Hot but happy in Heidelberg
What did we do on our free day, you might ask, before setting out on our 80 ish mile walk? Did we sit around in shady squares sampling the local beers? Did we indulge in the coffee and cake ritual beloved of these parts?
Yes.
But we also chalked up 10 miles or so exploring Heidelberg. Obviously.
We were pretty tired by the time we reached Heidelberg last night. The journey to Folkestone on Sunday evening was fine until right near the end where we found that the M20 was closed for a few junctions, meaning a detour onto the M2 and a scoot around to the Premier Inn right near the tunnel.
A very uncomfortable night followed in an airless and very hot room, so we were glad to get out into the fresh air early the following morning.
The last time we used the tunnel we turned up to find that we had booked for a day earlier than our travel day. On this occasion our muppetry took the form of driving up the M20 looking for junction 11A of the motorway, the Eurotunnel exit, only to realise belatedly that we’d joined the motorway at 11A. Oops.
We’d originally intended to drive mostly through France via Reims then cutting across into Germany, but changed our minds and took a non-toll route through Belgium instead, via Brussels. Even then something went wonky every time Joff was in charge of the satnav. Each time he touched my phone we seemed to have a different end destination, or route. Coincidence, or yet more muppetry? Somehow we ended up at Bad Wimpfen around 5.30pm.
We were hoping to park at the train station, but it’s a small unstaffed place, and we couldn’t figure out how to pay for more than 7 days, so we abandoned the car in a residential area and walked back.
The much-lauded German punctuality wasn’t quite on offer for our train ride to Heidelberg, and we eventually arrived about 7.30pm feeling very hot and thirsty.
A half hour walk to the hotel in the old town gave us a good indication of how heavy our packs are, but we soon felt much better after a change of clothes, a lovely cold beer and a very tasty schnitzel.
And so to today. Breakfast was in one of the numerous bakery/cafés, selling all manner of fabulous-looking breads and bakes. I opted for something a bit liked a Chelsea bun, flavoured with apple and cinnamon. It was about the size of half a brick, but surprisingly light.
Next stop was tourist info to track down a map of our trail, the Neckarsteig, and once that was accomplished we set off on a mooch to explore the old town and up to the castle.
It’s a really attractive place. Famous for it’s university, of course, so lots of students, bikes everywhere, beautiful buildings and our guide for the next while, the river Neckar.
We enjoyed the view over the town from the castle, which is a mixture of architectural styles from medieval to Renaissance, all in a warm pinkish-red stone reminiscent of Somerset.
Lunch was in a lovely spot surrounded by trees with sparrows hopping around our feet. Joff accidentally stumbled on a local, seasonal speciality - onion tart, served with “new wine”. This is completely unlike the Grüner Veltliner we’ve had in Vienna. It’s sweet and tastes more like grape juice, though it is slightly alcoholic. It’s apparently just at the start of its becoming-proper-wine journey, and it looks a bit like scrumpy.
We shook that meal down by walking along the river on the north side to get a view back over to the castle, and made space for a Konditorei visit to eat cake and watch the world go by.
By this time it was mid-afternoon, and we were ready for a siesta, and some time out from the heat. An aperitif was called for, followed by a meal in a restaurant recommended by friends who’d visited earlier in the year.
The restaurant has its own brewery, and their beer is really delicious, though you do need quite strong arms to lift the ceramic mugs it comes in. The food was equally good - very traditional, and rather too much of it. As a result more mooching was required, though the atmosphere was so lovely we didn’t mind at all. Loads of people out eating, generating a low buzz of conversation along every street.
Em x
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