The 4 Castle Town - Neckarsteinach

Ben got his drivers license after a 2 hour class and written test on Thursday. On Friday, he drove to Manheim and picked up our car. Unfortunately, the car did not make the trip without getting a few bumps and bruises. There is damage on the side and on the bumper.



It was a disappointment, but the shipping company will fix it. I just hope they pay for a rental while it's getting fixed because we don't have another mode of transportation and I really don't feel like being car-less again.

We've been staying local and doing some sight seeing. There is alot to see around Heidelberg and in close driving distance. I'm happy that there is plenty to see and do in Germany because the Army makes you jump several hurdles in order to travel to any other countries in Europe. In a previous blog I wrote about the government passports, which are only good to get you in to Germany. In order to travel out of it and around Europe you have to purchase your own passport (which is the EXACT same thing except that there isn't a page stamped saying it's only to be used for unrestricted access into Germany.) I have a passport that is good until 2014, but we have to buy 3 more for all the boys, and one each for Morgan and Susan. If the passports weren't enough, now it turns out our drivers licenses are only good for driving in Germany. After sitting through the two hour class and taking the test, you have to get another license to drive in the rest of Europe, an international license. It seems to me that, if they are going to make us go through the inconvenience of being forced to live in a foreign country, they could at least make it easier for us to travel. Why not get both the licenses in the same day, or better yet, get one license that includes driving on post, in Germany, and the rest of Europe.

So today, Sunday, we decided to take a local excursion and drive down the Neckar River. There is a road called Castle Road (Burgenstrasse) that runs from Manheim to Prague and will take you past around 70 castles and fortresses. We stopped and got Maddox some german Capri Sun for the trip. I find it far less sweet than the american kind and like it much better.


I typed the name of the road into the GPS and it was a little rocky getting to it. I thought it was going to take us to downtown Heidelberg and follow the river around, but it ended up taking us over some mountains. We got in an argument because I told Ben to turn around go back to Heidelberg and he insisted on following the GPS up the hill and around winding roads. I was giving him the silent treatment because all I could picture was us ending up lost somewhere and me getting carsick from the constant curves. I took some pictures of some cute german neighborhoods, despite my protest.



At one point we came out of the woods and there was Neckarsteinach and it's 4 castles perched high on the hillside towering over the little city.




(Some photos didn't turn out very well because of the fog and glare from the sun - the sun sets very early here.)

It was rather chilly, but the sun was out so we decided to park the car and walk up to one of the castles. This was the only one we visited because of the weather, but we plan on returning to walk amongst the other 3 in the springtime. I did not do much research on this destination because it was a spur of the moment trip, but I did find out that these castles are from the 12th and 13th century. The path to the castle was steep and rocky, but Maddox, being Mr. Independent, insisted on walking by himself. We made it up at a slow and steady pace.


A man was kind enough to take our picture on the way down (too bad he cut out Carson.)








Maddox and Ben went to the top of the tower.


I stayed down below with Carson (I am the little red dot, if that gives you an idea of how high they were)


The view from the top.


Thick, stone walls


My boys :) Maddox is such a ham.


I have to find out what this statue is all about (I'll post when I know).



Don't know about this one yet, either.

Two year olds and restaurants do not mix.

On Saturday we went to our first authentic german restaurant in Heidelberg. When Ben said we were ALL going out with another couple I had my reservations. I have taken Maddox to restaurants on rare occasions lately because, to put it bluntly, he is a little terror. This started happening somewhere between 15 and 18 months. He used to be the sweetest and most well behaved child..."used to be" is the key phrase.

The couple we were going out with have a 7 month old and Ben insisted Maddox would be fine, but the thought of it gave me a sour stomach. I really wanted to get out of the house and try some local food, so I agreed. The menu was all in german so we had no idea what to order, but the waiter was a kind older man who liked to put his two cents in. He reccommended some delicious dishes. I was going to try a schnitzel because that is traditional german food, but the waiter must have sensed my insecurities about it. I ended up having some kind of fish fillet, Ben had a pork steak, and Maddox ended up with french fries. We had planned on just sharing our dinners with Maddox because the waiter said it was a lot of food, but had to get him french fries after he loudly protested any fish, pork, or potatos. After two hours of Maddox screaming "NO", stealing food off our our friend's plates, and him trying to squirm out of his seat constantly we called it a night. I have come to the conslusion that restaurants and two year olds do not mix. I will only go out to eat if Maddox is left with a baby sitter from now on. We'll try again when he is three.

Passing the time

We've been here for a few weeks and with no car or household goods we have been finding ways to pass the time. We have no cable because you can only get Armed Forces Network here. I watched some in the hotel and the shows seemed to be a season or two behind. Plus, I'm sure we will end up only watching kid shows and cartoons. The library here has over 6,000 DVD's so we are going to check those out, wait until we've watched them all, then decide if we want to invest in cable.

Maddox watches Baby Einstein, Finding Nemo, and Elmo's World several times a day (I tried to put in Monsters Inc so we could watch something I like, but it scared him. It will be a while before we get to watch that one again...rats). I've been watching seasons of the West Wing and Desperate Housewives on the laptop to save my sanity while feeding Carson 7 times a day. He's still waking up twice a night to eat, 2am and 5am, almost like clockwork. When Ben gets home we usually have dinner, drink some german beer - KrystalWeisen is my favorite - and play some cribbage. We also make some time to study for the dreaded drivers test. Driving is serious business here in Germany...although many of the german drivers don't even follow their own rules.


Ben losing in Cribbage for the first time.


Me, winning for the first time (I kicked his butt with a 24 point first hand).


Our first meal from a vendor in Germany: Yufka and Pommes Frites. I think the Yufka is Greek and the Pommes Frites are thick french fries with a special seasoning (the best french fries I have ever had.) The vendor hooked us in by giving Maddox a free bag of fries, so that means we have to go back again.



Maddox entertaining himself by wearing my boots around the house (of course we have a messy floor. Things get picked up after bedtime, we clean the floor, and the place is trashed again 10 minutes after wake up....and only a quarter of his toys are even here right now!)


Carson sleeping. Too bad it's not night time.




Brothers...


All dressed up and nowhere to go :(



Carson smiling. He's starting to laugh now too!



Maddox throwing a temper tantrum because I turned the TV off for the day. (two year olds are so much fun)

A dwarf and a witch's bite...more on the Hiedelberg Schloss

As I was researching history on the Hiedelberg Castle I came across a few myths and legends. The first of which involves the enormous wine barrel deep inside the castle called the Heidelberg Tun (Grosses Fass). This giant vat holds over 220,000 liters (58,000 gallons), stands 6 meters high, and was made of 130 oak trees. There is a staircase up both sides (one of which is a very steep spiral and I almost fell carrying Maddox down it)and a dance floor on the top. The pictures didn't turn out well because there were a lot of people crowding around and it was very dark. There are axe marks in the side where french soldiers attempted to break into it.

Unfortunately this wine barrel was kept dry of wine for the most part, but I did discover an interesting story about people being placed inside. A local ruler, Elector Karl Ludwig, had betroved his daughter to french royalty. The groom's people come to inspect the castle (where the wedding was to be held) and they were basically a pain in the rear, so the Elector proposed that they hold further discussions at a special banquet above the Hiedelberg Tun. He made sure they all had plenty to drink during the banquet and after hours of good spirits, Ludwig proposes a toast, during which guests hear a demonic tune coming from under the floor of the dance floor. The guests race down the steps thinking it is the coming of the devil, but are blocked at the exits by guards. Ludwig calmly walks down the steps and opens a hidden door to the empty Tun to reveal a band of drummers and trumpets. Wedding planning went much easier afterwards.





Across from the incredibly large barrel is a statue of a dwarf, a little Italian man named Perkeo. His name comes from the words "Perche No" meaning "Why not", which is the answer a person would recieve when offering him a drink. He was a court jester in the 18th century who would reportedly drink massive amounts of wine (between 5 and 8 gallons a day). He was given the duty of guarding the massive wine barrel and drank nothing but wine all the way into his eighties. Legend says that he became ill one day and was urged by the doctor to lay off the wine. He protested, but drank the water and died soon after.



Across from the Tun is a small area where you can sit and order a glass of wine. I thought the ceilings and construction were beautiful.



And, of course, the restrooms are not free. There is a small note on the door that says 50 cent and a lady directly inside who will collect the change from you.




There is a huge door that guards the castle entrance. Here is a picture of Cari and Maddox infront of the door.






During an attack the doors close and messengers can only get in or out of the castle through a smaller gate. On the gate is a door knocker or ring (you can't see the ring in the picture because I didn't know what I was looking for when we went. I'll get one next time). Legend says that whoever can bite through the ring will inherit the castle. One day an old witch approached the door and began gnawing on the ring. She tried with all her might, but eventually gave up and vanished. She left a crack on the ring that is now refered to as The Witch's Bite.

Hiedelberg is a breathtaking city and it is an amazing feeling to stand next to something that has lived through so many years and so much history.

Heidelberg Schloss (Castle)

(Please excuse any typos in this and coming blogs. The spell checker will only check in German, therefore, it says my entire blog is misspelled. If anyone knows how to fix that please let me know!)

Last Saturday, January 15th, we were visited by a close friend from Fort Leonard Wood. Cari drove a couple hours from Hohenfels, GE, where she is stationed, to Hiedelberg and we set out to see the Castle. We all hopped into her car, since we don't have ours yet, and followed the signs for Schloss (german for castle). When we got to the bridge we were in the wrong lane and ended up crossing to the opposite side of the Neckar River. We drove up it a little ways, thinking we would find a bridge to cross, but ended up turning around. In the meantime I snapped a few photos.

Here is the castle from across the Neckar on an overcast winter day.






The Karl-Theodor Brucke (Alte Bruke)/ Carl Theodor Bridge (Old Bridge).


The bridge gate once formed a part of the Old Town Wall. It is considered one of Heidelbergs outstanding architectural landmarks. On it there is a statue of Carl Theodor, the goddess of wisdom Passa Athena, and a monkey put back up in the 70's. When the weather gets warmer we plan to take a foot trip and take more photos.

History has taught us that the best castles sit high up on a hill allowing for the better defense. This holds true with the Hiedelberg Castle which overlooks the Neckar River and the city it was named for. Today there are 4 ways to get to the castle. 1.) Take the Burgweg (castle path) - a long, steep, cobblestone path. 2.)use the stairs - there are over 300. 3.) The Funikular Railway - travels 489 meters at a 43% grade slope. 4.) drive the narrow, winding road to the top - we drove.

The oldest parts of the castle date back to the 12th Century. It was built in stages over a span of about 300 years. It had expanded into 2 castles at one point, but a lightning bolt destroyed the upper one in 1537. The castle was under attack for the first time during the Thirty Years War in the 1600's, which ended any further construction and started it's destruction. This is a drawing of what the castle looked like before it was reduced to ruin by fires caused by lightning, the Thirty Years War,&the Nine Years War.





Here are some pictures of the castle from the grounds outside.







The view from the top.






The hole where the Fat Tower used to be. The French blew it out during the Nine Years War on March 2, 1689.












During my research of the castle history, I found a quote by Mark Twain from a travel book he once wrote. You could tell he was impressed by the scale and beauty of the ruins and I couldn't agree with him more. This is the sight he saw and was inspired to write about(minus the tree leaves and summer flowers):



"A ruin must be rightly situated, to be effective. This one could not have been better placed. It stands upon a commanding elevation, it is buried in green woods, there is no level ground about it, but, on the contrary, there are wooded terraces upon terraces, and one looks down through shining leaves into profound chasms and abysses where twilight reigns and the sun cannot intrude. Nature knows how to garnish a ruin to get the best effect. One of these old towers is split down the middle, and one half has tumbled aside. It tumbled in such a way as to establish itself in a picturesque attitude. Then all it lacked was a fitting drapery, and Nature has furnished that; she has robed the rugged mass in flowers and verdure, and made it a charm to the eye. The standing half exposes its arched and cavernous rooms to you, like open, toothless mouths; there, too, the vines and flowers have done their work of grace. The rear portion of the tower has not been neglected, either, but is clothed with a clinging garment of polished ivy which hides the wounds and stains of time. Even the top is not left bare, but is crowned with a flourishing group of trees & shrubs. Misfortune has done for this old tower what it has done for the human character sometimes−improved it." - Mark Twain


The entrace and castle guards. Maddox and Ben are standing underneath and the massive size of these walls, towers, and sculptures just amaze me.





Maddox and I inside the castle courtyard in front of the Fredrich Building.




The Otteinrichsbau - which, in my opinion,was the most captivating section of the castle (a little history below).




The Ottheinrichsbau (“Otto Heinrich’s Building”) was built under Prince Elector Otto Heinrich in 1556-1559 and one of several struck by lightning in 1764 and never rebuilt. Today it appears as a skeleton, but a beautiful one as you can see. Heinrich conceived this structure as a monument to himself. Its design follows traditional rules, with each of the floors less high than the one below to create the illusion of even more height, and divided into five fields each. On its walls are 16 statues: representations of the qualities needed of a leader~ on the lower level, the symbols of political power: Joshua, Samson, Hercules and David~ on the second level, the virtues needed to rule wisely and well: Strength, Faith, Love, Hope and Justice~ on the third level, the bodies of the Solar System which control destiny (or so Heinrich would have believed: Saturn, Mars, Venus, Mercury and the Moon~ and on top of the wall the most powerful of these heavenly bodies: the Sun and Jupiter






The Friedrichsbau or Friedrich Building was built during the reign of Friedrich IV (1592-1610). It is the only building to have been rebuilt after the destruction of the 18th century. Its facade is adorned with sixteen statues of princes - a stone gallery of ancestral portraits. These are in fact copies; the originals were being destroyed by pollution so were removed and are displayed inside the building. The gold accents are drain pipes with gold gargoyles on them.









The back of the Friedrich Building




Maddox and Cari :)




The Castle Garden Fountain.


The castle gardens, constructed between 1616 and 1619 by garden architect Salomon de Caus, were commissioned by Prince Elector Friedrich V for his wife Elizabeth. Before being destroyed during the War of the Palatine Succession in 1693, the gardens were regarded as a masterpiece of their time




Maddox making a pose.



House above the gardens....the house I would love to own.



The next blog will include Heidelberg Castle legends and stories about a wine barrel, dwarf, and witches bite....stay tuned.....