Heidelberg to Frankfurt
Today, the goal for the morning was to get to Frankfurt from Nuremburg. This was about a two hour train ride, so we decided to get coffee and breakfast on the train, and be in Frankfurt by 9ish. The train station at Frankfurt actually has a Dunkin Donuts again so we decided to get one of their coffees when we arrived at the terminal.
As for the train ride, I organized the trip in terms of stops thus far, as we had a traditional sandwich and baguette for breakfast. I was able to plot our itinerary on this trip in a visual manner with the Eurail map they give you when you purchase a ticket. During this trip we gained a thorough appreciation for food on the train system in Europe. This made train travel so enjoyable as the countryside just meandered past you. I would have to say it made the journey much more enjoyable and memorable.
We arrived in Frankfurt and immediately went to the hotel to check in. Though we were early, our goal was to leave our things in storage until check in which was at noon. We booked a small hotel which was located about 500yds form the train center which was perfect for us. When we dropped our things off we headed into the town of Frankfurt. Granted it was early morning, but we were able to see some of the main things in the town, before we left for the afternoon to see Heidelburg.
The Frankfurt Cathedral was first on our list, as most cathedrals usually are when visiting a new city. This is because it the primary attraction of history in the city. Though it was not my favorite cathedral, it was still worthy of a visit. In order to get to it however we needed to walk through the downtown metro area. This area reminded me more of Toronto than Germany, which is why we didn’t spend any time here exploring, with the exception of getting another coffee at a local coffee shop.
The shopping areas in the downtown area had some unique 21st centers architecture, built rather close to the cathedral. this didn’t sway our focus however to get to the cathedral, and see a few other sites before heading back to the train station at noon. We arrived at the church, and unfortunately due to construction were not allowed in the structure. the Kleinmarkethall was located close to this area, and featured typical Germany architecture, and many restaurants for tourists, and local pubs for regulars. If it was not before noon I would have spent an hour here drinking at least when I arrived. We were able to take a few pictures of the area and continue our walking tour near the river.
The lock bridge is a popular site in Frankfurt, and a good stop along our walking tour of Frankfurt. We were able to take a few pictures of the skyline and soak in the overlooking view of the city. It was at this point we started to take a detour towards the train station again, with the intention to see the opera house, and a few other sites along the way. the worst part of this however was there was no allowance of the public in the opera house, so we were only able to take pictures from the outside. During this process of walking there, we came across a union march, where there was a strike going on against construction companies in Frankfurt. This was not so much scary as it was interesting to be walking alongside such an angry group. Reminded me of the protests the USA went through in 2020. We decided to stop for lunch at a great little steak house, and we decided to spend a little extra for lunch since we were in a good mood. It was time for a steak so we both split a large 12oz sirloin and fries. For 30$ it was worth the time to eat.
Now it was time to spend the later half of the day in Heidelburg, which was the most exciting part of the trip. Upon leaving the restaurant we headed back to the hotel to check in and put out things in the room, then head to the terminal. The train terminal gave us a direct connection there. Oddly enough in the terminal we came across a pack of my favorite cigars, which usually cost 10$ each, but I was able to get 3 for $15. this was a great deal to fix my vice habit of smoking cigars.
The town of Heidelberg is known for its castle overlooking the city, but I found it to be one of the most charming and scenic towns in Germany. The train station is about a half mile from the city center, so we had to walk a little bit, but with that in mind we were able to head to the city center before 3pm, with a nice walk along the river. This river is called the Neckar and carves the scenic mountainous valleys which shape the cities landscape.
Beside scenic walkways, and typical German architecture, the primary feature to this city, is its incredible cathedral. Along our way up the hill to the castle we were able to stop in the cathedral and tour the interior. This is of course always worth it in my mind, as one can always be at peace within the temple, and appreciate the testament of architecture to religion.
The castle above the city center takes about 20 minutes to ascend to, but once on top, people can explore various parks, and walkways around the castle ruins. It does cost 20 Euro to go inside (as of 2018), and since we really wanted to spend the sunset looking at the castle and learning about it on our phones, we did an outside walking tour around to get a feel of the size of this beautiful remnant. Most of the castle is left in ruins, but it is still a great site to behold, being almost 500 years old. This also gave us a dramatic view of the city, where we could see the entire countryside, and the town center below us. This overall was a great way to end the tour of the city, while we headed back to the train station to get back to Frankfurt before dark.
We ended up in Frankfurt around 7 and stopped in the train terminal for dinner as we were not super hungry. We just had a pizza and small food from local vendors, which was a cafeteria of sorts, yet very delicious. Now it was night time and we were exhausted but i decided we should explore the gRand hotel up the street, even if we didn’t have the most fancy clothes in the world on. To my pleasure I found that they had a cigar room with a piano, of which no one was in, thus I was able to have a cigar, and play piano, and enjoy the evening in luxury with no one around, and make a great memory of being int he nicest hotel in germany playing piano in gym shorts! They even had Cohiba cigars. It was a great day, and we were satisfied with our efforts of exploring. Time to head to cologne tomorrow!
(IC 2164 to stuttgart 5:37-7:53 chg to IC 2294 8:05- 8:44) to heidelburg
WALKING ROUTE 8886821043-opt1 (307162/ 545708206…..18886821043/549448496
Heidelburg train station
Bergfriedhof
Heidelberg Castle
Marktplatz
Church of the Holy Spirit
Neckarwiese
Bismarckplatz
(12:10-12:24 RE 19336 chg ICE 370 12:32-13:08)
to Frankfurt
Train Station
Opera House
Romerburg
Frankfurt Cathedral
kleinmarkthalle
Hauptwache
Goethplatz
Eschenheimer Tor
Old Opera house
Main Hotel Frankfurt
-town square
Main Hotel frankfurt City (59.11) CONFIRMED 148015772862
EXPENSES
14.80 breakfast
3.90 coffee
34.90 lunch
4 city tax
3.40 dunkin donuts
6 ice cream and beer
10 dinner at train station
20.50 cigars at hotel
Total- 97.50 (16+14.50= 30.50 over)