Heidelberg Part 2: Coffee, Castles and Kirsch

Saturday morning, we trooped downstairs to the hotel dining room for the traditional Euro Breakfast (soft-boiled eggs, breads, pastries, a plethora of sausages, cured meats, meusli, yogurt, cheeses, juice and coffee). Thus fortified, we headed out ready for adventure. And maybe for another cup of coffee along the way. 

Our hotel was only a couple blocks from Hauptgasse, the main shopping street wihch is about a mile long. We walked past the Heidelberg University Library, an impressive-looking red stone building on Plock Street. With over three million volumes, it’s even more impressive on the inside. Despite its humble beginnings, it is now one of the largest libraries in Europe. It got its start in the 1300s and has continued to grow over the centuries, despite several setbacks. It had to start over after the Vatican stole all its books in 1622. Then after a catastrophic fire in 1693 destroyed everything, they had to start anew. Finally about 40,000 books were lost during World War II.    

Charmingly, Hauptgasse was a cobblestoned pedestrian-only boulevard, featuring both old and new storefronts. And the occasional car driving through the strolling crowds at about 10 miles per hour. Don’t ask me why. Maybe they were allowed. Maybe they weren’t and were still just trying to find their hotel. 

There were the usual buskers (a jovial group of guys calling themselves Pirat Abend, or Pirate Evening). They were quite good, and had the crowd clapping in no time. I looked for a CD, but they hadn’t got that far in their career yet. There were also the unusual buskers: a woman dressed as a tree, just standing there very very still. And another man with his head sticking up through a hole in a table. On the table was a still life with vases and fruit. His head was painted like a bright red apple. And yes, he was also very very still. If you stared at him long enough, he would say hello. Both the tree and the still life featured a small basket in front to put coins into. There wasn’t much action in the baskets, either. 

Heidelberg is like Pittsburgh in at least two ways: a love of bratwurst and a funicular railway.  Shortly we found ourselves at our first event of the day--the funicular mountain railway up to Heidelbergh Castle. Pittsburgh’s Duqesne Incline is a 30% incline railroad to the top of Mount Washington, a 400-foot high view of the city. Heidelberg’s Bergbahn heads up a steep incline 1,700 feet to the top of the Königstuhl. There are three stops, the first of which is Heidelberg Castle, 262 feet above the city. Since we had two small children with us and more things to do that day, we chose to skip the 90-minute ride to the top, and just go to the castle.   

Heidelberg castle is made of beautiful red stone. Some of it is dressed in neat squares, some of it is rough field stone that is mortered in place more haphazardly. Everywhere we looked we could see wonderful stone carvings. And rubble. The castle has been destroyed a few times over the centuries, and is in the process of being restored. 

Honestly, we didn’t see a lot of Heidelberg beside the castle, the zoo and the shopping district. Our time and energy were limited. I didn’t get a chance to explore certain important cultural parts of Heidelberg. For instance, it was the city closest to Colonel Hogan and his comrades in Stalag 13. (Who knew?) Nor did I get to search for the clubhouse of the Heidelberg Harriers, the professional Quidditch team described in the Goblet of Fire. (It might have been a lost cause anyway. Despite a year of sleuthing, I have yet to find the clubhouse of the professional Quidditch team based in Luxembourg). 

One Heidelberg highlight was locating Starbucks. One was closed for renovation, but unlike the A8 freeway, there were workmen swarming all over the place. It is probably open by now. The other one had Sumatra on tap, and I luxuriated in its warm embrace. I found decent espresso here and there, but Heidelberg’s drip coffee was not as pleasant, due to the the usual culprit--light roasted coffee. But millions of Europeans love it,so maybe it’s a character fault of mine, and the tastebuds of all of Europe are in the right. Who knows? 

Another highlight was liquor store called Alte Brennerei on the Hauptstrasse. It’s niche was the dozens of brandies and other liquors that they made in the back room. You could wander among the many glass jugs and ask to sample various concoctions. If you liked it, they sold it already bottled in several sizes. Most were brandies of 80 proof. I bought a bottle of particlularly lovely Sour Cherry Kirsch. I also tried their 110 proof Absinthe. It was slightly sweet, with an anise and herbal flavor. I am by no means an absinthe connoisseur, so I can’t vouch for its authenticity. But this neophyte found it smooth and pleasant, though not pleasant enough to buy a bottle. 

Saturday night we headed to Steingasse, at the end of the old bridge, for a memorable meal. It was memorable both due to the quality of the food and sitting at an outdoor table in the street. This street is Heidelberg’s Restaurant Row, so it’s hard to go wrong here. We were very pleased with our meal at Hackteufel, at #7 Steingasse. There was a wide choice of traditional German dishes as well as more normal food such as good steaks and pasta. 

We drove home a different way than we came. I couldn’t face any more jaunts into the boonies. One memorable moment came when we were driving by the US Air Force Base in Ramstein, where the A6 meets highway 62. The end of the runway begins at the edge of  the freeway. A US Air Force C-5 Galaxy cargo jet flew right over us and landed. That is one huge gray airplane, especially when it descends a few hundred feet above you. 

In retrospect, Heidelberg was worth visiting for a weekend, and might have been good for about a week. It is pretty and cultured, and seems to be a cool university town. With so many other places in Central Europe to visit, I don’t know if we’ll make it back. It’s too bad, for Heidelberg deserves more than we’re prepared to give it.