48 Hours in Heidelberg, Germany
Taking In Germany's Romantic Valley Town
I’ve talked a lot about how so many German towns look like they are straight out of a postcard. Well, Heidelberg might take the crown as the best postcard of them all!
This town of about 160,000 people has become a tourist hotspot in the last few decades. In fact, almost 14 million visitors come to Heidelberg every year on average!
It is a particularly popular place among American tourists. Many believe that this is partly because of a nostalgia factor related to the garrison base that the US military had in Heidelberg for many decades.
Honestly, I think it’s just because this place is pretty damn beautiful!
Heidelberg sits right on the Neckar River, which branches off from the infamous Rhine River that I have been writing about all month.
There are also beautiful hills covered in lush green forest on either side of the valley. I mean, this place looks like a painting!
Heidelberg offers a lot of attractions for tourists. However, the castle was easily our favorite! It is located on the east side of the city overlooking the old town from on top of the hill.
The best way to get up the hill is the funicular tram. The ride costs 7 euros, and includes admission to the castle!
We went inside to see the courtyard, the famous “big barrel” (where the royal wine was stored), and the balcony overlooking the entire city.
This castle was originally built in the 13th century, but was added on to a few times over the next 400 years. It was eventually destroyed in 1633 by French invaders, and is still currently in a partial state of ruin.
We have now seen a handful of castles this year, and the Heidelberg Castle might be our favorite! The distinct brown color stands out so well in front of the backdrop of the green hill.
We went for a hike on the other side of the river for just before sunset, and seeing the sun reflect off the castle and the rest of the buildings was nothing short of breathtaking!
Heidelberg also had plenty of great food! Since it was our last stop in Germany, we had to get one more traditional German meal before leaving!
On our last night, we stopped at “Zum Roten Ochsen”, an inn near the town square that has been there since 1839! The name means “red ox”, and they have that name for a reason!
I ordered their infamous roasted ox cheek, and it was absolutely fantastic! It was served with a thick gravy, potato dumplings, and red sauerkraut. The meat was so tender, and the gravy was a perfect match for the potatoes!
We said this in our video, but I don’t think we could’ve picked a better place to end our time in Germany! It was one of our favorite countries, and Heidelberg incapsulated everything we loved about it!
Next up, Switzerland! 🇨🇭
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