Heidelberg

We drove from Paris back to the Johnson’s Wednesday afternoon and arrived in Heidelberg with just enough time for a little evening stroll around town and to go to dinner at Chris and Lisa’s favorite German restaurant.  This is the Heidelberg Castle on the hill . . . . we toured it another day, so more on that later:)

Lots of beautiful houses on the River Neckar.

It was so fun walking around Heidelberg with Chris and Lisa and having them show us around “their town.”   As we soon discovered with all of the towns in Southern Germany, Heidelberg is made up of picturesque cobblestone streets and courtyards, rows of old buildings and quaint little shops, old churches and outdoor restaurants, all nestled in a valley below the ruins of an old castle and along the banks of the River Neckar.

  

The historical Church of the Holy Spirit in the Marktplatz of Heidelberg.

The Heidelberg Bridge Monkey!

The Old Bridge (which we’re standing on below) was built from 1786 – 1788.  The medieval gate entering the Altstadt (“old town”) was originally part of the town wall.  Such a cool city gate! 

After walking around for a little while we came back to the Market Place to eat dinner at the Goldener Faulke, Chris and Lisa’s favorite German restaurant (so far:).  We started by sitting outside, but it got a little chilly, so we decided to eat inside the restaurant, which was really nice.

Schnitzel with noodles!  These are a few of my favorite things . . . . haha.  It seemed only fitting that we order this in Germany.  And it’s Chris and Lisa’s favorite dish here.  (Do you see a common trend happening here?  We started calling it the vacation of the Johnson’s favorites!).  It was so good.  The noodles were homemade in the restaurant and were delicious.  We never took a picture of the appetizer we ordered, but it was to die for!  It was a spargel pancake.  Spargel is white asparagus and it’s in season during the spring, so there were a few seasonal spargel dishes on the menu.  Anyway, it was wrapped up in a German pancake with bacon and cheese.  Oh man, was it good.  And with everything else we’ve tried so far, Chris and Lisa’s favorites soon became our favorites!    

What a fun evening in Heidelberg!  And crazy to think that just that morning we were on top of the Eiffel Tower . . . . and that we were only 4 days into our trip!  

Paris - Black and White

 

 

The Eiffel Tower and Saying Good-bye to Paris

Our third day in Paris was only a half day since we needed to make the 5 hour drive back to Heidelberg that afternoon.  But that’s okay, because we felt like we had seen and done a lot in the time we were there.  There was really only one major thing left that we HAD to do while in Paris . . . . The Eiffel Tower!   Our handy dandy Rick Steves guidebook said that if you aren’t able to purchase online tickets to go up the tower (which we weren’t), your best bet is getting in line before it opens in the morning.  We took his advice to heart, and it sure paid off!  We got in line about 35 minutes before it opened at 9:30, and by 10:00 we were on our way up.  Much better than the 3-4 hours you have to wait if you get there in the middle of the day!  Even while we were waiting in line, the line was getting longer and longer and longer. 

Going up the Eiffel Tower was kind of a surreal thing for me . . . . It was one of those moments where you think, “I’ve always hoped that sometime in my life I’d be able to do this, and now I’m actually here doing it!”  We were in Paris on top of the Eiffel Tower!!  And it was just as amazing as I’d always hoped:) 

     

Chris and Lisa had already been up the Eiffel Tower on a previous trip with their kids, so they hung back at the apartment and slept in.  But they met us at the base when we came down for some fun pictures in front of the tower!  One last thing about the Eiffel Tower . . . . it’s a lot bigger than I had imagined it to be!

Before heading out, we took one last stroll down Rue Cler, a pedestrian only street lined with cafes, street markets, bakeries, boulangeries, butcher shops, etc . . . . the very art of Parisian everyday living.  We found ourselves drooling over the pastries in a bakery, and of course had to try a few:)  Delish!! 

Paris was amazing!  It was everything we had expected it to be . . . . and more!  Au Revoir, Paris! (Which literally translates to "Until Re-seeing" or "until we see each other again!")