We had been told that Hiedelberg, located in Southwest Germany, was not to be missed. They were right!! We parked in an underground parking lot smack in the middle of the shopping district, and took off on foot down the gorgeous walking streets flooded with locals and tourists, alike!
I was really impressed by this one-handed man playing a steel-drum-type instrument…he was quite good, although not getting nearly as much attention as he should have!
Cool old buildings…
I love the architecture and personality of some of these super-solid buildings!
We kept seeing these dessert balls everywhere looked. What were they?
Ella picks up this boy like he is a doll. Someday soon he is going to start fighting back…
The chapel downtown is absolutely gorgeous from the outside (we didn’t peak inside, although I enjoyed hearing some lovely organ music billowing out the windows)!
For those that like history (included WWII history), Heidelberg is full of it…but I don’t have the energy to go into it here. Read about it here.
Meanwhile, enjoy some cool photos of the castle that is perched above the city!
We made the kids trek up the streets and long entrance into the castle. This girl did a 180…turning from a non-walking terror into a smiling princess for photographs 🙂
We got up top, and were blown away by the view. Maiya decided she wanted to show Jared something, and sat on the ground screaming “Dad” over and over and over. LOUDLY. Jared was not going to give in and roll over for her rude insistence. So, she broke down crying and refused to walk. Of course, people wondered why we weren’t picking up our daughter who was having a breakdown.
Ethan realized we weren’t going to give in, so he walked over to her, took her hand, and pulled her to walk with him. Miraculously, she walked.
The magic of siblings.
It was such a sweet scene, and I wish I had it on camera 🙂
The view from up top wasn’t too shabby, either!
Maiya was still in her grumpy mood, and refused to be in the photo. I shouldn’t be surprised…she’s been doing this for over a year…she’s learned from her old sister, who has now drastically improved. If only we can survive this 4/5/6 year age…we’ll make it!
The Heidelberg Castle has a crazy assortment of structures from all different eras. Here are some of the views in the courtyards…
Huge Dukes (?) adorned the sides.
The castle walls are huge!
Walking back into town we passed some gorgeous homes, that looked like castles themselves!
The cool part about these homes is that they didn’t have any parking spaces, and they were built on hills. So, the people parked below their homes on the street, and they had little underground stairways that led up to their homes.
An old funicular tram had ran through the neighborhood up to the castle, as well. We couldn’t tell if it is still in operation (we didn’t see it going)…but I imagine it would have been a fun ride!
After heading back through town we went to the bridge. Can you spot Maiya throwing another fit in front of the bridge towers?
View of the castle from the bridge…not too shabby, eh?
The highlight for Jared? Finding the best Mexican food that he’s had since visiting the US! (Yes, he is including our visit to Mexico…because let’s face it…real Mexican food is not nearly as good as Tex-Mex!)
He keeps his hands full, trying to please these kids.
We left town and drove around until we located the next town we wanted to spend the night in. There were 3 hotels in town, and all 3 were sold out. One of these hotels called the next town, and found a room open for us. After he hung up I asked if he knew what kind of price it would be. He said it would probably be similar to their price (80 Euros or so).
We arrived in that next town, and found that they wanted us to pay 150 Euros for the night. Ouch! That’s $200 USD for one night! Umm…no thanks!
We kept driving and driving…and finally landed at a place that charged us well under $100 USD. Sometimes it’d be easy just to give in and get into a hotel room early…but I’ll tell you what…I’d generally prefer to keep driving until I can find a price I can stomach 🙂
” … these dessert balls everywhere looked. What were they?” Didn’t you see/try those in Rothenberg? The Sneeball (or snow ball) is considered a Rothenberg original and a must try. Having tried a couple, the best description would be scraps of pie dough shaped into a fist-sized ball and then deep fried, then dipped in chocolate, or rolled in powered sugar, or sugar and cinnamon. As you saw there are wondrous varieties. They are a little heavy for my taste…. just not as delectable as they look. This is the first I’ve seen them outside of Rothenberg. You really should try one. Share it with someone you love because you’ll never finish the whole thing.
There is a little town just east of Heidelberg called Dilsburg. And I do mean little. Not sure they would have had a hotel, but they did have an upscale youth hostel. It’s a mini Rothenberg set high on a hill. Just delightful. Too bad you didn’t find that in your wandering.
You will probably see more in your one month in Germany than we have seen in eight years!
Yes, I actually tried these in Rothenburg…but posted this photo and mentioned it here. We got a jelly filled one, one in powdered sugar, and another covered in chocolate. I would have thought deep-fried pastry dough with sugar couldn’t help but be wonderful…but we weren’t impressed! Maybe the dough needed some sweetness in it? The 5 of us didn’t even finish the 3 flavors. Oh, well! I wish we’d known about the hostel! The only bummer thing is that with hostels charging per person, it can get expensive with the kids!
I appreciate that you are getting a little more personal. Our lives as traveling families can easily come accross as always perfect. We both know it is not the case. We are *trying* to do some nice hikes in Yellowstone NP right now with our girls and it is not always all fun… One thing I am starting to be more aware of is that our children feel like they have very little control over their lives, even more since we change place all the time. I know my girls want more control and not wanting to walk is a great way to get more control… We are trying little ways to make them feel more empowered. We play follow the leader (and change leader) and when the leader sits, we sit. We give them a fun snack bag with surprises in them for longer walks and we are listening more to their opinion. Today, we were supposed to go do a longer hike, but 2 of our 3 girls did not want to, so we agreed on 2 shorter ones. It feels good to hand them more power over their lives and we are all more happier for it. But the way, this is really not a judgment… I have so been there and still am some days. I am just trying to tell you what have made our traveling lives a bit better… some days!
Catherine–thank you so much for that feedback! You are absolutely right–not walking is how our children are making and imposing their decision on us. Serves us right–making them do what WE want all the time! Hahaa!
I love your ideas to empower them, and we will definitely try them out. Our girls have such personalities that whenever we play games, some kid always ends is sourly (SHE didn’t follow me, YOU didn’t do it the WAY I wanted you to, etc!)…so that is my only hesitation! But anything is certainly better than hitting up against a wall when she doesn’t walk! Thanks again for the ideas!!
Catherine–thank you so much for that feedback! You are absolutely right–not walking is how our children are making and imposing their decision on us. Serves us right–making them do what WE want all the time! Hahaa!
I love your ideas to empower them, and we will definitely try them out. Our girls have such personalities that whenever we play games, some kid always ends it sourly (SHE didn’t follow me, YOU didn’t do it the WAY I wanted you to, etc!)…so that is my only hesitation! But anything is certainly better than hitting up against a wall when she doesn’t walk! Thanks again for the ideas!!
I was in Heidelberg in September. It IS gorgeous! Are you just traveling in Europe, or are you living there now?
It is pretty! We are just traveling through…3 months to cover a good portion of Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Southern Spain. After this, we’re headed to Thailand!