Day 2 Heidelberg

Got waken up twice: we got buzzed by mistake at 6:00 and then at 7:00 again. Had breakfast at 7:30, went back to the room to get our things ready, was picked up from the hotel by the tour rep and then walked with him for about 2 blocks to the tour office.

Another cold, wet and rainy day but it didn't deter the tourists like us because the bus was full. Our tour guide Inge was very knowledgeable and described everything that we saw along the way. She pointed out the castles on the hilltops but we weren't able to distinguish them because of the rain.

The trip was about an hour long and it was still drizzling when we got to the castle. The guide purchased our tickets and led us into the castle courtyard while describing its history. We walked onto the Belvedere terrace for a view of the Neckar River and the town but couldn't see much. Went back into the courtyard and then into the cellar where the biggest wine barrel in the world is stored. It is called the Grosses Fass (Big Barrel) and can hold over 221,000 litres of wine. It also had a little stairway which takes visitors to the top of the barrel. It was free time afterwards so we went back out to the courtyard and the ruins to take some pictures.

The bus took us to Altstadt (Old Town) afterwards where we visited the Gothic Church of the Holy Ghost, walked through the town square and bought some souvenirs and Romar's beer stein and also took pictures of the castle from Karlsplatz Square. We met up at the bus an hour later where the tour guide gave us our 'gourmet' lunch of a sandwich, drink and chips and then headed back to Frankfurt.

Walked to the Hauptbahnhof (Main Train Station) first where Mom bought her Germany Starbucks mug before heading back to the hotel to offload our things. Walked to the Römerberg which is the main city center and took pictures of the Romer (City Hall), visited the Dom (Cathedral) where the kings were elected and emperors were crowned, took pictures of Paulskirche (St. Paul's Church) and then walked to the Zeil shopping district to buy Christmas items.

Had dinner at a Chinese restaurant before heading back to the hotel.