To Heidelberg

August 31, 2021

Breakfast at our hotel isn’t until eight, which is too late for us. We want to get an early start so we’ll have as much day as possible left to explore Heidelberg. It’s still dark and eerily quiet when we walk down to the nearest early open bakery a mile away. When we come back the sun is out and the streets are alive with smiling and laughing children biking to school.

Returning to our palatial hotel in Oppenheim.

The rain has passed on, hopefully not to return for close to a week. It’s a an absolutely gorgeous day as we bike south from Oppenheim. For the first ten miles we’re still tracing the left bank of the Rhine but seldom see it because we’re on the opposite side of the dike again. The valley has really broadened out here, the nearest high ground far in the distance.

Leaving Oppenheim we get our best view of Katherinen Church.

Such beautiful cycling country this morning! I think the sun may have something to do with it.

At ten miles we come to the Rhine and the crossing to Gernsheim. We hadn’t looked closely at the map of today’s route since leaving Portland, and I’d been assuming it was a bridge crossing. It’s startling when I see a ferry on the shore, full of cars and likely just about to depart. I holler to Rocky to pick up the pace and we wheel perhaps a minute before the gate closes and the ramp goes up. Lucky - it departs on the half hour so we could easily have been standing at the bank watching the water pass by for a while, not that that would have been at all unpleasant on a day like this.

On the ferry, with perhaps a minute to spare.

We finally leave the Rhine here, and for the next 30 miles we angle southeast through flat farmland and scattered small towns and villages. It’s an excellent cycling route, far better than I’d imagined we’d have here. We’re on bike paths or farming lanes nearly the whole way, with the generally good pavement broken here and there with short unpaved connectors through the woods.

Just enough of surfaces like this to give the day texture.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen ones as red as these. Squash? Melons? Cantaloupes?

As we ride southeast we gradually approach the nearest hills to the east, finally reaching them about five miles north of Heidelberg. The final miles of the day roll along the base of a low ridge, giving us the only climbing we’ve seen in days.

North of Heidelberg. In another mile we’ll reach the first of its northern suburbs and spend the rest of the ride traversing neighborhoods.

We finally make it in to Heidelberg just at two, perfect for checking in at our hotel. On our way we detour a few blocks to ride on the famous old bridge across the Neckar and through its twin towered city gate. It is of course a spectacular spot, looking back at the city and up to the partially ruined great castle on the hill above the old town. And then we bike through a maze of tourists to our hotel, a surprisingly reasonable spot in an excellent location right on the Kornmarkt.

Looking across the Neckar from Heidelberg to the opposite bank.

Video sound track: Memories of Heidelberg, by Simona Wendland

In the Kornmarkt, looking up at the castle. Our hotel is just off the frame to the left.

Looking down on the Kornmarkt and to the cathedral from our third floor aerie.

We were in Heidelberg only 25 years ago, on one of our earliest trips to Europe - our ride from Prague to Paris in the spring of 1996. Somehow I’d become lukewarm about the idea of revisiting Heidelberg, picturing it as being overcrowded and too touristy. You’ll recall that we gave up a planned second night here in order to shorten our days back when rain threatened.

Well, Heidelberg is touristy and crowded - especially at midday when we arrive. It’s the busiest place we’ve seen since leaving Antwerp. But it’s no wonder because Heidelberg is wonderful, crowds and all. Above all, it’s the fabulous semi-ruined castle hovering just above the altstadt that gives it its exceptional character. We have a wonderful afternoon, first visiting the cathedral and then slowly climbing up about a billion stairs to reach the castle.

The castle itself is fantastic, looking evocative and compelling from every angle; and the views down on the city and the Neckar are exceptional. As we stand there looking down and around in awe, we reflect on all that has happened and changed in the world and with ourselves in the intervening 25 years since we stood here last.

Come on, pokey! Only a few hundred steps more!

A cat! Psst! Look this way, guy! A nice diversion while we catch our breath before taking on the next few dozen flights.

After a dozen unsatisfactory selfies we finally traded favors with a competent photographer. We hardly look different than we did 25 years ago!

Heidelberg Castle. Fantastic from all angles.

The walk down doesn’t have the stairs but is steep enough to be nearly as arduous. Near the top we’re passed by a young British father pushing his pram up the cobblestones, hopefully asking how much farther he has to go. Not far, we assure him.

We arrive back in town just in time for dinner and head immediately to a Tuscan restaurant Rachael had scouted out earlier. Over dinner we continue reflecting on our first tour though here and the many exceptional memories that quickly come to mind; then think forward through the rest of our tour. How long since we were in Salzburg? 21 years, on our ride from Krakow. How long since Tuscany? Ten. We were first in Tuscany in 2001, and we’re in Orvieto when the Twin Towers fell; and then in 2011, in a loop from Pisa through Sardinia, Lazio, Tuscany, and Cinque Terre. And now, in 2021. It looks like we’re stuck in a loop, circling through Tuscany on our bicycles once every ten years, like clockwork. There could be worse ways to be stuck - I hope there’s another loop still to come.

The Heidelberg Gate, from the old bridge. We walked out on it after dinner to enjoy it after much of the crowd had moved on.

We wondered if there was a sunset tonight - enough to walk over to the window of our room and look out, but not so curious as to walk downstairs and to the bridge again. This was good enough.

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Ride stats today: 45 miles, 900’; for the tour: 684 miles, 17,100’

Status Check

It’s the end of the third week of the tour and the end of August. As good as any for a quick recap of where we’ve been and what lies around the bend.

The Road to Rome, Act 1 of Part 2: Antwerp to Heidelberg.

The Road to Rome, Act 2of Part 2: Heidelberg to Salzburg.

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Bill ShaneyfeltHeidelberg! I remember 1977 we drove down from the Kaiserslautern area and stayed for the "burning of the castle" fireworks.

Traffic was absolutely terrible for about 3 hours it took to get out of town going home afterwards. Das ware nich gut!!
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3 years ago

Suzanne GibsonI had to chuckle at Memories of Heidelberg as your choice of music for your video. From Wertheim you will be following in our footsteps, just the opposite direction.
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3 years ago

Scott AndersonTo Suzanne GibsonPretty obnoxious song, really. I was stuck with it as an ear worm for the first part of today’s ride until I started whistling some Bacharach tunes to drive it out.
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3 years ago

Rich FrasierBeautiful! I’m enjoying your trip so much. The last time I was in Heidelberg was over 40 years ago. You’re making me want to go back!
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3 years ago

Scott AndersonTo Suzanne GibsonI knew that south of Rothenburg it was essentially the same, but until you noted this I don’t think I was even aware we were going through Wertheim. I’ll have to go back and reread that post.
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3 years ago

Patrick O'HaraLooks like you are going to be doing some of the Romantische Straße. Are you going through Dinkelsbuhl? Sue and I did a tour through there in 2010. Really enjoying the German part of your adventure. I forgot how charming it is. Great writing and pics, as usual.
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3 years ago

Scott AndersonTo Patrick O'HaraI’d forgotten how charming Germany is too. That’s what 25 years will do to your memories. Yes to Dinkelsbuhl, another place we loved 25 years ago. It’s just 4 days down the road now.
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3 years ago