Old city
View of the Old Bridge over the Neckar from Heidelberg Castle. March 1993
Heidelberg holds a dear place in my heart. It was the first town I visited in "real" Germany. I had been in East and West Berlin six years prior, but at that time, Berlin was not really Germany. It was this weird Cold War, city-state-island in East Germany. On Matt's First Big Trip to Germany, MAP was waiting for me at Frankfurt Airport having driven from Stuttgart to pick me up (he was the best!). On the way back through Baden-Württemberg, so as not to miss out on anything, he planned a stop for us in Heidelberg . We were young and full of energy. I could definitely get off a transatlantic flight and go right into tourist mode at that age.
Heidelberg - the name is synonymous with its university. "They studied at Heidelberg" is like having studied at Oxford, the Sorbonne, Leiden, Bologna, or Salamanca. It was a "wow" university.
Heidelberg University, founded in 1386, is Germany's oldest and one of Europe's most reputable universities. Heidelberg is a scientific hub in Germany and home to several internationally renowned research facilities adjacent to its university, including the European Molecular Biology Laboratory and four Max Planck Institutes. (Wikipedia)
I was absolutely THRILLED that my first stop in Germany was such a famous town. I remember walking the old bridge over the Neckar and the Baroque town square. We climbed up to the ruined castle to get that fabulous view of the countryside. Germany was just everything I ever dreamed it would be. It was so thrilling finally to visit a country I had dreamed of going to my whole life and better yet, to be there with a good friend who was local.
We got back in the car and headed down to Stuttgart. I was tired, but I was in Germany.
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