Guten Tag,
Today I took the car and drove to Heidelberg and then out through
the Oldenwald (old forest).
Heidelberg is probably best known as the oldest university town
in Germany. It sits on the bank of the Nekkar River up against the
hills of the Oldenwald. The traffic in the city is horrendous with
cars, trucks, bicycles, motor scooters, trolleys, and pedestrians
vying for fight-of-way at every intersection. The orderly German
authorities have rules for such encounters but I didn’t see everyone
following them. I drove around in the newer part city and saw the
same types of architecture as in Darmstadt. The city was much more
crowded, however. The Aldstadt (old city) is an area of old and
restored buildings on single-lane cobblestone or brick streets.
I didn’t try driving there but contented myself with looking down
on it from above at the Schlob.
I got to the Schlob by driving up steep, narrow, one-way streets.
You have to understand that the nobleman always built his Schlob
high up, and in as difficult position as he could. Invaders could
capture the city, just so long as they didn’t get to him! It’s hard
to imagine anyone living in as building as large as this one. It
was built over a period of 400 years, each nobleman adding new portions
to it. It was captured by the French, who thought it appropriate
to blow up portions of it so that it couldn’t be used as a fortress
again. One of the things I found of interest was an arch that was
built to celebrate a marriage in 1615. How’s that for enduring love.
I wandered around the grounds for quite a while but opted not
to take the guided tour since I didn’t have a lot of time to spare.
I wanted to see the Oldenwald!
The Oldenwald is reached by going east out of Heidelberg along
the Nekkar River and then turning north. The forest, like those
of much of Europe, are not really “old”. It is an area of hills,
rivers, farmland and small picturesque villages. It was a very pleasant
trip. There are a lot of small villages with a Schlob sitting above
them. A lot of the work on the farms is still done with work-horses.
Some of the villages are so close to the road that the doorways,
garage doors and even barn doors open directly onto the sidewalks.
The roads are extremely narrow with no guardrails and no shoulders.
Even though there are many picturesque areas, it is impossible to
stop and take pictures. You have to understand that, except in the
villages, the speed limit is 100k/h (62 mph) and German drivers
don’t take very kindly to persons going under the speed limit or
stopped in the road.
It was cold all day with drizzle and even some sleet and snow
were mixed in at the higher elevations.
Ingmar took us to dinner in an authentic German cheese restaurant.
It was in a small town in the Oldenwald that he had lived in as
a child. The menu consisted of different types of cheeses and sausages.
I had a large salad.
Maybe tomorrow we’ll get some sun.
Auf Weidersehn,
Marty
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