Heidelberg Castle

Well I better start my post on our trip to Heidelberg Castle before my memory runs away from me. Let's see...it was Monday around noon when we finally left the flat and walked to the rail station. When we got there, we were sad to discover that the automated ticket machine does not take credit cards or bills, but only coins. 1 and 2 EUROS come in coins, but we didn't have enough. So, Brian said he would go and find a store to get money at. I didn't want to be walking around aimlessly and wasting my feet energy (we all know how temperamental my feet are), so I sat on the corner and waited. And waited. And waited. For an hour. Finally Brian showed up in the opposite direction waving his arms and carrying a large bottle of Fanta. Well, at least he showed up with some drink. Apparently he got lost on the other side of the village, finally had some German kids direct him to a baker who was open, and then had to make his way back to the rail station. So, we actually didn't get to the Castle until almost 2pm. Thankfully the sun doesn't set until 10pm here, so we had plenty of time.



The walk up to the hill was horrendous. And it was even more so because it was hot and sticky. My jeans and my shirt were just sticking to me...it was so gross. If there is one thing I hate it's being hot and sticky. But, with a number of rests up the rather steep path, we made it to the Castle. It was such a pretty view, but as you can see in the picture, I wasn't quite enjoying myself yet haha. I was still so hot though, so we went down into the cellar area of the Castle, where they keep the great tun I think it's called. Basically, it's a huge vat of wine. In fact, it's the largest in the world, able to hold 220,000 liters. That's 65,000 gallons...if I remember correctly.


Notice that the top of the tun has a flat surface and railing; it's a dance floor! How crazy is that? You can get your drink and your dance on in the same area.

Then I had to pay 50 cents to use the f'ing bathroom...yes they charge for that in Europe. After that I got an ice cream and felt better. The first order of business was to take pictures of the inner courtyard...



...and then time for the German Apothecary Museum! Honestly, I didn't think it was going to be that exciting, but I ended up really enjoying it. I love all those glass vials with the names on them, and the good smelling stuff inside. Mama actually has the same kind at her home (I wonder where she got them...they were selling them for 15EURO a pop at the Gift shop) and they are great decorative objects. Besides, I like the smell of herbs. So we wandered around, checked out some cauldrons, sniffed some things, and chuckled over the dead newts and snakes that they used to use in these potions. Cool beans.



Then we walked around the Castle grounds, taking some funny pictures, like this one:



And enjoying the scenery of the ruined Castle. Here is a picture of one of the towers that was destroyed:




This is the other side of the Castle as well. Isn't it amazing how grass grows just about anywhere. And...is that a tree?

It was getting close to 5pm, and the heat was killing us, so we decided to head home. We were so happy to get back to the flat and take showers. Overall the Castle was very interesting, hopefully the next Castle we visit will be more intact!