March 13th – Day 9 – Heidelberg Stroll
We arrived in Mannheim this morning around 3:00 a.m. — yeah, we didn’t notice until we got up. Our tour was scheduled to leave at 9:00 a.m., so again we had to get up earlier than I’d like during a vacation, but there was always that ridiculously good buffet breakfast waiting for us. Honestly, it’s the breakfast that’s going to kick me in the butt when we get home because I usually skip breakfast.
Off we went on our walking tour of Heidelberg. Our tour did not take us to Heidelberg Castle, but it brought us by it. There was another tour that would have included the castle, but we were warned that there was a steep hill involved. We later learned that it ended up not being a big deal because they managed to arrange for a shuttle to bring the guests up that hill instead of walking it. So that was a little disappointing for us. But the stroll was lovely nonetheless.
We strolled through the Markplatz where the Church of the Holy Spirit overlooks. It was constructed between 1398 and 1515, and those red doors you can just see below awnings under the long windows were where various market sellers would set up shop every day, and still do (they were open later in the morning today). There are carvings on the walls beside some of them, indicators of what the shops would sell. At the bakery stall the carvings were of different sized bretzels (pretzels, but bigger and softer products than the sticks we get in North America). If the customer questioned whether they got the size of bretzel they were paying for they could hold it up against the carvings to confirm.
The Hercules Fountain in the Marktplatz was completed around 1706, commemorating the reconstruction of the city after the Nine Year’s War. The “official” description suggests Hercules is holding a lion skin symbolizing strength and resilience. Our guide told us the generally accepted subtext was that Hercules was sculpted to hold the lion’s head against his butt in yet another Rhineland insult to the French.
The Bruckentor (Bridge Gate) leads to the Old Bridge spanning the Neckar River. There’s a sculpture of a monkey (baboon, actually) at the base of the gate called the Bruckenaffe. This one is made of bronze and replaces a 15th-century stone version, and there are a pair of small bronze mice right next to it. Apparently the baboon represented mockery and points its butt towards the city’s border to show the Elector’s power over the passing bishops, and it holds a mirror that is meant to encourage self-reflection or remember where you come from. Similar to the Tunnes und Schal statues, the baboon and mice have good luck rituals, too: rubbing the mirror will bring you money or wealth; rubbing the baboon’s fingers will ensure you return to Heidelberg, and rubbing the mice will bring you fertility. The bronze version of this baboon’s face is actually hollow, which tends to unintentionally (?) invite people to stick there head in it like a mask. Our guide did not recommend actually doing this as you do run the risk of getting stuck… and then there’s of course the unhygienic part of it. I thought I took photos of the monkey and mice, but apparently I did not. Oops.
We had some free time here, so Dan and I wandered back down the Hauptstraße (main street), which is one of the longest pedestrian shopping streets in Europe. Lots of modern recognizable chain stores, but also lots of cobblestones, cafes, and boutiques. During the tour we passed by our guide’s favourite little cafe, so we returned to Chocolaterie Yilliy and ordered (at her recommendation) Spanish hot chocolate — which of course was just melted chocolate, thick almost like pudding but drinkable. They even provide a wooden spoon with the drink. We took our pudding drinks and walked back along the river boardwalk towards the bus pick up location.
The bus ride back to the ship did not return us to the same place we disembarked. It had moved on down the river and picked us up in Germersheim. Along the drive many of us noticed these odd balls on many of the trees that looked like nests. But there were so many of them we agreed they couldn’t possibly be nests. A little Google searching as we drove and we learned that they are actually European Mistletoe, which is a hemiparasitic plant that draws water and nutrients from the tree it grows on. There you go; your horticultural lesson for the day.
We spent the afternoon shipboard having lunch, partaking in another trivia game, watching a World of SCENIC presentation, trying to finish the Day 2 Sudoku, and engaging in the Daily Port Talk with Cathy.
Shortly after arriving in Rastatt we all got as gussied up as we wished (honestly, Dan and I were moderately dressed up, but I did wear my Scottish shawl). Why? Oh, nothing special, just a classical concert with opera singers and a pianist at Rastatt Palace. It was wonderful! We arrived by bus, were escorted into the palace, served champagne, toured around some of the restored rooms, and then enjoyed the performance.
Rastatt Palace was yet another building meant to one-up Versaille. It was the first Baroque residence on the Upper Rhine, built between 1700 and 1707 for the Margrave of Baden-Baden and his wife. It is one of the only palaces that was not damaged during WWII.
Gute Nacht!
Adelle and Dan
Guigon Travels 