Heidelberg Castle

We appear to be adjusting to the six hour time difference of Central European time since we were able to sleep in again until nearly 6:30 am.  Breakfast was very good but since I wasn’t very hungry I just had a few bits of brie and bleu cheeses as well as some of the dense coarsely ground bread that is very common in Germany. 

The bus from the ship to Heidelberg left at 8:30 and arrived at Heidelberg Castle about 30 minutes later.  We recalled visiting here in 2010 and having to walk from the Bahnhof up the steep hill to the castle.  Our guide is a graduate student of art history at Heidelberg and was very well informed of the area’s history.  We are constantly amazed at the antiquity of the castle that was started around 1300 mostly destroyed in the 1600s.  When lightning struck Schloss Heidelberg in 1764 it was uninhabitable.  We enjoyed the old castle and learning a lot of the history behind the construction of the immense castle. 

After walking around the castle we walked down through the Marktplatz and to the scenic Alte Bruke bridge across the Necker River.  This bridge was originally constructed of wood but was rebuilt from stone in 1786 on orders from Prince Karl Theodor. We had about 90 minutes of time on our own to explore and shop.  Mary & Emily bought a few things from the Christmas shop and Ian enjoyed a Curry Wurst from a street vendor.  We all enjoyed our day in Heidelberg.  We had to chuckle about the street urinals that are in Heidelberg.  There is no curtain or cover just open urinals in the plaza. 

By 12:30 we made our way to the parking area along the Necker River to board the buses for the ride back to the ship which had moved while we were away to a loading facility a little further downriver.  As soon as we boarded we went to lunch and the ship continued on.  It was nice to be sailing during the day when we could see the towns and fields along the way.  We sat at lunch with a technology professional who had chaired the printer division of IBM (Lexmark) and came to Lexington, Kentucky frequently since Lexmark printers are made in Lexington.  I had a duck breast appetizer with Wiener Schnitzel as a main course and potatoes as a side dish.  Mary, Emily & Ian had the gnocchi which they report was very good. The wines were a Cabernet Sauvignon and a Malbec

We went up on the sundeck and played a little shuffleboard and visited with other passengers onboard.  The lounge had demonstrations most of the afternoon including glassblowing, a discussion of nautical terms and an overview of other Viking cruises. 

Dinner was a choice of crab cake or quail legs as an appetizer.  Main entrees were a choice of brisket or butter fish.  Most of us enjoyed the crab and brisket although Emily reported that the quail legs were quite good.  The brisket was excellent but was nothing like the grilled brisket that we enjoy in the US.  This was very tender and flavorful but was covered in a mushroom gravy that was a good bit like sauerbraten.  Creamed spinach was on the side with roasted potato wedges.  Several of us had apple crumb with whiskey ice cream but several had a French apple tart.

Two nurses from Charleston, SC joined us for dinner. They were a lot of fun and suggested some places for us to visit when we come to Charleston.  As we were finished our dinner the staff came to our table to wish us a happy anniversary with a cheese cake and a candle that was more like a sparkler or Roman candle.  Even though our anniversary is over a week away it was still fun.

After dinner we sat up on the sun deck and played shuffleboard for a while before the cool air sent us inside.  We stayed up reading for a good while before turning in.  The ship isn’t moving tonight since we will want to travel down the Middle Rhine from Rudescheim to Koblenz in the daylight so we can see the many castles, ruins and the attractive vineyards.