Here we are at the top of the Holy Ghost Church tower to see the lay of the land. This time the whole crew went up, not just Ryan and Easton. Although when it came time to climb up the hill to the castle, Ryan hefted the stroller straight up the cobblestone road and it was steep! My hero! Wish I had a picture of our crew on that jaunt! It was bad enough going up that we took the funicular (mountain tram) down when we were done exploring!
Heidelberg’s castle was built as a medieval fortress up on the hill, but saw great renovations and destruction over the centuries. It was sacked by invading armies, tragically caught fire, and then was even partly dismantled by the lower townsfolk who used some of the stones to build the town which had also burned. Having seen quite a few castles now, it wasn’t our favorite but the tour was given by an informative guide.
This castle is also home to the largest wine barrel in the world. People back in the day paid their taxes in wine. The wine was used as money. The wine collected paid the army and other servants of the crown. A soldier, for instance, was rationed 6-7 liters per day which he in turn could use to go to town and barter with for goods. I find that sort of stuff pretty interesting.
We walked up and down the main street looking at shops and chatting. Ryan found a pair of shoes and finally we sat down for a great Thai dinner. Hearty German food is good, but when we’re out, we seek out some serious flavor. Or at least Ryan does and that’s one reason I’m glad I tricked him into marrying me! He’s the spice of my life! Ryan enjoyed his pad thai, I loved my curry, Janelle had some sort of fish dish, and I should have just gotten the boys a big plate of rice because that’s all they wanted to eat off our plates instead of the big plate of yummy noodles, chicken and veggies. Lesson learned.
We did some more strolling to kill time until the fireworks were to begin. Heidelberg just finished renovating their old bridge and it looked fabulous. We were able to find a good patch of grass to call our own. We snacked on popcorn and cookies while trying to keep Morgan from rolling down the hill. After being in the stroller all day, she was ready to cruise! And then the show began! I loved hearing the boys giggle with glee. We start our pyro training early here. Morgan seemed to really like this show too. She clutched my arm, but uttered a huge round mouthed “oooooo” when it began and couldn’t take her eyes off them fireworks!
We didn’t get home until almost 1am which made waking up early for church and WAKING the boys up rather painful. Luckily, Sunday naps were in order after church and Ryan even made us all dinner and dessert! I love my man!!!
