Throughout Heidelberg, there are stickers, shirts, bags, and sweaters making that declaration.  I could not agree more.  At this time, I don't have much interest in living internationally, but if I did, Heidelberg would be extremely high on the list!  It is a safe, clean city filled with friendly and helpful people.  It is extremely walkable and bikeable.  Finally, it is not a "party city" like Amsterdam.  The atmosphere is such a relaxed, down-to-earth experience.

We had a grand plan to avoid jetlag altogether by sleeping for the correct amount of time and just getting ourselves on a schedule.  Well, we both slept through our alarm and awoke at 11!  In retrospect, we should have asked Brent, our host, to bang on our door if we weren't up by the time he left for work.  However, we hopped out of bed and headed to the Kulturebrewerie in the Aldstadt (Old Town).  We ordered a couple of items pretty blindly off the menu and enjoyed them thoroughly - typical German fare heavy on meat and starch.  Kelly tried another beer and I got banana nectar.  Banana seems to be a fairly popular flavor here and I love it!

After this, we walked up many steps to the Schloss Heidelberg, or Heidelberg Castle.  We arrived with about an hour before the first tour, so we explored the outside.  It was really amazing to be able to see and touch something which was started in the 1300s!

From cooking to using the restroom, there were many interesting things to learn about the castle.  Toilets were installed, but there was not yet modern plumbing.  Castle denizens would use them, then the refuse would fall into the dry moat, creating a bit of a smelly situation!  We also stumbled across this - a huge medieval oven!  It was not part of the tour, but from what we would surmise a fire would be kindled in a depression about 10 feet across and various baked goods would be placed around the edge.  This is looking up into the very tall chamber.  I certainly would not have wanted to be a servant in charge of the baking!

The interior had quite a bit of spectacular stone carving, wood carving, and impressive paintings.  This was the castle chapel, one of the most grand rooms in the castle.  We feel lucky to have been allowed to take interior photos.  We would later learn that photo-taking is not allowed in all castles.

Once the guided tour was over (it felt like we rushed from one room to the next with a bit of information between), there were a few more areas to explore.  I'll close the description of our castle experiences with one of our favorites, punctuated by a funny story.  The photo below depicts a wine barrel.  It is not the best photo we got, but I liked this one because there is a person at the bottom to give you an idea of scale.  Residents around the castle paid part of their tax through part of their wine to the castle - the royalty had a next to unquenchable thirst.  This was a barrel that was piped up to the floor above to give continuous access to the castle denizens.  The caretaker of this barrel was Perkeo, the court jester.  He got his name due to the fact that when someone would offer him a glass of wine, his response was "Perche no?"  This is Italian for "Why not?"  According to legend, he sickened and died after accepting a bet to drink a glass of water instead of wine.

From the castle, we crossed the Old Bridge.  There were a lot of intricate statues as well as locks.  Lovers will affix a lock to the bridge as a symbol of sealing their love for eternity.  This is a common sight on bridges throughout Germany.  On the other side of the Neckar River, we took the Philosopher's Walk.  We ascended several steps (more steps, see a pattern?) and the walk culminated in the beautiful Philosopher's Garden.

We headed home to chat with Brent a little more.  He pointed us to an utterly delicious kebap shop and imparted the knowledge that Turks are the largest minority in Germany, comprising about 9% of the population. After that, we took a walk based on his recommendation through a nearby German graveyard.  I love their burial traditions - several people from one family are laid to rest in the same plot.  Family names will be inscribed on the headstone until there is no more room.  At that point, mini-headstones or nice rocks will be added with later family members.  Instead of merely having a headstone, each burial plot has a raised garden area.  From everything we saw, they are generally beautifully tended and often include objects or plants significant to the deceased.

After this, it was time to return to pack up and rest.  We planned to get up with Brent, stash our bags at his school, and explored Heidelberg until it was time to catch the train to Munich.

Posted from the Munich BMW museum where there is free WiFi, free bathrooms, and cozy chairs,
Megan