(First published in Small World Ezine on 9 July 2002)
Writing about Germany in the Neuschwanstein article, I can't help myself thinking of Heidelberg... The place I used to stay for 2 years. And, like they said in the song, it's so beautiful that "I lost my heart in Heidelberg".
Europe's oldest human skull was found here. I saw it in the
museum and could not understand how they knew it's a human
skull. If I found a small piece of stone like that, I'd not
give it a second glance. However, from all the bones and
tools found, it was concluded that traces of human existence
around Heidelberg had dated back 500,000 years ago. The
stoneagers found here are named Homo Heidelbergensis after
the city.
Then there came the Celts in about 800 B.C., Roman followed,
and then the Alemannic tribe. The name "Heidelberch" was
first mentioned in 1196, in a deed of the Cloister Schönau.
The history of the castle starts in 1225, when the
Wittelsbach Ludwig I., Count Palatinate, gained a castle as a
feudal tenure from the Cloister Lorsch, with the aim that he
might protect the trade road into the Neckar valley. The
castle was renovated, ruined, burnt, and rebuilt several time
in history. Read more at this link.
Heidelberg
Nowadays, the castle becomes the town's herbal medicine
museum, and convention center. They have events, plays,
operas, and concerts all the time, esp. this time of the
year. I used to attend parties in the castle's hall twice...
one Christmas Party of our University, and the other time was
the wedding party of a friend. The rest of the time I went to
the castle just to walk or have a picnic in its garden (open
to public).
Oh almost forget, the world's biggest wine barrel is also in
the Schloss (castle). The castle looks red... I think it's
built of sand stones.
In 1386, Ruprecht I. founded the University, which is said to
be the centre of higher education in Europe at the time. It
played a leading role during the age of Humanism and the
Reformation. Martin Luther was received here with great
honors and defended his 95 theses. Today the university has
expanded to be the centre of philosophy, medicine, law and
theology studies in Germany. The university is what makes the
town alive. Because Germans study for free, they'll keep
studying until Ph.D. Two-thirds of Heidelberg populations are
students, professors, or academic personnel. With the recent
opening of Heidelberg's TechnoPark, the demography is slowly
changing, but they still recruit work forces from the
University. And workers from the park also attend courses
there.
With the beautiful scenery, Heidelberg became the favorite
of an illustrious group of poets including Arnim, Brentano,
Hölderlin, Eichendorff and Goethe, to name but a few. No city
was so beloved by the Romantic poets as Heidelberg. And don't
forget the music Composers such as Schumann, C.M. von Weber,
and Brahms also captured their impressions of Heidelberg‘s
unique blend of river landscape, historic town, and hillside
castle in their music.
Heidelberg used to be Hitler's headquarters during the war
too, but we shall not go there. Just a note that Heidelberg,
somehow, or miraculously, survived the bombs without a
scratch. They said when the allied bomber pilot saw the
castle, they could not make themselves let go the bombs, and
destroy such a piece of art. Thus, they had to drop the bombs
in the nearby city of Mannhein instead. In WWII, Mannheim was
completely destroyed. (This was told to me by a half-American
Mannheimer who felt sorry for his home town but was also glad
Heidelberger Schloss was not hit).
Today Heidelberg resides the headquarters of NATO in the
region. There is a large U.S. army base together with all the
American stuffs (i.e. supermarket, Laundromat, U.S. post
office, U.S. ATM, U.S. satellite TV and video rental, etc.)
inside. I lived in the same apartment building with a U.S.
sergeant and attended Management classes with a U.S. captain,
they took me there a lot.
More:
Summer and Christmas are the best time to visit Heidelberg.
The Castle lighting and fireworks always take place on the
first Saturday in June, second Saturday in July (this coming
Saturday?), and first Saturday in September. There will be
light shows for remembrance of the time the castle was on
fire. And after that -- 15-20 minutes of fireworks.
At the time people will gather on the bridges and the other
side of the river, eating drinking and enjoying the summer
night. There are also Wurst (hotdog), beer and Sekt (German
sparkling wine) stands all over the place.
During the summer day, just lying on the grass yard by the
river's bank and enjoy the sun is relaxing enough. You can
also hike up the hills, ride a bike, or run on skates. There
are certain bike-lanes that people are not allowed to walk on
them and cause traffic to bikers. Isn't it a biker's heaven?
Every Saturday, there will be markets in several places
nearby the castle. You can get anything from fruits, flowers,
candies, souvenirs, clothes, etc. I even got my Bayern
Munich scarf from the market. Just take a walk on
Hauptstrasse (Main Street), and you won't miss them.
Haupstrasse itself is already interesting -- full of artists,
musicians, magicians, ... There are University facilities
everywhere, and museums, restaurants, cafe (where you'll
enjoy the tea) They say Germans can't cook. I am not sure
about that, but it's certain to me they can bake. Talk about
Pretzels, Cakes, Pies, Icecream with such fruity toppings...
There are also other European restaurants on Hauptstrasse...
Turkish, Greek, You name it... The most delicious Kebab stand
is also here. What's more... McDonald's, Hard Rock Cafe, even
a Thai restaurant.
If you happen to visit in winter there are still Christmas
markets and parades. Don't forget to try the Glühwein (a warm
wine available only during Christmas). The Christmas market
is open everywhere in Germany from end of November to mid
December (just before the Christmas break). Though Heidelberg
is located on a higher place, but the valley helps keep the
place warmer in winter and colder in summer. (Don't ask me
how). It's one of not many places in Germany with steadier
weather.
How to get there and around:
Nearest airports are in Stuttgart and Frankfurt. Frankfurt
International Airport is one of the modernest and most
equipped airport in the world. If you arrive at Frankfurt,
you can either
- Rent a car and drive there. Just get on to the Autobahn
and follow Stuttgart direction. Be reminded that they drive
VERY FAST on Autobahn (160 km./h or 100 mph up). Keep right
if you are not sure where to go.
- Take Lufthansa's Airport bus from Terminal B directly to
Heidelberg's Marriot Hotel. From the hotel, just take a taxi
to Bismarkpaltz which is the town centre. Hauptstrasse starts
from here.
- Take a train to Heidelberg's Hauptbahnhof (Main station).
And from there, take a tram or bus to Bismarksplatz. The
Tourist Information is just in front of the Train station.
But they work office hours only.
You can also take the train until Heidelberg's Karlstor
station at the other end of Hauptstrasse, but taking a
tram or a bus provides you better scenery of the town.
A tourist can get a Heidelberg Card, and ride on trams/buses
in Heidelberg free for 3 days. The card pay your entrance to
the Castle, Old University, and 10 more museums too.
To go to the Castle, walk on Hauptstrasse or take a bus until
Kornmarkt, and walk or take the cable car (Bergbahn) uphill.
Do not drive up there. The driveway is steeper and normally
difficult to park. The castle is only the first stop of the
cable car. You can go until the top of the hill, and enjoy
the scenery very far away. But from the castle you can see
all over Heidelberg already. The Castle's garden is free to
go, but you'll have to pay DM 1 or 2 for the Castle (free for
Heidelberg Cardholder). Everywhere in Germany, there are
always discounts for juniors and students. Just ask.
Coming down, don't forget to stop by at Alte Brüke (Old
Bridge). The bridge itself is beautiful. And the castle view
from there is incredible!
If you have time, take a cruise along the Neckar, come back
to the castle at night, and see Heidelberg's romantic view
from the garden. Oooohh I miss Heidelberg...
To stay the night, there are hotels, Youth Hostels, Guess
Houses, and camping sites.
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