Auf Wiedersehen, Heidelberg

All the hydrangeas I saw were this vibrant pink

We finished up our visit to Heidelberg by touring some of the beautiful churches in the area and taking the Philosophers' Walk--a winding walk up the hillside across the Rhine river from Old Heidelberg.

I was unprepared for the feelings that were felt as I gazed upon some of the crucifixes in the churches. There was one in particular that was so graphic with its depiction of the blood coming from Christ's hands, feet, and head and the wound in his side with the flesh ripped back. Our Mormon culture does not really focus much on the cross or the suffering that occurred on the cross so seeing those images displayed in the Catholic cathedrals was a little disconcerting quite uncomfortable for me. Nevertheless, there was also a feeling of reverance and appreciation for Christ and His suffering for me.

The Philosophers' Walk, so named because of the philosophers that were said to regularly make this walk and mediate along the route, was beautiful as it wound us up through the hillside and old orchards and vineyards. There was a beautiful view from the top even though I neglected to take any photos.

On the Philosophers' Walk trail

I realized that looking at these pictures might make it seem like we wore the same clothes 2 days in a row, but we toured the castle and the Philosophers' Walk on the same day even though that's not how I blogged about it.

After the walk, we strolled back through the old town once more and stumbled upon this group of street performers.

They were quite a lively bunch and it was fun to watch them perform. The music and singing weren't half bad either...much better than the singing we heard every night after the pubs had closed.

One final picture from Heidelberg...

And a travelling tip...
Don't make the same mistake I did and order a sausage salad thinking you will get a regular salad with some sausage on it because that is not what you will get. Not. At. All. What you will get will look like a big pile of noodles, but is actually a big pile of shredded sausage with some pickles and pickled peppers mixed in. Fortunately, I like sausage and this was a mild sausage (probably a wurst of some kind) and since that was my dinner, I had to eat it. Still, it took me a couple of seconds to summon up enough courage to try it.