My first memory of Germany, apart from arriving in Frankfurt Hahn Airport and picking up our rented Renault Talisman, was the memory of strolling down the old town of Heidelberg. It was not part of the initial plan of our Romantische Strasse. But when Amira first brought up the idea of visiting Heidelberg, I was bought by the idea of walking the path walked by many famous philosophers in German literature.
Since Heidelberg is located outside the Romantic Road trail, we had to miss 8 villages along the Romantic Road for this detour. We spent half of the way learning how to use the navigation system for the car; that when you get a car smarter than the average cars. I heaved a relief when we finally reached Heidelberg town. There were fewer cars on the road and Heidelberg is everything you can imagine for a German university city. I could not help but noticed the Neckar river which flows into the Rhine river near Heidelberg. Driving from the other side of the Neckar river, the houses dotted the hills on the plateau above the Neckar river. From far, it was a beautiful sight to hold.
I Lost My Heart in Heidelberg – Half Way to the Castle’s Garden
Once Mira parked the car near the foot of the castle hill, we walked towards the Castle’s Garden, which is free. The climb was steep and of course, I had to enjoy the view by sitting at one of the benches which lined the pathway leading to the castle. At one of the viewpoints overlooking the Philosopher’s Way, we decided against the Castle’s Garden because we fancied playing philosophers more than royal princesses at the Castle’s Garden. That was the excuse I would like to tell everyone. The truth is we were constrained with time.
We took the path well travelled to the old town.
I Lost My Heart in Heidelberg – Lost at the Alstadt (Old Town)
The path led us to the narrow cobbled street with colourful old buildings. As we walked further, we saw groups of students and Asian tourists, mostly from China and Korea. The emptiness of the old street on Friday struck me by surprise. Had Heidelberg been part of the Romantic Road, load of tourists would flock the city leaving it little space to wander.
Altstadt is the German language word for “old town”, meaning historical city centre within the city wall. But I did not remember passing through a city wall to reach Heidelberg. With or without the city wall, almost every old city I visited in Germany is known as Altstadt.
The view of the Heidelberg Castle from the Corn Market.
The marketplatz or the market square bustled with activities at around noon. Located at the heart of Heidelberg, one can find the city hall and the Church of the Holy God.
Trying Kurfurstenkugel at Cafe Gundel of Heidelberg
I did not enter either as I was attracted to a bakery near the Marketplatz. I would not waste any time to walk into a bakery in a country with the most number of bakeries in the whole world. I knew it by instinct that Cafe Gundel was one of the best bakeries in Heidelberg. Cafe Gundel was always crowded. There was a pretty long queue to order the pastries, pies or cakes. At first, I restrained myself from entering the bakery to avoid post-purchase regret and looked into the display glass.
It was then that I spotted the dessert I made note as “to try while in Heidelberg”. Heidelberger Kurfurstenkugel. It didn’t take me long to join the queue to try the specialty dessert of Heidelberg. It was a ball shaped sponge cake with chocolate coating and dark chocolate nougat filling.
Finding Halal at Heidelberg – Sahara Restaurant Heidelberg
Before the strenuous walk trailing the path of many philosophers, I knew I had to take my lunch as the Starbucks breakfast at Stanstead Airport could not hold my hunger for long. We chanced upon an Arabic restaurant, which was quite busy. The Sahara Restaurant Heidelberg is just 150 meters away from Cafe Gundel.
I was a happy woman for having a plate of rice at this point of time. So Asian, I know! Despite being so full, we wasted no time to start making our way to the Philosopher’s Walk aka Philosophenweg. From the Alstadt, one has to walk the Alte Brucke bridge, the Karl Theodor Bridge that crosses the Neckar River. On the bridge, there were students or tourists either strolling down the bridge, riding bicycles or taking in the views. No car could pass the bridge because of the small entrance.
Walking the Philosophenweg or Philosopher’s Walk
Once the green man on the traffic light signaled us to cross the road, we saw the sign to the Philosophenweg. The path was nothing but a walk through someone’s backyard. Only that you would walk uphill along the path that had been taken by many known philosophers such as poets Eichendorff and Hoelderlin. The philosopher’s walk refers to a place that triggered ideas or poetic masterpiece as one enjoys the charming view of the surrounding. In Malaysia, it can be best described as “tempat cari ilham”. FYI, there are other philosopher’s walk around the world. It takes roughly 1 – 2 hours to finish the walk.
1 Comment
Cantiknya this place. Memang wajib hilang hati di sini. Haha,