Thursday, August 8, 2013

Heidelberg Aug 2013

On our way from Seattle to Karachi (back to work!) we stopped over in Heidelberg, Germany for a couple of days. Jim had visited the place several time 40 years ago when he was in the Army.
This is the world-famous Heidelberg Castle (Heidelberger Schloss) as seen from the Neckar River. As you can see, Germany is working hard on its tourism by cleaning, repairing and upgrading a number of its attractions. 
This is the view looking down to the river and the Old Bridge from the castle. You ride a funicular railway up to the castle (or you can walk).
 
This is the Old Bridge over the Neckar River. The bridge and the river represent two of the four things you are supposed to see here. The other two are the castle and the Old Town.
We didn't take a picture of it, but the most unique tourist attraction listed was an extremely ugly bronze statue of a monkey on one end of this bridge. It was designed so you could stick your head up in it and have your picture taken. We didn't do that, though it was kind of fun watching the tourists lining up to do it. 
 
This is old town Heidelberg. The city was famous for its Universities and the "schlagende Vereine" (fighting fraternities). Part of their appeal was they would fight duels with blunt swords and face masks. If you did it right, you got a scar on your cheek (Heidelberg scar). No fights today; just tourists.
 
Inside the castle was the Pharmacy Museum. We like to visit small, unique museums. This one was a lot of fun with lots of herbs, scales, jars, bottles and stuff. Thank goodness for modern medicine!
 
We also found and visited the German Packaging Museum in the middle of the downtown pedestrian zone. The most interesting thing was the concept that people buy the package; not the product. This might seem odd until you start looking at a bottle of shampoo and realize that the package is what attracted you; not the contents. People who sell perfume have it even tougher. Their product literally disappears into thin air when you use it!
 
Heidelberg is definitely worth a visit if you are touring Germany!

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