There’s a lot to see in Heidelberg so we started with a guided tour of the town centre. The tour starts by going to the hospital. This is more interesting than you might think. The locals are very proud of the world class facilities here and they benefit by being able to use the facilities that are paid for by rich international patients. The children’s hospital was paid for by a rich financier as a birthday present for his wife.
One of the most famous sights is the 13 metres high steel and aluminium horse outside the Print Media Academy. They call it the biggest horse statue. I immediately thought of the Genghis Khan horse in Ulaan Baatar which is 40 metres high including Genghis but maybe that doesn’t count as he is riding it.
Heidelberg horse
Heidelberg Castle
They also have the largest wine barrel in the world. This is truly enormous . Called the Heidelberg Tun it was made in 1751. it is 28 feet across and 23 feet high. It holds 220,017 litres
It’s in the castle, which you can reach by the modern funicular. We found it very hard to find the entrance but we do get lost everywhere. You buy a joint ticket to ride up and to enter the castle. If you like you can go up further to get a view of the town but as we were there on a misty day we didn’t think we would see much. Walking round the grounds was great but the mist did spoil the distant views a little. Considering how busy it was I think that’s a fair trade off for going out of season, the crowds of tourists must be huge in July or August.
Back into Town
Apart from visiting the castle its its lovely to walk along the banks of the river Neckar and wander around the old town where there are interesting shops and good cafes. On the street with the museum of the President (worth a quick look) there are very specific instructions for tourists to respect the area –
No getting that wrong is there!
Heidelberg bridge
