It wouldn't be a visit to Heidelberg if you don't go up to the castle. That was the plan today, after a much needed sleep-in.
The sleep-in didn't happen. We went to bed late and then Barney was agitated and growling at phantom noises throughout the whole night. We had to keep him company to stop him growling and maybe annoying the other guests - if there even are any!
Yesterday's day pass for the public transport cost us 8.50 Euros. I looked up car parks and it looked like it would be cheaper and easier for us to just drive into the city to park. I had read conflicting stories about whether it is possible to drive up to the castle or not - some reports say you can but they don't recommend it, and others just say there is no parking.
We drove up to check it out for ourselves. The road gets pretty steep and cobbly as the castle nears...feeling less and less like you are supposed to be there. A small car park came up and we got in there. We parked immediately next to the sign that said 'Parking forbidden'.
There was a small tourist kiosk next to this car park, and the shop keeper was staring at us as well as a lady who looked like she lived in the nearby building getting in her car. We spoke to the lady first who seemed a bit peeved at us but after explaining we would only be a short while she said it would be okay to park there. She got in her car and drove off. As we walked away from the car I saw a sign that indicated we could be towed away, so I cleared it with the shopkeeper (as he would likely be the one to call the tow truck) and he was cool with it too. His hilarious buddy, customer, said 'Ja, Funf euro'...I fake laughed and left. I ain't paying him 5 euros.
Up around the castle there's a lot of works going on - not just on the castle itself but the surrounds. There looked to be some other spots to possibly park but these were taken by construction vehicles and it just seemed a bit dubious of a parking situation at the best of times. The only other place was a designated bus parking lot. Man parking can be a hassle, but we seemed to be okay for now.
We walked around the castle but didn't go in. As we had driven up we didn't have the funicular ticket that gets you entry, plus I am not sure if dogs can go in anyway. Instead you can walk around the castle grounds which are beautiful - freshly mowed green grass, trees, fountain, terraces, benches and of course the wonderful view over Heidelberg.
This is why we really wanted to come up here, for the view. Aahhhh.
With that taken care of we went back to the car, checked it was still there and thanked the shopkeeper for not towing it away. We drove back down (well up some more and then down) through the city and over the Neckar River to Neuenheim as I wanted to check something out here. On a little map we have there is a little 'P' printed next to the river so we went to see if we could park there.
The weather was absolutely beautiful today, t-shirt weather for a change. Where this little 'P' was is actually a long stretch of park on the banks of the Neckar River. Due to the weather, everyone was sunbathing. The car park and surrounding area were completely full and we couldn't find a spot, and neither could anyone else. Using my years of University car park car bay stalking skills, we eventually scored a spot.
From here we could easily walk to the 'Philosophenweg/Philosophers Way'. This is a scenic walk through former terraced vineyard hedges on the side of the hill in Northern Heidelberg. Apparently popular with poets and students (presumably of the Heidelberg Universities), the path became popular for everyone and is now a major 'thing'.
To get there you can start at a few points, and we started in Neuenheim, walking a steep road through the most expensive real estate of Heidelberg and all the fancy houses. The road soon turned into a pedestrian only path, and then opened up to the great view over Heidelberg.
At the top of this hill was a small kiosk and we were in need of something refreshing thanks to the nice weather we were now really hot. At the kiosk the guy was feeding a customer's dog some dog biscuit. Barney got jealous and was fed in turn. We got something to cool down and sat on the benches to admire the view.
From here the view was partially obstructed by greenery so we walked on to areas that had completely unimpaired views.
From here, this is the 'image' I wrote of yesterday is viewed from, the bridge leading to Heidelberg old town. Great!
There was no need to walk much further, so after Barney had his photos taken with some admirers we went back to walk around Nuenheim. We grabbed some things from a local bakery and went to sit on the banks of the river to enjoy a nice sunny day and watch the city play.
The sleep-in didn't happen. We went to bed late and then Barney was agitated and growling at phantom noises throughout the whole night. We had to keep him company to stop him growling and maybe annoying the other guests - if there even are any!
Yesterday's day pass for the public transport cost us 8.50 Euros. I looked up car parks and it looked like it would be cheaper and easier for us to just drive into the city to park. I had read conflicting stories about whether it is possible to drive up to the castle or not - some reports say you can but they don't recommend it, and others just say there is no parking.
We drove up to check it out for ourselves. The road gets pretty steep and cobbly as the castle nears...feeling less and less like you are supposed to be there. A small car park came up and we got in there. We parked immediately next to the sign that said 'Parking forbidden'.
There was a small tourist kiosk next to this car park, and the shop keeper was staring at us as well as a lady who looked like she lived in the nearby building getting in her car. We spoke to the lady first who seemed a bit peeved at us but after explaining we would only be a short while she said it would be okay to park there. She got in her car and drove off. As we walked away from the car I saw a sign that indicated we could be towed away, so I cleared it with the shopkeeper (as he would likely be the one to call the tow truck) and he was cool with it too. His hilarious buddy, customer, said 'Ja, Funf euro'...I fake laughed and left. I ain't paying him 5 euros.
Up around the castle there's a lot of works going on - not just on the castle itself but the surrounds. There looked to be some other spots to possibly park but these were taken by construction vehicles and it just seemed a bit dubious of a parking situation at the best of times. The only other place was a designated bus parking lot. Man parking can be a hassle, but we seemed to be okay for now.
We walked around the castle but didn't go in. As we had driven up we didn't have the funicular ticket that gets you entry, plus I am not sure if dogs can go in anyway. Instead you can walk around the castle grounds which are beautiful - freshly mowed green grass, trees, fountain, terraces, benches and of course the wonderful view over Heidelberg.
This is why we really wanted to come up here, for the view. Aahhhh.
With that taken care of we went back to the car, checked it was still there and thanked the shopkeeper for not towing it away. We drove back down (well up some more and then down) through the city and over the Neckar River to Neuenheim as I wanted to check something out here. On a little map we have there is a little 'P' printed next to the river so we went to see if we could park there.
The weather was absolutely beautiful today, t-shirt weather for a change. Where this little 'P' was is actually a long stretch of park on the banks of the Neckar River. Due to the weather, everyone was sunbathing. The car park and surrounding area were completely full and we couldn't find a spot, and neither could anyone else. Using my years of University car park car bay stalking skills, we eventually scored a spot.
From here we could easily walk to the 'Philosophenweg/Philosophers Way'. This is a scenic walk through former terraced vineyard hedges on the side of the hill in Northern Heidelberg. Apparently popular with poets and students (presumably of the Heidelberg Universities), the path became popular for everyone and is now a major 'thing'.
To get there you can start at a few points, and we started in Neuenheim, walking a steep road through the most expensive real estate of Heidelberg and all the fancy houses. The road soon turned into a pedestrian only path, and then opened up to the great view over Heidelberg.
At the top of this hill was a small kiosk and we were in need of something refreshing thanks to the nice weather we were now really hot. At the kiosk the guy was feeding a customer's dog some dog biscuit. Barney got jealous and was fed in turn. We got something to cool down and sat on the benches to admire the view.
From here the view was partially obstructed by greenery so we walked on to areas that had completely unimpaired views.
From here, this is the 'image' I wrote of yesterday is viewed from, the bridge leading to Heidelberg old town. Great!
There was no need to walk much further, so after Barney had his photos taken with some admirers we went back to walk around Nuenheim. We grabbed some things from a local bakery and went to sit on the banks of the river to enjoy a nice sunny day and watch the city play.
And that, was that!
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