Heidelberg and Time to Go Home 海德堡
August 7, 2024: We had been in Frankfurt two years ago. This time, we decided on a day trip outside the city. Among several candidates, we picked Heidelberg, which was only an hour and twenty minutes by train from Frankfurt. Unfortunately, we missed an early direct train and boarded a train to Darmstadt instead.
In Darmstadt, we decided to explore a little rather than continue immediately to Heidelberg. We took an Uber to see the Russian church and the Wedding Tower in Mathildenhöhe, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Afterward, we leisurely strolled to Luisenplatz. After four weeks without Chinese food, we craved it and found a vendor in a mall near the square serving crispy duck over noodles and stir-fried vegetables with tofu. The meal was delicious, and as we've come to expect, the crispy duck in Europe didn't disappoint—priced the same as chicken dishes.
We didn’t stay in Darmstadt long and caught a train to Heidelberg right after lunch. An Uber took us to the funicular station up to Heidelberg Castle. Though the castle has been destroyed several times, it is considered one of the best castle ruins in the world. This iconic structure, perched on a hill overlooking the city, is a mix of Gothic and Renaissance architecture. It houses the famous Heidelberg Tun, a massive wine barrel—the largest in the world—once used for tax collection as winemakers paid their taxes in wine. The castle offers stunning views of the city and the Old Bridge over the Neckar River.
After visiting the castle, we opted to walk down the hill to the Old Town rather than take the funicular. The Old Town was vibrant and beautiful, with plenty of cafes and restaurants. We sat down for traditional German food. Besides the schnitzel dish, we ordered sausage salad to get some greens, expecting something similar to a chicken salad in the States—meat on top of vegetables. Instead, the salad consisted entirely of sliced sausage. We remembered making the same mistake two years ago! The salad was tasty but just too much sausage.
After dinner, we hurried back to the train station to return to Frankfurt.
Tomorrow, we fly home with Condor, a direct flight to Phoenix. In five weeks, we traveled across eight countries and territories, stopping at 20 destinations. We had a wonderful time and experienced some once-in-a-lifetime moments. We’ll be back on the road again soon.
海德堡-该回家了
2024年8月7日：我们两年前曾来过法兰克福 (Frankfurt)，所以今天决定去城外来个一日游。考虑了几个候选地，最后选择了海德堡 (Heidelberg)，只需乘火车一小时二十分钟即可到达。但我们错过了早班直达火车，之后的火车都必须在另一小镇达姆施塔特 (Darmstadt)转车，于是我们临时决定索性也顺路去达姆施塔特转一转。
到了达姆施塔特后，我们叫了一辆优步 (Uber)，前往马蒂尔登山 (Mathildenhöhe) 的俄罗斯教堂 (Russian Church) 和婚礼塔 (Wedding Tower)，这里是联合国教科文组织世界遗产地，这二个也算是这小镇最有代表性的景点了。之后我们走到镇中心的路易森广场 (Luisenplatz)。离家到现在没吃过中餐，我们开始想念它。于是在广场旁的一家购物中心找到一个摊位，点了脆皮鸭，豆腐炒蔬菜和炒面。味道非常棒，正如我们预期的那样，欧洲的脆皮鸭从未让我们失望过，价格与鸡肉菜相同。
在达姆施塔特我们没有逗留太久，午饭后便搭上火车前往海德堡。一辆优步 (Uber) 带我们到达海德堡城堡 (Heidelberg Castle) 的缆车站，乘坐斜坡缆车到了城堡。虽然这座城堡曾多次被摧毁，但它被认为是世界上保存最好的城堡废墟之一。这座标志性建筑坐落在俯瞰城市的山丘上，是哥特式和文艺复兴式建筑的混合体。城堡内有著名的海德堡大酒桶 (Heidelberg Tun)，这是世界上最大的酒桶，曾用作税收工具，酿酒师们以葡萄酒缴税。站在城堡上可以欣赏到城市和内卡河 (Neckar River) 上的老桥 (Old Bridge) 的绝美景色。
参观完城堡后，我们选择步行下山前往老城区 (Old Town)，而不是乘坐缆车。老城区不仅漂亮而且非常有生机，一条长长的主街上是数不尽的咖啡馆和餐馆。我们坐下来享用传统的德国美食。除了必点的炸猪排 (Schnitzel) ，我们还点了香肠沙拉 (Sausage Salad) 想以此来增加一些绿叶菜，我们以为会像美国的鸡肉沙拉 (Chicken Salad) 一样——肉在蔬菜上面。然而，一大盆沙拉上来全是切成条状的香肠，不见蔬菜。我们这时候突然想起来两年前在德国也犯了同样的错误！虽然沙拉味道不错，但香肠实在太多了。晚餐后，我们坐火车返回法兰克福 。
明天，我们将乘坐德国康多航空 (Condor) 的直航班机从法兰克福飞回凤凰城 (Phoenix)。在五周的时间里，我们游历了七个国家和一个地区(英属直布罗陀），在22个城市/小镇停留。我们度过了美好的时光，留下了难忘的记忆。期待下一次。
