placed on the bridge.  This section had been replaced in later years after the danger had passed.

Bridge view
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Though it was a very brief visit, and I regret not being able to explore more, I very much enjoyed my visit and the lessons in the history of the area.  It's so hard to imagine a time where you had to worry about battles and the size of a pretzel. I hope I can come back here some day.