Heildelburg

Heidelberg is one of my favorite places we've seen so far. Of course I may have been swayed by the beautiful sun that shone down on us while we were there (if you've never lived in a rainy place you may not understand this sentiment). We had our trusty guide book to take us around the city so after a quick lunch we set off. We saw the University of Heidelberg first. It is the oldest University in Germany, founded in 1386. The inventor of the bicycle (yea!) went to UH as well as the two chemists who discovered nicotine (boo!). While checking out the University buildings we learned an interesting story about the rowdy students who went to UH 100 years ago. A Student Prison was kept in which academic miscreants were locked up for anywhere from one to four weeks at a time for committing a variety of crimes (drunken unrulyness, disturbing the peace, setting the townspeople's pigs free etc.). The idea backfired on the University staff though because it became a mark of honor to serve time in the prison. Students would leave their legacy on the prison walls through the medium of graffiti which can still be seen today. I love the stories that go along with each place we visit.


After seeing the University we went on to St. Jacobs, a Jesuit church. The inside was gorgeous. Everything was bright and cheery (a bit unusual for European churches). A cute old man was even playing the organ when we entered.We then made our way over to the famous Heidelberg Castle. It is incredible! We took a little train up the mountain so we didn't have to push Jay's stroller up the steep slope. Jay about had a heart attack when he saw the train heading down the mountain for us. We were enclosed in a tunnel and he kept clawing his way from person to person in an attempt to make it as far from the train as possible. Poor little guy. At least he was okay once we were on the train. Up at the castle we were greeted with beautiful views of the city.
The castle itself is only partially intact (it was hit by lightening in 1764!) but I loved seeing the blue sky through the broken windows. Jay enjoyed running through the park and finding small rocks to throw, as usual. We also found a fountain where we gave him several 1 euro cent pieces to make wishes on. He was thrilled! We toured through an Alchemist museum which was quite interesting and very well presented. They even had a small Alchemist play area for children.
Jay was in Heaven - so many little fake fruits and veggies to roll around and measuring devices to topple over. That about ended our day in Heidelberg. We hurried off to make it to Rothenburg ob der Tauber where Karin waited in the B&B we had booked.

Jay was pretty tired he wouldn't let us lay him back!