Philosophenweg

Philosophenweg in English means the philosopher's walk! This hike was so amazing that my friends and I did it both on Saturday and Sunday this weekend! It is a small hill on the other side of the river from the altstadt (old town) with steep cobblestone switchbacks, beautiful views of the castle and altstadt, forest covered paths, church ruins, and a Nazi era amphitheater. The weather was nice and it was quite breathtaking to stand in the large amphitheater, hearing the projection of voices from one end to the other just as it must have done during the Heidelberg meetings many years ago. The amphitheater is situated between two sets of church ruins from about 1000 AD. Both churches still had lookout towers standing, and it was really interesting to see the contrast between the medieval Heidelberg and World War 2 era Heidelberg. This contrast, of medieval and modern, is still really apparent throughout the city itself, and is one of the reasons why Heidelberg is so interesting. 

The view from the top of the switchbacks

The view from the tower at the top!

The Germans know how to make a playground. Serious business

Sunset over the Neckar River

Thingstätte Amphitheate- seats 8,000

The stairs in the seating section of the amphitheater

St. Michael's church ruins

St. Michael's

 

I almost forgot! After we descended the hill, we were obviously hungry, tired, and a little bit chilled. In true German fashion, we walked into the Marktplatz (Market square) at the end of the altstadt and directly into a music festival! As we walked by, a lovely man was handing out free pretzels for all who were around.  This pretzel was golden, unsalted, crisp on the outside and soft and doughy on the inside- just as it should be :)