Castles, Funiculars, and Hot Paws: A Day in Heidelberg, Germany

We took a quick trip from the campsite down to Heidelberg in the motorhome today. It’s such a nice place to just pop into for a day, especially when the weather is good. It did take a while finding a parking spot, though. It's definitely not easy finding an ideal spot. Saturday is going to be quite busy, though.

​We started down in the Old Town at the main square, the Marktplatz. The big red church in the middle is the Church of the Holy Spirit and it is huge! It dominates the whole square. There were tons of people sitting outside at coffee tables, and small shops built right into the side of the church walls.

Right nearby, we found this clever bronze map on a table that shows a mini 3D model of the whole city. They are designed as tactile maps for visually impaired people, which is a great idea.

Walking around the streets, we also ran into this really strange water fountain with bronze statues in front of an old yellow building. The Sebastian-Münster-Brunnen features a bronze globe and figures symbolising different stages of life. It definitely stood out! The pooch cooled his paws in the water and had a drink.

​After wandering through the streets, we decided to head up to Heidelberg Castle. To save our legs, we took the Bergbahn funicular railway. It’s basically a little train car with glass windows that pulls you straight up the side of the mountain. It was a really neat experience riding it up.

​Once you get up to the castle, the views are incredible, but the ruin itself is just as interesting. One of the coolest parts is the broken tower (the Powder Turret). Half of it literally blew up hundreds of years ago, so it’s just a giant chunk of stone leaning on its side with green trees growing all around it.

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​Even the pooch loved standing up on the ledge taking in the view!

They do like their bicycles here. Although, like in the UK they only ring their bell a nano second before they take you down. 😃 Apart from that, it was a fun day out, although it did get quite hot in the sun.