After our nice time in Paris, we were planning to head up to Belgium and the Netherlands. However, there was a Belgian train strike. Arrgh. So we decided to head to Germany instead. This should have alerted us to how flexible we would have to be on the rest of the trip.

6/28/01 Katie Miller waiting at the Paris train station for our train to Heidelberg, Germany.

6/28/01 Katie Miller waiting at the Paris train station for our train to Heidelberg, Germany.

We made our way to Heidelberg, on the always on-time German trains. We found our hotel easily and found that our room was on the lower level, complete with a skeleton key to lock it up. Our bathroom and bedroom were the same size! We had a nice meal complete with some German beer.

Our train to Heidelberg.

Our train to Heidelberg.

Katie Miller in the stairwell to our room.

Katie Miller in the stairwell to our room.

Our key to the room.

Our key to the room.

Brian Kleinman hanging up laundry in our bathroom.

Brian Kleinman hanging up laundry in our bathroom.

dinner

Part of our dinner in Heidelberg, salad with kraut and French onion soup.

Katie Miller at dinner.

Katie Miller at dinner.

The next day we toured around the city taking in the beautiful sites. We planned to eat lunch in Marktplatz, and even the man peeing in the fountain didn’t deter us.

6/29/01  Heidelberg, Germany.

6/29/01 Heidelberg, Germany.

Marktplatz (notice the old guys and their ice cream sundaes)

Marktplatz (notice the old guys and their ice cream sundaes)

Our lunch-time companions.

Our lunch-time companions.

After lunch we decided to hike up a trail to the Heidelberg Schloss (castle). It was a lovely trail with great views of the city below. The castle is a blend of many different architectural styles and crumbling destruction.

The Heidelberger Schloss (castle)

The Heidelberger Schloss (castle)

Katie Miller on the trail back down to the castle.

Katie Miller on the trail back down to the castle.

Looking down on the city from the castle.

Looking down on the city from the castle.

Heidelberger Schloss.

Heidelberger Schloss.

Katie Miller and Brian Kleinman at the castle.

Katie Miller and Brian Kleinman at the castle.

Balloons from a wedding at the castle.

Balloons from a wedding at the castle.

Three different styles of windows at the castle.

Three different styles of windows at the castle.

Brian Kleinman climbing on the castle wall.

Brian Kleinman climbing on the castle wall.

We had dinner in an outdoor biergärten and Katie squeaked out some German to order.

Brian Kleinman at dinner.

Brian Kleinman at dinner.

The Neckar river in Heidelberg.

The Neckar river in Heidelberg.

We made our way home and prepared for our trip to Munich the next day.