A Day In: Heidelberg

expat travel

Dec 26

Written By Marcia Piper

In June, we took a day trip to Heidelberg. Our first stop was a park nestled on the river bank showcasing idyllic scenery, playgrounds and endless ways to spend an entire day. Once we got all our wiggles out we set off for the heart of the city, stopping steps from parking to grab a sweet treat at Cafe Gundel - one of the oldest bakeries in Heidelberg.

We grabbed tickets for Heidelberg Castle and the cable car at the Kornmarkt, breaking into a full body sweat (RIP, water bottle that plunged to its death) ferrying our double Thule up the stairs to the cable car, a worthy cause once atop the hill on the expansive castle grounds. To date, Heidelberg Castle is one of Mark’s favorite places and we are excited to return again once COVID restrictions are lifted (wine in the wine cellar tops my list) and enjoy the full experience.

We headed for Heiliggeistkirche to take in the views atop the church - they took my breath away, made more special by the limited number of people up top, allowing our family the entire viewing platform to ourselves - one (the only?) perk of COVID-19. Totally worth each of the 200+ winding steps to reach the top, ferrying Asher on my back. Lunch was alfresco with Heiliggeistkirche as the backdrop, feasting on doner, fries and pizza.

After lunch, Owen and I headed to the Studentkarzer while Mark strolled around with napping Asher (tip: Studentkarzer is not stroller friendly and does not have an elevator), a welcome 1:1 outing, although I should have read the history to myself, as he was worried for the rest of the day about going to “school prison”!

Strolling around the Brückentor, Old Bridge and grabbing more treats from Cafe Gundel capped off our day.

Points of Interest:

Alla Hoop!

Kornmarkt

Heidelberg Castle

Marktplatz/Old Town

Heiliggeistkirche (church of the Holy Spirit)

Hauptstrabe

Studentenkarzer

Steingasse

Brückentor (city gate)

Old Bridge