A Day in Romantic Heidelberg

I don’t think there’s any way for me to truly describe how beautiful Heidelberg is. Just a full day in this city and I was smitten.

If your idea of Germany somehow looks like a scene that came straight out of a fairytale, then this city would be a perfect fit for you. To me, Germany has always been a little more about sexy, gritty Berlin. Heidelberg, however, brought me back to the Grimm Brothers stories I read as a child.

Last summer, my husband Alvin and I found ourselves in Frankfurt for an overnight trip. He was there to represent the embassy at a tourism event and I tagged along (at my own expense and not the government’s, of course). Since the event was on a Saturday, we thought we’d spend our Sunday in Heidelberg before making the long journey back to Berlin. Especially since this city, where our national hero Jose Rizal spent a lot of his time in while in Europe, is just an hour away by train from Frankfurt.

It was one of those quick trips that I really enjoyed. You know how some writers exaggerate about the beauty of certain places? When Rizal wrote his poem A las Flores de Heidelberg (To the Flowers of Heidelberg), he wasn’t exaggerating. The flowers that lined the banks of the Neckar and the ones that were just all over the city were beautiful enough to inspire anyone to start writing or even sing songs about them.

First travel tip for Heidelberg? Come in the Spring. We left Frankfurt early one summer morning in August. So, it was still rather nippy. When we arrived in Heidelberg, however, I had to stash my light jacket and I ended up sweating through my tank top. If you plan to go in the summer, I would suggest shorts and sandals plus a portable fan. It can get quite uncomfortable, especially in the old town once the hordes of tourists roll in around noon.

With that said, let me share with you some of the interesting stops we made while walking around this beautiful city.

Kongresshaus Stadthalle

The park outside this beautiful building was the perfect place to sit for a bit. From here, we were able to enjoy a view of the opposite bank of the Neckar river, lined with beautiful houses.

The Stadthalle is a cultural centre built in the early 1900s. I just love the Art Noveau elements in this Renaissance-style building.

Main Street

Take a stroll along the main street for beautiful buildings and some ice cream. Slight detours in some of the smaller alleys offer quaint surprises – like small cafés, random gardens, and even speciality shops and bakeries. The main street leads up to the Marktplatz where there are lots of restaurants. They can be a little pricey as it’s a tourist area but the view from the square that has the city hall on one side and the Church of the Holy Spirit on the other is just beautiful.

If it’s a weekend, you’ll probably see a wedding party by the city hall, too. I get giddy every time this happens that I smile at the couple like a kid and try to offer my congratulations like the creepy, emotionally-invested tourist that I am.

While browsing shop windows, I fell in love with several things being sold. German dolls, wooden Weinachtspyramides, books – both new and even some antiques, and some beautifully crafted miniature furniture. Those miniatures, I found out later on, were imported from Japan, though. There are quite a lot of Japanese people living in Heidelberg. Some of them are even shop owners there.

Jesuitenkirche (Jesuit Church)

The church we entered was not the Church of the Holy Spirit but the smaller, less crowded Jesuitenkirche. This Catholic church is home to the city’s museum for Ecclesiastical Arts and is a more solemn place to give thanks for a safe journey.

The Old Bridge

Also known as the Karl-Theodor Bridge, this nearly 150-year-old structure is the 8th bridge to be built on this spot since the 13th century. It’s like the baby brother of Prague’s Charles Bridge with their arches, statues (with Karl-Theodor having way less, obviously), and a stunning view of the nearby castle.

We had our lunch at the Southern end of the bridge which is still part of the Old Town. Since we’ve been having German food for the past few days before going here, we went for some Thai. For the life of me, I can’t remember its name but it was right across the bridge that you can see everyone passing by. I was hungry and it was the first thing we saw but there were no regrets as their Tom Kha Gai was actually good.

The Heidelberg Castle (Heidelberger Schloss)

Much to the delight of my train geek of a husband, you need to go on a funicular train to get up to the Heidelberg Castle. Your train ticket which will cost you between 5-9 euros depending on whether you want to visit just the castle or the top of the Königsstuhl as well. That price also includes admission to the castle grounds.

The trip up the castle is definitely worth every Euro even just for this view of the city:

The castle has been heavily damaged through the years because of war and even lightning strikes. So, in some parts of the complex, you’ll see ruins instead. This, however, doesn’t change the fact that it’s still impressive and quite a beauty – especially in warmer weather.

The Deutsches Apotheken Museum (German Pharmacy/Apothecary Museum)

Admission to this museum is covered by your castle ticket so might as well drop by. If you’ve ever visited Berlin, you’d notice that there are more Apothekes than any type of shop in the city. They’re as common as 7-11s in Bangkok – you sometimes have more than one in a street.

Naturally, Alvin and I wanted to learn more about them so it was also a very interesting stop for us. Also, it’s quite interesting to see what people back in the day thought would cure their colds or headaches. And how from there, we now have tablets and syrups to make us feel better.

The World’s Biggest Wine Barrell

Obviously, this got me really interested. The Heidelberg Tun (photo on the left) can hold about 60 thousand gallons of wine.History says there have been four such barrels in Heidelberg and this current one is rarely used. In this part of the castle, there’s a bar and the top of the barrel was actually turned into a dancefloor. Well, I would have been one really happy royal if this barrel was just in the basement of my castle.

The photo on the right shows me, giving some love to its baby brother. Because wine is the preferred drink of Jesus Christ and I’m Catholic.

If you know me personally, I’m sure you’re laughing at that last sentence. If you don’t know me personally, let me explain: I love a good drink. Some say a little too much. I say it’s my Catholic duty to remind myself of Jesus’ first miracle. My husband finds my reasoning (he calls them excuses) amusing.

I do feel compelled to remind you people that we all should drink responsibly, though. There, I did it. I’m a decent human.

After making my love for alcohol known to everyone in Heidelberg Castle with that pose, we made our way back to the Old Town then to the Heidelberg Hauptbahnhof. From there, we travelled back to Frankfurt where our train back to Berlin would have been if only it wasn’t late.  We did get to have some dinner before the long train ride so it was all good.

If you enjoyed this post, please do share it! Here’s a Pinterest-friendly image for you to make it easier.

More later!

Love,

Carol