Day 12: Heidelberg Castle

July 28, 2024

Phillipsburg, DE to Mannheim, DE

The mosquitos were still in full swing in the morning so I packed down quickly as I could to get the hell out of dodge.

Today Komoot told me I’d be climbing 650meters, but Google took me on a much flatter route to Heidelberg. There I would be touristing the cute old town and taking a visit to the castle. The mileage planned was fairly shorter than my usual.

The approach to Heidelberg was pretty straightforward. What I didn’t realize was Komoot was attempting to take me to another nearby castle where many bike tourists have pinged some highlights and then from there you can take a funicular rail to Heidelberg then head back.

Neat. In my case I ended up happy with just going straight to Heidelberg because it meant I could take a full 1 hour guided tour of the interior in English, so it worked out. I’m wondering if I missed out though comment if you’ve been!

The modern entrance to Heidelberg. Many towns have a historical part and the newer part . Sorry to break the illusion if you didn’t know

Before heading to the castle I did a couple chores, grabbing a bite at the local coffee shop, grabbing some cash, and getting some bike lube from the bike shop.

While the ride to Heidelberg was largely flat the climb up to the castle was very much not. We probably approached 17-18% grade. I was walking my bike up and then decided to just ditch it halfway up the hill. The thing is I have all the important stuff in my go bag on my person so if someone wants to nick my sweaty clothes or some camping gear they can be my guest. Also it was very inconvenient as the bike was parked and locked 200 meters up a steep grade. The trick is to make it inconvenient I guess.

Anyways the castle grounds were awesome and the guided tour was well worth the hour spent.

Inside the reconstructed part of the castle

The tour guide joked that this was once a fridge; it’s a stove

Big ol barrel. Don’t worry they like wine here too

Apothecary museum in the castle. Turns out the guy who built it was really into medicine

After the tour I grabbed a bratwurst and another alcohol free beer. It was a half liter! This seems like an unwise choice before riding another 20km but I’m on vacation and I can use the carbohydrates.

Finally a ride off to neighboring Mannheim where there is some beachside camping grounds. The city is pretty industrial so I was a bit wary but they have a really nice green area and park that is several km removed from the factories.

I met a German man there who offered me some of his dinner , which was very kind. I had some salad and some cheese he’d gotten on his bike ride through France. We chatted about the best next routes for me to take and how he got into long distance biking riding only a few years ago during the COVID pandemic. He was on the final days of his trip and headed home.

Today's ride: 60 km (37 miles)
Total: 940 km (584 miles)

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