Off to Heidelberg!

My Love and I took an overnight trip to Heidelberg and the song lyric "I left my heart in Heidelberg" now makes perfect sense to me.  What a beautiful Medieval city to walk through and feast your eyes on all the colour and splendour! We checked in at the Irish pub (so hysterical!) and then walked up to the Schloss.  Even if you don't pay entry, you can still walk 'round the expansive gardens and see all the spectacular views of the city while bathed in sun, surrounded by fountains and kept company by salamanders and cattle that looks distinctly (and mysteriously) Highland.  Your eyes aren't the only thing that gets to do the feasting! I sampled the schnitzel and Spargel (asparagus) and we encountered a few cheery markets.

Walking along the banks of the Neckar River was another highlight, as was the soaring masonry of Heiliggeistkirche with its medieval booths all 'round (think Luckenbooths).  I also enjoyed my first-ever sighting of Morris dancers in the modern part of town (I guess they were on holiday?) and a trip to a  Christmas store meant I was in Nutcracker heaven.  I wanted to buy them all.  But I didn't.  One section of the store was filled with cuckoo clocks, and about ever 5 minutes, one would chime.  I stood transfixed, dreaming of the day I have €300 spare to spend on one of the beautiful masterpieces.

Matthew and the Schloss perched high above the city.

View of the Altstadt and the Neckar from the Schloss (Castle).

So apparently the folks who lived in these once upon a time had a wee bit of cash.  The far side of the river is lined with these mansions!

We fell in love with this fallen tower.  We have upwards of a dozen photos from every angle imaginable. 

Baking in the sun as we explore the Schloss gardens and enjoy the panoramic views of the Altstadt.

Architectural gems found on our descent from the Schloss.

The turrets are at one end of the Altebrücke (Old Bridge)

And then I made Matthew stick his head in a monkey! You can read about the significance of the monkey here.

Cute little café by the Neckar River.

Market time! We were there during asparagus season - Spargel was on sale everywhere and on every menu.

The most amazing doors in Heidelberg!!! (And possibly the world)

Flower market spilling out onto the street.

They sure don't build them like they used to! This is the university library. 

Heiliggeistkirche (cathedral) with all the, uh, luckenbooths around it.  Don't know the German term for these booths, but I do know the Scottish!

By far one of my favourite photos from my time in Germany.

Everywhere we went we saw cheery places to live.

Vines, shutters, window boxes, unchained bicycles... a little bit of heaven.

This chocolatier had a very captivating sign.  :)

This nutcracker was designed to look like gingerbread!

Just walking down a 'typical' street in the Altstadt.

I am a big fan of roof turrets.

The Irish pub/ hotel we stayed at.  Yes, the employees did have Irish accents! You can see our wee triangular balcony.

Sunset as viewed from our wee balcony.

Jousting.  On a building.  A clear indication of why Germany is so great.

These trees are inexplicably amazing!

The Heidelbergers seem pretty enamoured with random statues hanging out at street corners halfway up the sides of buildings. I am cool with that.

And then we found a Hobbit-hole!

I decided that I didn't need one of the mansions across the river, but could very happily settle for this treasure.

Last view of the city.

Our second day in Heidelberg saw us breakfasting al fresco, reading in sunny park, and then wandering down all the little alleyways we hadn't seen the day before. We came upon a Jesuit church, which was a perfect harmonizing of old and new architecture and interior design.  Best of all, I got to have kartoffelpüffer (potatoe cakes!) for lunch.  Mmmmmmm.... After one last walk along the river we boarded the train to Mosbach for a visit with Matthew's cousin and family.

Stockerkahns and Bebenhousen

My second morning in Tübingen saw a mix of the Edinburgh gang meeting up with some locals for a breakfast cruise on a Stockerkahn (punt boat) on the River Neckar.  Despite all my fears, we did not capsize, and my sandal that tried to drown itself was rescued.  However, because the river was still so swollen and the current so fast, we did not get very far from the Stift (former Augustinian monastery, now a theological student residence) before we dropped anchor.  No photos of this adventure because I was afraid of dropping my camera into the river. 

That afternoon we were off to Bebenhausen. We met up with the rest of the Edinburgh gang to hike into the idyllic valley where the the town and the former Cistercian monastery can be found.  Highlights were the horses on the way there and the novelty masonry pretzel we found in the monastery!  It is not every day that you find a pretzel commemorated in stone, but Bretzels were invented in Swabia, so they are pretty chuffed with themselves.  :) So much fun and so exhausting!

This is a Stockerkahn.  It is about 3 times as long as an Oxford punt boat and the pole is around 18 feet long.

The Edinburgh gang before heading off.

Horses!  I am such a city girl that any signs of country living thrill me.

The descent to Bebenhausen begins.

Our destination.

Walking through the valley to the monastery, we came across some very pretty gardens.

Upon arrival at the monastery, we discovered yet another covered stairway.

Who goes in this high-up door?

In the gardens of the Cistercian monastery.  It was roasting outside but freezing inside the stone rooms!

There were a lot of really beautiful ceilings.  Some of them restorations of Medieval ones, some of them Victorian.

Matthew in the gardens.

Matthew chilling with the monks.

And for la pièce de résistance - a masonry bretzel!

View from the monastery.

More sleepy-looking roofs.

German Holiday

My first day in Tübingen blew me away. For one thing, it was sunny and warm so we spent the entirety of it outside.  :)  Everywhere Matthew took me in the Altstadt ('old town') had to be captured on film.  This is because I fell instantly in love with German architecture.  How can one not love actual Medieval buildings that are so colourful and cheerful and look like layer cakes?  Pink, orange, yellow, blue, green - colour everywhere!  We started out day by having tea and traditional German cakes with a German friend we had met while she was in Edinburgh doing an Erasmus exchange (which is the same exchange that took Matthew to Tübingen). 

After exploring the Altstadt on foot a bit we ate lunch on a patio overlooking the Neckar River, which was near bursting its banks.  This meant that the swans were able to plow their way through the current, but the poor coots were peddling hard and only managing to move laterally across the river!  I had Tübinger Käsespätzle (which is a Swabian dish, so it is über local), finished off with lemon-basil ice cream and a walk along the island in the Neckar.  Then we walked up to the Schloss Tübingen, which is the castle at the highest point in the city.  It is open to the public to come up for a look round, but the buildings are Uni faculties.  Lucky students! Everywhere we went, I felt like a German fairytale could be taking place at any moment

Tea and cake with Anik.

Happily surrounded by shutters and sunlight!

Fun little 'twiddly bits' on the roofs.

The Neckar river complete with a Stockerkahn, colourful Medieval buildings, and locals sunning themselves along the wall.

Lemon-Basil ice cream perfectly paired with a hot summer's day and a walk along the river.

Germany is full of great doors.  We stumbled upon these two sets walking up to the Schloss.

Shutters, window boxes, a Vespa... if only I spoke German, I may have never left!

Covered exterior stairways seem to be a recurring feature.

All the buildings are pretty friendly with one another.

Merrily standing tall amidst all the crazy, sloping alleys.

These roofs made me think they were winking at me after a long doze.

Market!  Asparagus season is apparently a big thing in June.

Fell in love with this lemon-yellow building!

Were these lines supposed to be parallel with the ground?  Or no?

Can't get enough of the beautiful German architecture!

Window boxes.  Shutters.  I want them.

Matthew and the view from the Schloss.

Entrance to the Schloss (Castle).

Poking around the Schloss.

Stadtsmarkt - one of the many beautiful squares in the Altstadt. Perfect setting for a fairytale!