An unexpected destination: a short ride into Heidelberg: Walldorf to Heidelberg
We woke up this morning to cloudy skies and a forecast for rain. This will be a brief interlude in the hot weather if the 14 day forecast is to be believed. It wasn't raining while we lingered over an excellent breakfast and cappuccinos. The rain started just as we were putting the panniers on the bikes. By British Columbia wet coast standards it was a mere sprinkle and certainly didn't deter us. Our plan was to peddle through Heidelberg just because it is such a great city, and then carry on down the Neckar River.
Part of the fourteen day forecast. Let's hope they are right. I couldn't help thinking that there is something very unfair for working stiffs about having absolutely gorgeous weather until Sunday, and then it rains. It actually didn't rain much after 11 AM and it certainly wasn't cold, so in a way it was a bit of a relief to have an overcast day.
Coming into Heidelberg. This is very tall corn. We are guessing that the corn we have seen will be used for animal feed as it is completely dried out on the stalks. We also haven't seen corn on any menus so it must not be a big thing in Germany.
Well, this being our third bike tour in Europe we have finally truly embraced poking around. We rode into Heidelberg, took one look and thought what the heck? This is our bike tour and we can do anything we want! Today was day seven on the bikes so it was easy to talk ourselves into a "rest" day. We rocked right up to the Perkeo Hotel where we stayed last year, they had zimmer frei and that sealed the deal. We were able to check in immediately and were happily exploring after a brief nap.
We did some exploring on the bikes before heading to the old part of town. This is a typical residential street, close to the university and the altstadt.
Lots of bikes everywhere. Often they are locked by simply running a cable through the frame and a wheel rather than locking them to something. In these pedestrian areas it is a pretty safe bet no one is going to come through and throw the bike in the back of a pickup.
After a long walk through the city we headed across the bridge to hike up the hill and check out the views from the other side. This seems to be what all bike tourers do on their rest days, walk for kilometres. The views were worth it.
First we fortified ourselves with eis. Keith is really getting wild and crazy. Today he had the AmarenaKirsh. I had good old chocolate.
The Heidelberg bridge monkey. You touch the mirror for wealth, the fingers to ensure your return to Heidelberg and the mice for fertility. I touched two out of three.
We amused ourselves reading menus on the way back to the hotel. Here is where we think we are going. I am into the three German food groups tonight. Beer, bratwurst and bread.
