Germany: Thursday

We had all day Thursday to do some sightseeing so Ian M. and I caught a train and met Mike (our print buyer who was also in Germany at the time) in Heidelberg for the day. This would be my introduction to the European train system and unfortunetly it didn't go without incident. We made it from Esslingen to Stuttgart just fine. But then we missed our train between Stuttgart and Heidelberg because they changed tracks at the last minute and we didn't hear or understand the announcement. But it wasn't that big of a deal to get new tickets and eventually we made it there. (On the way back we missed our Stuttgart to Esslingen train but that is entirely a different story . . . )


The city of Heidelberg is nestled in a wooded gorge of the Neckar River, bordered by mountains, and can trace its beginnings to the fifth century. The buildings are rich in history and culture and the city is home the University of Heidelberg, the oldest university in Germany. On a personal level, I will always fondly look back at Heidelberg as the place I was introduced to Spetzi, a popular German soda made of Coca-Cola and German Fanta. Heck, ya!


Crossing the Neckar River is the Heidelberg Bridge. Though originally built in the 13th century, it has been rebuilt at least nine times since then due to floods, ice, and wars. Today the bridge has nine red sandstone arches, blending-in perfectly with the same building material used throughout the old town. And on those arches you can see the marked heights and dates of historic and recent floods in the Neckar Valley. There are also numerous adorning statues and towers. One of the most famous is the Brückenaffe, or the Bridge Monkey of Heidelberg. There has been a bridge monkey going as far back as the 15th century, though the current sculpture was installed in 1979. Legend has it that touching the monkey's brass disc brings good luck.


The Heidelberg Castle is considered one of the most important Renaissance structures north of the Alps. It's located about 250 feet up the northern part of the the Königstuhl hillside and therefore dominates the view of the old downtown. The earliest castle structure was built before 1214 and since then there have been additions built, damages due to wars, fires, and lightening strikes, and sections rebuilt again and again. And again. Historical preservation of the castle began in earnest around 1800. Each part of the castle is seeping with history, reflecting a mix of styles from Gothic to Renaissance. And the view of Heidelberg and the Neckar River below is beautiful.


The Heidelberg Printing Machines Company is the largest global manufacturer of offset printing presses and their head offices and Print Media Academy are located in downtown Heidelberg. Completed in 2000, the building is a 50 meter high glass cube chock full of metaphors and symbols alluding to printing processes and the history of printing. We only had time for a shot tour but for someone that loves printing (like me!) it was quite a thrilling sight.


More to come . . .