Bad, Bad Wimpfen

Heidelberg in the AM

Heidelberg today! The morning began with Kayla greeting us at 6:30am sharp. From there we had a lovely breakfast while planning my tourism adventure. Once we had thoroughly plotted, Enrico dropped Kayla and I off at her daycare, conveniently located right by the hub of town. Of course it was only 8am by that point so many of the stores had yet to open. From there I headed over to the Philosophenweg or "Philosopher's Way" to catch some spectacular views of the foggy city. There I found a few little park areas and some interesting decorations... see photo evidence.

A pretty side garden on the Philosophenweg

City view

I think I screamed when I saw this...

Snake path- all downhill

Alte Brucke

 Then I headed down to the city center, again, via the Schlangenweg (Snake Path) across the Alte Bruke (old bridge). Since the church was still closed at that point, I headed back up another hill to the famous Schloss (castle). I went and walked on top of the giant-sized wein cask capable of holding a whopping 128,000 liters of the stuff. Not wanting to waste my student ticket, I also spent a good deal of time walking around the surrounding gardens and taking in more wonderful views of the city and Neckar river. This also included a complementary visit to the apothecary museum which looked something akin to a witch's parlor. The place was cram-packed from floor to ceiling with bugs, herbs, lizards, spices and all sorts of hokus-pokus. Before returning to the city center for a third time, I fully appreciated (by getting lost) the Schlossgarten which would have been even more spectacular if it was spring.

View from the Schloss: Holdy Ghost Church is right in view!

HUGE wine cask!

Castle ruins

The interior of the church

Returning to the city, I went inside the Church of the Holy Ghost which boasted exquisite stained glass and a more simplistic architexture compared to others like the obscene Asam Church. After that I wandered about the Hauptstrasse  where all the cutsie shops are... especially chocolate stores and gelato. Sam was right: Heidelberg is a great and cute city, but it can get boring rather quickly (compared to Munich- ha!). So, in order to resolve this little issue I headed to the Heidelberg-Aldstat station and got myself a round trip ticket to Bad Wimpfen!


When I say that I solved my boredom problem, I mean it. Me being me, well, I decided it would be a grand idea to get off the train at the Bad Wimpfen-Hohenstadt station (it's totally Bad Wimpfen, right?). NOT THE SAME. There was no train station. No platform. No people. Only one bench and a shed. Luckily, there was a ticket kiosk (how they got power there is beyond me) and I made the terrible discovery that the enxt train bound for Bad Wimpfen or back to Heidelberg was at least a few hours. Problem.

 

 

Literally nothing.

 So I wandered around the Bad Wimpfen-wannabe area looking for a bus stop. The next one came in about 30 minutes and I wasn't even sure if it would go to Bad Wimpfen- at least the part I was hoping for. Ick. Serendipity: as soon as I called Sam, my eyes caught a street sign that read "Bad Wimpfen, 3 km". Gold! So after my hike, literally, to Bad Wimpfen through the countryside following sketchy "nordic hike" signs, I made it! The iconic blue tower greeted me with open.. erm.. turrets. Meandering through the town I darted in-between countless half-timbered buildings (including the narrowest one in the city!) and down teeny cobblestone alleys. I got to see the gorgeous Evangelical municipal church as well as climbed the walls of the red tower with a very pudgy feline companion. It offered a beautiful view of the valley by the Neckar river below.

Salvation!

The narrowest half-timbered building

Kitty-friend... who needs a diet.

Blue tower

Inside the Gothic church

 From there I could see the Bahnhof that I should have gotten off at. Whoopsies. A very sweet lady at the train station helped me out by equipping me with a map to orient myself. Recalling more of Sam's guiding advice, I set out to find her Gothic church. Not difficult. The spires were so grandiose I'm pretty sure it could be well spotted for miles around. Unless you're at the Hohenstadt station. The Manorial Collegiate Church in Wimpfen im Tal (mouthful, eh?) completely towered above the tiny surrounding buildings. Going inside the heavy ominous doors was even more intimidating. Capturing both Gothic and a Romanesque style, visitors can't help but feel completely overwhelmed by going into the bowels of the cathedral. It was vacant. Only me, stained glass and a few candles established the ambiance. The entire church was lit in a minimalist-on-a-budget-on-an-overcast-day style. In other words, it was very very dark. If it wasn't a church I would haven't given it a second thought- I would have tucked tail, turned and booked it out of there. The silence was deafening except for the soft thuds of my footsteps on which created echoes throughout the vast nave. On one of the side wings was a prayer candle altar where for 0,50 euros a candle could be lit. Dropping the coin into the box unleased a series of echoes that seemed endless. It made me think of all the horror films where right after a sudden noise the protagonist makes, the creppy monster thing comes and attacks. Yeesh.

Friendly looking, right?

 Exiting the church into the Irish weather (perfect for St. Pat's!) I went farther afield to see the Church of St. Cornelia. This church was very different from the former. It was surrounded by circa 1900's graves and could easily be visualized in a rural town with only one church to its name.

Sore and tired, I headed home for Heidelberg on the next train. Day isn't over yet- St. Patty's celebrations are up!