I won’t lie, my main motivation to do a study year abroad in Germany wasn’t actually the studying! Instead, my aim is to develop my language skills, experience German culture and explore some new places – both nearby and further afield. So a few days after arriving into Stuttgart, I set out with Sam to explore the beautiful city of Heidelberg, in what would hopefully be the first of many great travel experiences this year.
Known for its historic university, impressive castle ruins and pretty old town, Heidelberg is definitely attractive for tourists but at the same time manages to retain its authenticity and charm. I had actually first heard of the city through my first German teacher, who introduced us to a new German city or destination at the end of each lesson. She really recommended it as a good place to visit to get a feel for Germany, and alongside that I was pretty captivated by the photos I saw online!
To reach Heidelberg we took a high-speed train from Stuttgart, with the journey only lasting around an hour. Now that we’ve got more familiar with the ticket pricing system we would opt for the slower (but cheaper) regional rail instead, but even then the travel time is under two hours each way. Like most German cities, the train arrives into the new town – often quite far away from the historic centre, but there are almost always good public transport options available. Or alternatively you can just walk, like we did.
Like usual, we had no plan and decided to just wander round and follow paths or streets that looked interesting. The buildings of the old town are really pretty, especially with the summer flower boxes which were still there during our visit. This was the day where I felt like I had really “arrived” in Germany!
After a brief wander through the old town streets we headed for the river to see the famous Karl-Theodor Bridge, better known simply as the Alte Brücke (or Old Bridge in English). This is the bridge you’ll see when googling photos of Heidelberg and I’ve gotta say it did actually live up to the hype… aside from the giant construction crane in the middle!
Luckily the maintenance work didn’t last all day and I got some much better photos of the Alte Brücke in the evening, stick around to see those at the end of this post.
On the opposite side of the river there are only a few houses, with most of the hillside given over to trees and vineyards. There are a number of delightful little paths leading up to the vineyards and further along into the forest, but the most well-known of these is the Philosophenweg (Philosophers’ Way). Originally just a rough track through the vineyards, it later became a favourite walk of the professors and philosophers of the historic university here.
With such incredible views out over the city, it’s easy to see why this route provided the clarity and inspiration needed for philosophic minds to do their work!
Today the Philosophenweg has numerous lookout points and information boards to learn more about the history of the city and this path in particular. Officially the route starts in Neuenheim and follows the river along towards the old town, before turning away and winding up to the top of Heiligenberg. However, we accessed it further along via a steep winding path directly opposite the Alte Brücke – quite a strenuous climb in the unexpectedly warm September weather, but the views were more than worth it.
We then took the path in the opposite direction towards Neuenheim. Along the way there are numerous lookout points with benches, as well as information boards to learn more about the history of Heidelberg and of the Philosophenweg itself.
At the end of the path we found a little cafe and a small public garden area full of flowers. We bought an ice cream each and sat there for a while, listening to the sounds of a busker strumming his guitar and enjoying the last of the summer warmth.
From here we retraced our footsteps back along the Philosophenweg in the “proper” direction. Instead of taking the fork up to Heiligenberg we continued on, following the course of the river, although soon we could no longer see it as the path turned into a forest track.
Here the atmosphere was peaceful, we were surrounded by greenery and nature and there were only a handful of other people who had come this far along. Since we weren’t sure where the path would take us and we wanted to explore the Altstadt too, we only walked up here for about 10 minutes before turning round. It was beautiful here though and I would definitely come back to explore further along this track.
So we descended back down the hillside and crossed over the bridge again into the old town. The main square was lively, with lots of people sat outside enjoying al-fresco dining with a view of the Church of the Holy Spirit, which acts as the centrepoint of the old town. There were a few touristy stands alongside the church and the odd tour group about, but mostly the city did feel authentic.
We wandered round for some time, following whichever street took our fancy. I didn’t end up taking many photos – too busy having fun exploring! – but I did get this rather nice one with the cobbled square and flower boxes:
This square was actually just a few minutes away from what I consider to be one of the best things to do in Heidelberg: the Königstuhl funicular railway. Dating back to 1890, this funicular is the longest of its kind in Germany, and the historic upper section still uses traditional-style wooden rolling stock. You can ride the funicular from the valley all the way up to the top of Königstuhl hill, which at 550m above sea level offers amazing views out over Heidelberg towards Mannheim and beyond.
Tickets for us (with a generous 50% student discount) were only 7 Euro for a return on the entire length of the funicular. The journey is split into two sections Рthe first in a modern carriage as far as Molkenkur, and the second in the historic car for the longer upper section to K̦nigstuhl summit.
The Panorama tickets we bought also allow for a stop off at Schloss Heidelberg (Heidelberg Castle) on the way up to Molkenkur, although we decided to do this on the way back down and ended up not having enough time!
(We did later revisit Heidelberg and this time managed to make the stop at the Schloss – I would definitely recommend it. It’s an interesting place with a lot of history, has great views of the town and river, and is also home to the German Pharmacy Museum and a giant wine barrel!)
So instead we headed directly up to the summit of Königstuhl. There are various tourist attractions here for all ages, but after taking in the views we decided to simply go on a walk through the forest up there. I was hoping for some more viewpoints, sadly there didn’t seem to be any but the walk was still lovely and we had a great time.
As the afternoon headed towards evening, we took the funicular back down to the old town and decided to buy a couple of beers and sit on the riverbank for the sunset. But first we made a stop at an interesting little shop we had spotted earlier that sold “Schneeballen” or “snowballs” in English. These don’t actually come from Heidelberg originally (they hail from another beautiful German town called Rothenburg ob der Tauber) but they are the original recipe!
Dating back over 300 years, these little treats are made of a kind of dry shortbread, cut into strips and wrapped around each other to form the snowball shape that gives them their name. The original version was simply dusted with white sugar but nowadays they also come in many different varieties, often dipped in chocolate or filled with a sweet filling such as nougat. We bought an original and a chocolate-coated variant to try, and took them with us to the riverbank.
Whilst not my favourite treat I’ve tried, these little balls are cute and tasty. I’ve seen some negative comments online on account of their dryness, and whilst this is true, that’s exactly how they’re supposed to be! I’d recommend getting a filled and/or coated variant if you want a less dry version but honestly I think they’re fine as they are. And with the golden hour lighting and evening warmth, we had a pretty magical time sitting here watching the world go by.
As the sun went down we headed on a little walk along the river to the next bridge, which rewarded us with a lovely view back towards the Alte Brücke with the tail end of the sunset behind it:
And that marked the end of my first day trip inside Germany! It was a really great way to start off my year, and I’ve been back to Heidelberg with friends and family since then as it’s just such a lovely little place to visit. Would highly recommend it if you’re in the area!
