Castles in the Air

Taking advantage of no trains to catch, we slept in and enjoyed a late breakfast, then stepped out to enjoy Heidelberg.  First stop - Schloss Heidelberg.  The ruins of the castle are located half way up the mountain just behind our hotel.  To reach them you can drive a twisty road, hike or take a funicular.   We obviously took the funicular.  There are actually two funiculars on the mountain - a modern one which takes you to the Schloss and an ancient one that takes you to the top.  The castle was begun in the 1200's and was continually added to and expanded over the years.  The French destroyed it and anyone who says lightening doesn't strike twice hasn't been to Schloss Heidelberg.  It was struck and heavily damaged twice by lightening.  It lay in ruins for several hundred years and its rocks were scavenged and used for buildings in Heidelberg.  It has been under reconstruction for the last 50 years and there is still a long way to go.

Once you arrive at the Schloss you are allowed to wander freely everywhere.  There are some amazing vistas and it is interesting to see the different styles of architecture used over the castle's lifetime.   The Schloss is a prize site for weddings and we witnessed a number of brides while we were there.  Their fashions ranged from very casual through Muslim and Medieval.  The castle contains the largest wine barrel in the world.  It holds over 150k litres of wine and has a dance floor on top.  

A humorous story about the castle fool, a little person named Perkeo was famous for his ability to consume wine, but died when he mistakenly drank a glass of water.  We spent hours walking the grounds, then decided to take the ancient funicular up the mountain. This is the oldest funicular in Europe and dates from 1890ish.  It is wooden and creaky and utterly charming.  This funicular is somewhat unique as it is quite long and even has a curve in it.  

After wandering around we headed back to town for dinner.  Instead of dessert Kelly and Judy ran amok in the Lindt outlet store.