a hard rain's a-gonna fall...

Departing Strasbourg just before midnight, we continued down river to Mannheim. I mention this because it should be a consideration when booking a trip on the Rhine. The current of the Rhine is very swift and the ship cruises with ease from place to place. When one travels up river, the power of the engines are required to a much greater extent to propel the ship against the current.

Our room being in the very aft of the ship, that power would have much more noticeable with vibration. Instead, we had a smooth ride with little to no sense of motion unless you looked out the window. If you a book a cabin in the forward section, not sure it would matter which way you were going.

Finishing breakfast, it was time to head out on the excursion of the day. The gang split up on different adventures today. Most went to Heidelberg, while one couple went to Speyer. Speyer is one of the oldest cities in Germany, with the Romans establishing a presence in 10 BC. The Cathedral is said to be one of the prettiest in Europe.

However, since we headed to Heidelberg, today’s blog entry will cover the home of Germany’s oldest university. Heidelberg is situated on the Neckar River not far from where it joins the Rhine River.

High on the hill looking over the city is Heidelberg Schloss.

Our bus got us to the top with some pretty impressive driving, and with our ear buds in, we began the tour.  BTW - the ear buds are pretty cool.  All you hear is your guide, allowing you the freedom to walk around while still being able to hear what is being said.

The origins of the castle can be traced back to the late 1200s, with many additions and multiple architectural styles used over the next 500 years. It seemed to me as we listened to the history of the Schloss, as often as the next improvement or addition was completed, a war or natural disaster damaged the building.

The largest amount of damage was done by a lightning bolt and fire in 1764. The Schloss never recovered from that act of nature. The ruins were something to behold and the restoration efforts ongoing are having a huge impact on the castle.

The one thing that grabbed my attention is in the wine room of the Schloss Heidelberg. It contains the largest wine barrel in the world – 58,000 gallons! We walked on top of the barrel and it was large enough to have a dance party.

Heidelberg’s unofficial mascot was one of the cellar masters who over saw that the barrel was full. Italian by birth, Perkeo was a dwarf that became the court jester and cellar master of Charles III. His name is play on words. When asked if he would like some wine, he would reply in Italian, “perché no”, which translates to “why not”, and he would enjoy another glass of wine. Evidently, he said why not too often dying at a young age. Ironically, in failing health he went to the doctor who told him to stop drinking wine and only drink water. After 24 hours of water only, he died. There has to be a moral to that story that is applicable to my life.

Riding the castle’s incline to the bottom of the hill brought us into the heart of old town.

We emerged from our ride into what else but a Christmas Market! The main street, Marktplaz was abuzz with the Christmas markets and shops.

We gathered to get our final instructions on where to meet for the bus etc, when we encountered what is called stumbling blocks on the street. Germany, as a nation and a people has tried very hard to acknowledge their ugly past.

An artist has started putting these small brass plates in front of buildings where citizens had been pulled from their homes and taken away to concentration camps. Mostly Jews and those who supported them were the victims of this atrocity. The block details the name of the victim, and what was known of their nightmare. Whether it be the unevenness of the street or the shine that catches one’s eyes, you have to lower your to read the engraving almost as a sign of remembrance and reverence.

The official tour ended and we wondered up and down the streets for a couple hours wandering in and out of shops and exploring the different markets.

The major church in Heidelberg has an interesting past in that for many years a wall separated one side from the other. One side being Roman Catholic and the other for the Protestants. Never determined if they had services at the same time… (hate unanswered questions.)

In the back of the church there is a stained glass window known as the physics window, which is far different from the other traditional windows. The original window was destroyed by a bomb blast during the war and the replacement window has a very strong message. The window has 3 basic elements inlaid into the predominantly red glass:

A date – 6.8.1945 (Remember European dates are day/month/year
A formula from German born Scientist Alfred Einstein – E=MC2
And two verses from the Bible –
Peter 3:10 - the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up
Isaiah 54:10 - Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken

After staring at the piece of glass I had to think – does this window belong in a church or is there a more relevant and appropriate message to be proclaimed on a church stain glass window... something to think about. I left the church with Bob Dylan’s lyrics of “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” playing over and over in my mind. Between the stumbling stones and the physics window a hard dose of reality was inserted into my day in Heidelberg.

After walking the streets and truly enjoying Heidelberg, the window shopping, and some great people watching our tummies began to growl.

Many visitors will say that the bread in Europe is so much better than anything you will find in the US, and I would agree, but the other major food group that meets the same criteria is French Fries. Belgium being the undisputed french fry king, and the Netherlands a close second, we split some German Fries and they were EXCELLENT. I give Germany the bronze.

It was time to head back to the ship so we loaded onto the bus after a wonderful day. Driving along the river we passed under the Heidelberg Bridge.  There were marks that could be clearly been seen on the stone. Each mark recorded the level of the flood tide over the years. Not sure river front property is a good investment in this town.

Returning to the AMAKRISTINA for lunch, the Captain fired off the engines and we continued our voyage to Rüdesheim. After a long day playing tourist there is nothing better than a quick dip in the pool. The gang reassembled on the top deck to take in the day and enjoy some pool time.

Arriving after dinner, a evening wine tasting excursion was in order.

A miniature train picked us up at the boat and we were off to a cave to enjoy some wonderful Rieslings. The wine presenter was half wine expert and half stand-up comedian. In a German voice with a hint of a Scottish brogue his presentation was informative and entertaining. Wine being a serious hobby of mine, I was truly impressed how he could be so accurate with such humor.

Hats off to AMA for a great day and two wonderful excursions! Good night.

 

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