We were out early for the hour and a half drive to Heidelberg from the boat's location in Aschaffenburg. Shortly after we started out we were stopped by an accident on a two lane road with a tractor trailer completely across the road and a car or two into it. This could have been the end of our trip, but the bus driver did a great job of turning us around and soon we were back on our way.

When we arrived at Heidelberg, which means blueberry hill, we were dropped off at the castle . The castle is indeed on a hill, but I did not see any blueberries. We had a nice tour of the castle including the wine keg, the Great Tun, which holds 220,000 liters of wine. The castle and the town were spared bombing in World War II, but the castle is undergoing renovation from age deterioration.

After touring the castle, we rode the Funicular down the hill to the city below the castle. From there we had a brief tour of the city. As we passed the town hall we saw a number of couples who were married. In Germany, it is the civil service that is recognized, not the religious service, so all couples must have a civil service. It seems that this day was a popular day.

As we walked from Town Hall we passed the Church of the Holy Spirit which is a gothic church. It forms a centerpiece for the city. At one time the church was used by both Catholics and Protestants with services even being held at the same time . In 1720 the church became exclusively Catholic but in 1936 it became a Protestant church once again.

Passing the church, we walked to the Old Bridge. On the Old Bridge is a monkey who holds a mirror. It has become customary to take a picture with your head inside of the monkey’s head. The artist signed his work with mice. It is said if you touch the fingers of the monkey you will return to Heidelberg, if you touch the mirror, you will have wealth, and if you touch the mice, you will have fertility.

It was now time for lunch at the Hotel Ritter. We were treated to salad, a sort of German ravioli in broth, and ice cream pie for dessert. Oh, and of course, beer or wine to drink.

After lunch we had some time to explore Heidelberg on our own. We walked up to the Jesuit Church and University Plaza where the original Heidelberg University was founded in 1386. Heidelberg University is the oldest university in Germany and was the fourth university founded in the Holy Roman Empire. We also stopped in a few gift shops along the way.

Unlike out trip to Heidelberg the trip back to the boat was uneventful.

Tomorrow we will stop at Rudesheim and then view the many castles along the Rhein as we wend our way toward Cologne.