Hopping through Heidelberg

With the impending move back to the states, it occurred to me that I have a lot of Germany to see in a very short time, especially since I spent most of the winter hibernating rather than exploring. :) Now that the snow has cleared and the weather is warming, I've found my traveling spirits again.

My first adventure was a mix of business and pleasure. My principal allowed me to take a couple days off to attend a conference about autism in Heidelberg. The conference was incredibly informative, and I actually remained interested for two full days of information dumping. After the first day, I went out to explore the town a bit. Unfortunately, the tours of the castle and the museum entrances end at 4pm there, so I was unable to go in, but I have some lovely pics of my self-guided walking tour! Heidelberg sits right on the Neckar River, and has a gorgeous bridge that spans it and cute buildings tucked all up the hill on the other side. The main church was a crazy battleship of an odd shaped structure. I just love the lopsidedness of old buildings. I'm also told that Heidelberg is fun because it is a university town. Yep, what they don't tell you is that it is one of the oldest universities in Europe....established in 1386! You can see the young spirit in some of the older structures. One of the cool old university buildings is now a series of coffee shops on a courtyard, and the bridge is guarded by a um, well endowed monkey. Sorry, I didn't photograph his hindquarters. I had a nice German dinner of lamb goulash to cap off my sight-seeing. Today, when the conference ended, I drove straight down to Hohenschwangau to see the mad king Ludwig's castles. I'm sitting looking out my hotel window at the castle that inspired Disney's Cinderella castle. I can't wait to start exploring tomorrow! :)
Here's Heidelberg:

Heidelberg