Day Two - Heidelberg and Beyond...

     By the time everyone got organized, it was already noon, so off we went to explore Heidelberg. The town is a few hours south of Frankfort, and is a university town where students make up most of the population.  But the students were no where to be seen during our walk around the town, as it was Sunday, and most were probably home for the holidays (or inside studying?...or at church? )

     To get to the Old Town, one must cross a very large bridge which was part of Heidelberg's medieval fortification. As one approaches the end there are two tall Spitzhelm towers (the top of each resemble old German helmets) - inside the towers there used to be (3) dungeons where they tossed the "common criminals" .

     As it was Sunday, and you know Bill, our first visit was inside the Church of the Holy Ghost (started in 1398 - finished in 1544) which is a Gothic structure full of gargoyles that the tour book describes as "sheer ugliness" .

     The church is in the center of Heidelberg's main square where during the Middle Ages, persons accused of witchcraft and heresy were burned at the stake. Above the huge baroque fountain, until 1740, there was a rotating, hanging cage where minor criminals were imprisoned and "exposed to the abuse of their fellow citizens". Imagine back then passing by those poor folk on your way out to a mid-day lunch. Today, the fountain is decorated with Christmas decorations!

     Usually at this point you would hop onto the funicular to head up the hill to the Schloss (Castle), but seeing as we were running late, we drove up to the top. It's sheer size is amazing to behold...indeed it looms over the village and this morning with the heavy fog it was quite beautiful and mysterious. We spent a lot of time just wandering around the oldest parts which date back to the 15th century.

View from the castle

     Afterwards, we got back into the car and drove out of the Neckar Valley to the walled town of Rothenburg, arriving too late to really appreciate its beauty, but the Christmas lights everywhere did give the village a lovely glow. We were told there is a costumed watchman who gives a nightly tour leading the way with his lantern, but we didn't come across him.

     Lucky for us, just before we headed out, we were able to pay a visit to the huge Christmas all year round store, "Kathe Wohlfahrt", where we made a few purchases just as they were closing...

Onward to Munich!