Heidelberg

After spending the night in Ulm, I decided to head northwest to Heidelberg. Wanting to take no chances I booked a hotel near Heidelberg for Friday and Saturday nights for about $60 per night, more than I really wanted to spend, but with a last minute booking in that area I felt I wasn’t going to do much better pricewise. I took the autobahn cross country through vineyard covered hills until the terrain flattened out near Stuttgart. I made a wrong turn in Stuttgart and had to backtrack 10 minutes or so. Roads in Europe are not labeled north-south, east-west as they are in the United States. They have a number/letter designation and directional signs list major and nearby cities, however it’s rather easy to get turned around, particularly if you are not familiar with towns and cities in the area.

I successfully located my hotel in the town of Bammental, a very cute little German city located just a few miles from the Neckar river. I rang the doorbell and was admitted to the hotel where I was given a key to a closet; a tiny, minimally furnished room with a single bed which was to be my home for the next two nights. The bathroom did have a bathtub for which I was grateful as I needed to do some laundry. I also cleaned out the suitcase a bit and got rid of a pair of jeans. My policy is never to have more than two pair of jeans that fit at a time as they are very heavy to lug around in the suitcase. Also, as I buy a new shirt, I try to weed out one which is worn, not flattering, or stained. Same with underclothing and socks.

I drove to Heidelberg, a distance of 10-15 miles, and discovered that the road from Bammental leads right into the pedestrian area of the “old city”, shelted by the massive castle ruins perched on a tree-covered hill. I parked in a narrow space in an underground garage and walked off to explore Heidelberg which I have not visited in probably 19 years. I stopped by the large, red, brick church with souvenir stands crowded around the base like ducklings huddled underneath their mama. When I visited Saturday, a market selling fruits, vegatables, cheeses, and meats had been set up in the nearby square and a little arts and crafts fair had been set up in the square near the parking garage. The church was lovely and I briefly considered climbing the spiral staircase to the tower for a panoramic view of the city and the river, however as my foot was still tender, I decided to forgo the climb. Right outside of the church is the Hotel zum Ritter, a beautiful old hotel where Tim and I once spent the night. I walked down the long pedestrian mall, shopping and browsing as I went. I found a gift for my other son. I am not buying either of them one more thing!

The Heidelberg castle ruins hover right over the old city in view of a famous ancient bridge which crosses the Neckar. Both the bridge and the castle were partially convered by scaffolding, which, as I mentioned before, is typical.

On my drive back to Bammental I found a grocery store and purchased a salad and some sandwich fixings and ate dinner in my room. I was happy to find that for a charge of 2 euro per 24 hour period, I could use the hotel’s wireless internet, so I did some catching up on writing and shopped for some new music on Amazon.com. I sat on the terrace, Instant Messaging with my friend, Churck, and listening to music, when I overheard two men speaking Italian at a table next to me. When the younger one went inside, I spoke with the older one, asking him where he was from and telling him about my adventures in Italy. He was polite and said he was from Rome, however later I noticed him checking me out rather intently, as I have heard Italian men do. Perhaps I had been a bit too friendly, although it was all innocent on my part. I guess I am accustomed to the men in Cortona who really were gentleman, but that’s to be expected in a tiny town where any step out of line would travel the grapevine in record time. Incidently, mention of the grapevine reminded me that I heard a DJ on the radio in Garmish introducing that famous 1968 Marvin Gaye Mowtown hit, “I Heard it from the Grape Wine.” I laughed and laughed……..