Rhine Cruise Day 4 Part A Heidelburg

The morning found us docked outside of Heidelberg where we boarded a coach for a short drive up to the ruins of the old castle. It is often billed as "the world's most famous palace ruin."  It's easy to understand this description as you look up at it in an early morning fog. It looms over the old city like an exotic cloud. The history from its beginnings in the 1200's, to its demolition in the 18th century, to its partial reconstruction in the 19th century is far too complex to deal with here.  I certainly remember little of our guide's  recitations on the rulers, the wars, the builders, etc.  What I do think of is that the complex is one gigantic Victorian folly--sort of neat to look at, but ultimately a sad shell of past glories.   

You enter the castle complex through the typical defensible gates.that open out into multiple  courtyards



Ultimately you end up in a larger open space

where you can inspect the semi restored walls and frontages.

If you have the telephoto you can also get close-up and personal with some of the statuary.

A necessary side stop is a quick look at the world's largest wine barrel

Then we were ushered through one of the facades and out to a terrace where we could look down at the old city and take some pictures..  Strangely this may be the only real function for the castle today.  It  whets your appetite to wander in the populated living old town below.

The river you see by the way is the Neckar, a smaller tributary of the Rhine.

We retraced our steps back through the castle courts and boarded our coach for a short trip back down the hill.  We were dropped off near the market square with our guide.

The castle was now just an omnipresence looming above us.

Our ship, we were told, would now leapfrog ahead of us to Nierstein where we would rejoin it for lunch.  This kind of time saving is another example of the clever way the river cruise operators can keep things moving and open up dock space at critical ports of call. 

In the old city we examined the requisite squares lined with cafes


and of course did our religious duty in a church or two.

Monuments abound in these ancient city centers

but often it is the smaller items embedded in the cobbles that evoke the most emotion.

After our walk, we ambled back down to the river.  We were admiring the old bridge over the Nekar  when we noticed that folks seemed to be taking pictures of a baboon. 

It didn't take me long to join the line to appear alongside one of the icons of the city. 

Our coach picked us back up  in time for lunch on board in Nierstein.  While we ate we left for the short cruise to Mainz.  The true home of Johannes Gutenberg awaited us.

See you in the next post.