The Incredible View of Heidelberg

   The day after Freiburg, We decided to go to Heidelberg, Germany. The city has the ruins of an amazing castle, and we went on the perfect day because there had been a light rain which cast the city into a mist that made for a mysterious journey and view to and from the castle. After hiking an extremely steep cobblestone path up to the castle, I paid 3 Euros to gain access to the inside of the castle and it was the best 3 Euros I have ever spent! The view from the castle was incredible because the entire city was laid out before your eyes. Towering churches and cathedrals, the Nekar River flowing under the arched bride, and the clouds of mist over the lush green mountains was an impressive sight. I haven't seen anything like this before. It was here that I realized something about German cities.
   When you look down upon a German city, every building and structure has it's place among the others. A city looks like a unified group set to a certain theme. This is what I saw in Heidelberg. There was the traditional orange roofing upon almost every building and it contrasted nicely with the rich green colors of the forest surrounding them. Even the castle, built way back in about 1214, matched the theme of the city, showing that the people who live there really respect and care for their own heritage. People in the U.S. occasionally do this sort of thing, however most of the time it seems that buildings are just placed haphazardly without regard to the way it fits in with other structures.
   Now that I have bored you with my civil engineering side, let me tell you about the actual castle. When I talked to Klaus about Heidelberg, he said that the castle was built to look like ruins. What remains of the castle is definitely ruins now, but even so, the castle is still able to maintain its former glory. Steep walls and facades give the structure an incredible height that bring your eyes upward to where the roof used to be. One of my favorite parts were all the rectangular openings of windows that were standing like the skeleton of the building exposed but still magnificent.
   The castle also had remnants of a garden, definitely not the beauty it used to be, but still interesting. The bottoms of the fountains and pools were plastered with algae, but I prefer it this way because it add authenticity to their actual age. I came to see haunting castle ruins, not expensive restorations. Below are some pictures.

(Note: This as written waaaayyyy after I went to Heidelberg. I'm such a busy, busy boy.)