Heidelberg

We are finally in Carlsberg--after a very long drive yesterday of being squished into the back of the Beemer. The weather is definitely better here--which is interesting, because we drove 3 hours over from Herton, leaving the cloudy, rainy weather behind. Here near Mannheim it is sunny (for the most part) and warm. I think I like it over here better, too. It is prettier and there are more castles. I dig castles.

We drove to Heidelberg today to see Castle Heidelberg. That thing is amazing! It is huge, with rambling grounds, and more crumbly, half-fallen down towers and things than I could have asked for. The only downside is that they don't let you explore any of it. Blah safety rules. Ok, so it's probably good to further preserve the integrity of the castle, but still. They should make an exception for me--or at least that is what I tell myself.

My favorite part of the castle--this tower used to hold gunpowder, and during a battle, they got off a really good shot and blew themselves up! I really wished I could go explore that part of the tower the most.The legend is that a knight of the castle was in a big hurry to get out, so he leaped from the top and landed on the balcony outside, making this indent as he rushed off to do battle or something--who knows why he was rushing? My foot didn't fit inside it. Must have been a very short knight.A panoramic shot of how big this place is--and it is only from one side! And no, I didn't get to go explore this, either. Boo.

Anyway, we got tons of pictures and then drove up the hill to the very top and ate lunch. We sat where they take off in their gliders, and I was really wishing I could be in one of those! The view was amazing, but imagine it from the air!

We then drove to yet another castle--which turned out to be a private residence and only open on Sundays. Bummer. So we crammed back into the Beemer and drove to Lotsch--I think that is how you spell it--and looked at this monastery that was built in 780 or something. The main gate house part is on the world's registery for oldest buildings--authentic, too! It was pretty cool. Kaelan and I had fun picking up all the huge snails in the garden and poking them so they would stick their heads out. We are talking escargo-size snails here.

The gatehouse, built in 780 or even earlier. I didn't get a full shot because I was too close.

After that we had some more ice cream--I really like the ice cream here. I'm going to come home having gained some poundage due to ice cream and bakery items. Oh boy. And I haven't even eaten any chocolate! I'd better get right on that requirement.