On our third day here in Heppenheim, we decided it was time to venture out into the autobahn and see what we could find. We bought a GPS the day before, so this made it a lot easier to not get lost. Our first stop: the castle university town of
Heidelberg about 20 minutes away in the state of Baden-Wurtemburg. As we drove along the autobahn, we couldn't get over the beauty of town after town nesteled into the Odenwald forest. Steeples peeked out of the small towns and half-timbered houses dotted the hills. We continued on our very short drive and arrived at Heidelberg. We only stayed for about an hour; we will return in the spring when the castle tours are open. Here in Heidelberg, we tried our first German pastries, walked along the river and explored just a bit. Here are some photos:
The Heidelberg Castles sits on the hill overlooking the city on the river.
Our first "Berliner" - a jelly filled sugary doughnut. This is one of several very popular pastries.
Our next stop was
Rothenburg ob de Tauber - a medieval walled city in Bavaria about 1.5 hours from Heidelberg. Rothenburg is beautiful and enchanting with winding cobbled streets and bakeries on almost every corner. Since it's not currently tourist season, Derek and I were often alone on the streets trapped in time.
The walls to the town are still very intact, and we able to walk through them. One of the most interesting parts of this town, which I'm sure is apparent in many towns and cities in Europe, was the mix of history with modernity. My favorite was the mini van filled with school kids driving out of the gates of the walled city- just another day in town.
The trees were growing against the house.
Standing in an entrance to the town.
One of the things that will never get old is the countryside views of vineyards. This photo overlooks a small town at the bottom of the fortress's hill. Vineyards cover the hill.
Our first day trip was a success! We're currently planning our next adventure for the upcoming weekend. More to come!
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