Mecca

I tagged along with Beth on her trip down to Mecca (Waldorf, Germany) last week. The Christmas markets were in full swing and even though we were both fighting the remnants of our first winter colds, we had a great time out and about on the towns.


The old city gate and bridge of Heidelberg.


Heidelberg Castle, shrouded in mist and brooding over the city. The mountains and forests in the background provided some great hiking for me while Beth spent the day at the office down in Waldorf.


The castle ruins, up close and personal. This complex was destroyed during the 30 Years War with France.


Christmas market on one of the many squares. The Hot Mulled Wine and Bratwurst were excellent!



Viable city streets. Even in Germany, which seems to value the automobile almost as much as America, they've managed to keep their downtowns intact.



View of Heidelberg from the castle. You can see the mass of shoppers snaking through the city by the old church. It was a great holiday atmosphere.



I had to snap a photo in the local downtown Heidelberg dog park (on the Neckar River). This was a typically spazmotic young German Shorthaired Pointer and would have given Sage a serious run for her money.




Impressed by the city walls of Rothenburg ob der Tauber. This 13th century city was incredibly intact. We were amazed that they still let you walk the ramparts. I can imagine that it is completely overrun by tourists in the summer time, but with the mediocre weather and mid-week visit we practically had the place to ourselves. It was decorated beautifully for Christmas.




Fairy Tale entry gate to Rothenburg ob der Tauber.



Walking around this walled city was surreal. It felt like we were inside a fake, Disney World diorama.



We also hit lesser known Dinkelsbuhl about 20 minutes south of Rothenburg and almost liked it better. Outside the wall, looking in, it felt authentically medevial with grazing goats and small garden plots.




But inside the walls were the most brilliantly painted half-timbered houses. What amazed me the most was the breadth of the streets. It felt so "un-Dutch". They had gone to all the trouble of erecting a wall around the city (back in the 14th century), you would think that real estate inside the wall would be at a premium. To have a street that can easily accommodate modern day traffic and parking was pretty amazing and not at all typical of what we've seen in the old cities of other countries. Why did they need all that space on the roads back then?