Road Trip

Railroad trip, that is.

I decided to take a day trip to Heidelberg today.  I ordered a Bahncard which gives me a 25% discount on train fare, and the train system here in Germany is extensive!

So I rounded up the boy and myself and we caught our first train out of Ramstein.

There was a light rain/snow mix which let up about 10:00 this morning.  This was to be the first of three trains which would take us to Heidelberg.  This was also our first train trip since we arrived here.  I was in Germany about ten years ago and we rode the trains almost everywhere we went, so I was pretty confident that I wouldn't have many problems.

This train took us from Ramstein to Landstuhl.  From there we caught a train to Mannheim.  (No, we didn't see any steamrollers.)  Finally, the third train took us from Mannheim to Heidelberg.  The entire trip took about 90 minutes.

Upon our arrival, we were impressed by Heidelberg's train station:

The station is mall-like with some pretty nice shops.  We stopped at the bakerei for a pastry and some coffee before continuing.

Right outside the Bahnhof (train station) is a tourist center.  We picked up a map and tickets to the Schloss (castle) Heidelberg which is what I really wanted my son to see.  The castle is located in the part of town called the Altstadt or "old town" which was pretty far from our current location.  Thankfully, the Bahncard also allows free ground travel so we hopped on a bus and made our way.

Schloss Heidelberg is set high on a hill overlooking the Rhine River.  Though my bad knee is screaming a little right now, we travelled up the fantastically steep and somewhat treacherous cobblestone path to the castle.  Once there we continued upward onto the castle walls and ramparts and got this view of the Altstadt below:

The castle itself is technically in ruins.  However, an apothecary museum has been installed which taught us about the importance of the pharmacist back in those days.  This castle also boasts one of the largest wine barrels in the world.  As I mentioned in a previous post, we're in Germany's wine country, so beer tends to take a back seat here.  My future trips to Bavaria will correct this gross injustice.  Anyway, area vintners would pay tribute to the king with donations of wine which would get mixed up in this behemoth:

That's me at the bottom, for perspective.

This barrel holds 58,000 gallons of wine--about 56,698 more gallons than all six of SFB's serving vessels combined!  The barrel is so large that a dance platform had been installed on top of it.  It is also closely and constantly guarded by a statue of Clemens Perkeo, the court jester from 1707 to 1728.  Legend states that Perkeo has an unnaturally high alcohol tolerance and could empty the barrel in one gulp!

After leaving the Schloss, it was time to grab some lunch.  We headed back down into the town and found a great restaurant serving, of all things, German food.  My son and I both thought the sampler plate looked good, and it was:

Weissewurst, a couple of breakfast-style links, some sort of sausage patty with potatoes and cheese mixed in, a German ravioli, potatoes, mustard and sauerkraut.  I enjoyed a Heidelberger Dunkel with dinner and capped it off with a Heidelberger Hell.  Both decent, if not tame, examples of their styles.

From there, my son and I walked along the Rhine a bit to the "old bridge".  You can see it in the upper right of the city photo above.  We did a little Valentine's shopping for Mrs. Brewmaster and then it was time to catch the bus and trains back home.

Next up, Köln--the birthplace of Kölsch beer.