On our first day out, we headed to see a bit of Heidelberg before hitting the open road. We had intended to do some sightseeing the prior day, but with Jason off all day working with the mechanics to get the brakes on the bike done, the kids and I hung around Knopf's B&B appeasing our jetlag with multiple naps and fending off the 90 degree heat with cool drinks. We even checked out the old WWII bunker in the back yard. Apparently the buildings now housing this motorcycle business were once an old pen/pencil factory during WWII. And all businesses during the war were required to have bunkers built for their employees. I have to admit it was a bit creepy to climb down these steps into this piece of history and imagine sitting in it during an air raid. Not to mention it was a German bunker! The slugs added a nice touch as well. On the plus side, it was incredibly cool.
So when we finally left the third day into the trip, we were incredibly excited. But, I have to admit it felt a bit anticlimactic. With nearly 5 weeks in front of us, it did feel a bit odd to drive 15 minutes down the road to the Heidelberg castle, only to dismount and remove all our gear to spend the next few hours walking around. But we were off, nonetheless. Jason navigated through our first German streets to the parking garage at the base of a funicular that took us straight to the top of the mountain the Heidelberg castle is built on. The first stretch of the funicular ride was in a modern train, but the second half was in a 100+ year old set of 2 trains that used each other as counterbalances to pull visitors to the top. And oh what a view once we were there! The entire city of Heidelberg stretched out before us.
Perhaps the best reward for going all the way to the top was a tinniculary show (falcon and bird of prey), given by an incredible woman who has been a falconress since a young girl. Granted, we didn't understand much of the show which was in German, but she and the owl, peregrine falcon and giant eagle were amazing to watch as she showed us how young birds are trained.
By the time we were done learning the ways of medieval falconry, everyone was getting hot, hungry and crabby, so we fueled up with some lunch and moved through the castle quickly. I don't know if it was because it was cool in the exhibit or just interesting, but we did manage to spend a rather extended stop in the most amazing apothecary exhibit I have ever seen. If you are into early day medicine and herbs, you must check it out. Little did I know that crushed human bone and whale sperm were once used as medicinals. Yikes!
Thank you Heidelberg. It wasn't a long visit, but a fantastic place to start our journey.
