Heidelberg
15 to 19 June 2025
Julie finally finds the castle on our last day in Heidelberg
On Sunday, Julie and Anthony had a long (5 hours) train ride from Berlin to Heidelberg. Sunday was a busy day for travel, and we could not reserve seats. Anthony did some research and found seats that were not likely to have been reserved. This worked for the first 4 hours, but we ended up standing for the last hour of the journey. We have not made that mistake again.
(note on caption above: Not true. Julie is making sure Anthony does not miss his 104th picture of the castle)
Lots of beautiful, green country on the way to Heidelberg.
Our friends at Carolina Brewing Company created a special batch of nutbrown ale called Angelbrau (to celebrate a friends wedding), I had to take a photo of the sign.
Monday morning, Julie and Anthony caught the bus into the old town, and then got the tram up the mountain to the north of Heidelberg.
The view from the top!
Julie and Anthony walked around the castle grounds, waiting for our tour to start.
Guardians at the gate.
Anthony found the Angels again, this time at the castle. Legend has it that these were the Castle Architect’s young sons who died while the castle was being built, at least that’s what our guide said.
Did Escher and Penrose visit the Castle?
This is NOT the Heidelberg tun.
In the 18th century, wine makers would bring a portion of their yield to the elector (who was the leader in the region) in Heidelberg as taxes. The wine was poured through a hole into the floor, into the Heidelberg Tun (made in 1751). The Heidelberg Tun is the worlds largest wine barrel, it holds roughly 220,000 liters. The elector and friends would drink this wine all year long. It had to be very bad, but better than the water.
This IS the Heidelberg Tun.
In the 18th century, Elector Charles III Phillip, imported a jester from Italy, Clements Pankert. Besides being a noted singer, the jester could put away some wine. When asked if he would like another, he would say “Perche No” (Why not). He was then called Perkeo, and is the unofficial mascot of Heidelberg.
Eppingen
In 1959/1960 Anthony’s dad, Charles, served in the Army in Germany. He spent most of his time at a missile base on a hill between the towns of Eppingen and Kleingartach, which are an hour train ride south of Heidelberg. Julie and Anthony headed down to see the place that dad had been telling stories about all these years.
Julie and Anthony walked into the town square in Eppingen. They stopped at the local tourist information center and chatted with a couple of nice ladies. They were too young to know anything about the Army base, but gave us a map showing trails up on the hill and the bus to and from Kleingartach.
Using old technology to set a course. Anthony and his dad will look at the maps and pictures together when he gets home. First stop, an old chapel up on the hill.
A sharp eye will notice that this is not even an apple tree.
Did we mention, Julie and Anthony were on a quest? One fateful day, Charles was driving back to the base from one of the towns. He lost traction on a curve and hit an apple tree, totaling his car. A few days later, dad’s Commanding Officer called him in to talk. The local constable was there. It turns out the farmer wanted to press charges about the tree. The sheriff said to pay him $50 and it would all go away. We were on a mission to find dad’s apple tree.
We did find an apple orchard near the chapel, but the curve in the road turns the wrong way.
Did dad drive down these roads 65 years ago?
Could this field have held an US Army missile base?
View from the fields down into Kleingartach. The vineyard is certainly not 65 years old.
Old statue standing outside of the local pub in Kleingartach. Did dad see it when he was here?
Julie and Anthony caught the last bus of the day back to Eppingen. As they rounded a curve, they saw a row of apple trees. Anthony thinks one of these trees is definitely dads! We didn’t stop the bus to check for damage.
Waiting for the train back to Heidelberg, we strolled through Eppingen for one last look.
On Wednesday, Julie and Anthony took the four castles boat cruise on the Neckar Rover.
The Neckar used to be a wild and crazy ride, Mark Twain rafted down it on his trip to Europe in the late 19th Century. However, it was Canalized in the early 20th century, to make it navigable.
Inspirations for when Julie and Anthony go RV-ing back home.
SAS German Headquarters, for my SAS friends.
Back on dryland, Julie has found a terrific hike along the Philosopher’s Way. This hike crosses the Neckar, and climbs up the opposite side of the valley from the old city. We go some terrific views of Old Town and the Castle from here.
NOT Butter.
On the way to Frankfurt to catch up with the Little German Band and Dancers.