For my last day, I had nothing left to do except actually do a bit of touristy stuff. After the requisite breakfast and bare minimal German studying (to keep up my Duolingo streak), I set out for a hike in the cool rainy autumn weather. The north bank of the river is flanked by parks and a so-called “Philosopher’s Way,” or footpaths going up into the hills with nice views of the town.
It was a good hike and my timing was perfect for when I came down the “Snake Path” and crossed the old bridge to bring me right to the Old Vetter’s Brauhaus, one of the recommended eateries right around 12 noon. Though many of the tables had reservation cards, I promised the waiter I would clear out before the 1:30 group arrived and was able to sit down. It was weird to see how many (Asian) tourists filled up the place. I just kind of assumed it was famous. There were two minor situations with the waitress. I wanted to order a skillet of fried Schumpfnudeln on sauerkraut, but she somehow misunderstood me as ordering chicken wings. How much of an American tourist would I be to just order chicken wings for lunch? Secondly, I ordered the seasonal beer to start with, but seeing a nice looking black beer on the flights other tables ordered, did some deduction to order the “Vettel 33.” The issue was that the waitress wanted to confirm with me that the large was only 20 cL serving. That seemed a little odd, but when I looked at the menu a second time, it was indeed sold in 10 cL and 20 cL sizes (as opposed to the usual 30/50 cL sizes). It was also super expensive, but I guess it was the specialty, claiming to be the darkest beer in the world and clocking in at over 10% alcohol content. I am happy to have tried.
Slightly tipsy and drunk on the delicious food, I rambled over to a cheap gelato place for two scoops. It was probably not a good idea to take an ice cream cone when it was starting to drizzle, but I found shelter under a tree to eat that up before going to the castle.
I round the funicular up to the castle because the tickets were the same price and I didn’t feel like walking 10 minutes. The drizzle had turned into a rain while I was waiting for the “mountain train” and I dashed over to the castle grounds to visit the apothecary museum to try to wait out the rain. It was a good little museum and I was surprised to find that it was “free” when it was listed as being included in the castle ticket.
The rain had stopped by the time I finished the museum, and I went to look at the giant wine barrel. Reportedly the largest in the world, it is not currently in use but Heidelberg is trying to build up its reputation as a wine center again. Two of the shops on the hill advertised gluhwein and I was almost tempted to pursue its medicinal effects against the damp.
After sufficiently exploring the castle grounds and enjoying the views, I was thinking of a coffee and/or a warm apple strudel for a mid-afternoon snack, but coming back down into the old town, I couldn’t find an open bakery meeting my Platonic ideal. In my search, I had traversed the length of the pedestrian zone and noticed that I was thirsty for water above everything.
I decided to call it quits on the old town and head back to the hostel, noting what was open on the way, but everything was really too far away to bother heading back to later on. Even before quenching my thirst, I swung by the train station in which the shops are reliably open on Sundays and decided to get some beer on sale from the otherwise overpriced convenience store.
Back in the hostel, I drank several glasses of water and one of the beers before deciding that I did in fact want to eat something but was too tired to go any further than the train station. It seemed too depressing to buy bratwurst from the convenience store and the bakeries weren’t looking too good, so I ended up with a frozen pizza from the Rossman’s. It wasn’t great, but I enjoyed it.
I had killed enough time to hop in the shower (which were working when no one was around the hostel) and pack up so I could try to go to sleep by 9pm so I could wake up at 5am. It’s been a long three months in Europe, going from sunrise at 4 am to barely light at 6:30 am.
| Lunch @ Vetters | 25 |
| Eis | 2 |
| Schloss ticket | 8 |
| Beers | 2.46 |
| Pizza & beer | 5.82 |
| Total: | 43.28 EUR (337.6 RMB) (USD 47.40) |
Running Total: 35113.7 RMB (USD 4930.31)
Daily Average: 369.62 RMB (USD 51.90)