Heidelberg Castle And Funicular
I went up the Heidelberger Bergbahn funicular to see Heidelberg Castle.
It was after this trip, that my camera battery finally gave out.
So it was just a rush back to get my train to Cologne for Brussels.
If you are a bit nervous about funicular railways, as C was, then this railway would be a good one on which to excise your fears.
Exploring Heidelberg
In the morning it was still wet, but at least it wasn’t raining hard. So I checked out of the hotel early and moved my bag to a left luggage locker at the station. I then bought myself a one day tram ticket for Heidelberg and started to explore.
I started in the centre and had a good breakfast of an omelette, juice and coffee in a cafe by the Rathaus.
It would appear that this is generally a safe breakfast in Germany for a coeliac, just like it was in Poland.
Welcome To Heidelberg
Up till now, I’d had extremely good weather on my trip.
But I was welcomed in Heidelberg, by one of the heaviest rain storms, I’d seen in a long time. I walked dripping wet into the Tourist Office and we had a big laugh about it.
So I immediately took a taxi to the hotel and instead of exploring Heidelberg in the evening, as I’d intended, I stayed in the hotel and had supper. But sadly the television didn’t even have CNN, as it seemed the rain had got into their satellite feed.
In fact, since I left Poland, I had been unable to find any BBC channels or France 24 on the television.
The White Crosses
The White Crosses are a memorial to those who died at the Berlin Wall.
The White Crosses
Time dictated that I didn’t have enough tiome to visit the actual wall. Perhaps next time?
Pancakes In Berlin
I like my crêpes, but these were just ordinary pancakes, as they weren’t made from buckwheat.
Pancakes In Berlin
A pity really, as when I saw the stall, I felt I’d like one!
Berlin’s Pseudo-Tourist Buses
Berlin has a short bus route numbered 100 across the centre using double-deck buses, that doubles as both a tourist and a general route. It passes a lot of the main tourist sites in a similar way to London’s route 11.
Use of this route is included in the Berlin Day Transport Ticket. I caught the bus from the Zoological Garden.
Like New Buses for London, they have two staircases.
The Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church
The Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church is one of the landmarks of Berlin.
The Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church
I remember standing here a few years ago with C discussing the merits of one of the most radical reconstructions of a bomb-damaged church. I think we disagreed, in that she disliked it and I liked it.
It is certainly a different approach to that used at Coventry Cathedral.
In some ways though perhaps the approach taken at Liverpool with the church of St. Luke is more honest, as you are showing war in all its horror. It was after all, C’s favourite church.
In some ways that fact, illustrates her attitude to religion. When I met her, she went to church regularly and had even as a fifteen-year-old a few years earlier, made the decision to change parishes. By the time she died in terrible pain, she had no faith left!
She would be horrified at what is going on in the world in the name of religion. Surely no-one of a sane mind could approve some of the atrocities perpetrated in the name of gods in the last few years.
Surely now over 70 or so years after the end of the Second World War and over fifty years after he first performed it, Bob Dylan’s, With God On Our Side rings even more true.
Dating A Building In Berlin
I saw this next to my hotel in Berlin.
Dating A Building In Berlin
I can’t say I’ve seen anything so honest elsewhere giving the date of a building.
Would I Go Back To Warsaw Again?
Most certainly! But I’d certainly stay in a different hotel.
I’d also plan it better, as there is lots to see that I didn’t!
Breakfast By A Hard Rock Cafe
As the hotel food was so unobtainable and about as likely to be as gluten-free as a lorry load of freshly harvested wheat, I decided to get my breakfast on the walk to the station, where I would get my train to Berlin.
I had an excellent omelette with a wide range of identifiable fillings, a proper cup of tea and a large glass of orange juice, served by a charming waitress, whose English was better than wot mine is in a small cafe next to the Hard Rock one.
Breakfast By A Hard Rock Cafe
It’s underneath the white umbrellas in the picture.
The Anonymous Widower 