Germany Part I | Cologne Cathedral, Heidelberg Castle

Heidelberg

We went to Germany after Netherlands and spent 1 night in Koblenz & 3 nights in Ulm, though the all places we visited were at least an hour away from where we stayed (did it for the cheap accommodation!!).

Cologne

One of the most typical places to visit when you are in Cologne is the Cologne cathedral. This majestic Roman Catholic cathedral is one of Germany's most visited landmarks and it has a history that's almost as old as the city. Construction of this building began in the 1200s and was only completed in 1880 (it took 600 years to complete??!) and it has been well maintained until now! The cathedral is the city's second tallest structure and you can pay 4 Euros to climb up more than 570 stairs of the cathedral tower to get a beautiful view of the city but we decided to skip that.

The inside of the cathedral is just as majestic as it is on the outside

Gelato for dessert

Hohenzollern Bridge, Cologne's love locks bridge, where couples fix padlocks with their names written or engraved to as a symbol of their everlasting love, is also another must-visit attraction in this city. This 409 metres bridge that crosses the river Rhine is the most heavily used railway bridge in Germany.

Heidelberg

Another place that we went in Germany was Heidelberg and while we were there we visited one of its landmarks, the Heidelberg Castle. The palace ruin is situated 80 metres up the northern part of the Königstuhl hillside and it looks amazing from the city below. The castle has an old and eventful history and it has been through cycles of construction and destruction. Couples can also make bookings and get married at the romantic castle ruin!

The powder tower

The powder tower is one of the famous parts of the ruins and it was destroyed by an explosion by the French in 1689. It was built in 1490ish and was used to store gun powder.

Entrance ticket to the inside of Heidelberg Castle - 7 Euros

You can see a lot of the castle without purchasing a ticket but you get to visit exclusive places with a ticket.

Inner courtyard

Friedrich building

The Friedrich building was commissioned by Elector Friedrich IV and built between 1601 and 1604. It was used for residential apartments and a chapel in the basement.

View of the Heidelberg town from the castle

Ottheinrich building

Built between 1556 and 1559 by Elector Ottheinrich, the originally four-storey building was used for residential rooms, audience room, the Herrensaal (Knights' Hall) and a large ballroom. Due to a fire in 1764 the building was left with its facade and only the ground and first floors survived.

View of the town from a different point on the castle

Besides the impressive ruins, the castle is also famous for being the home to the world's largest wine barrel. It was built in 1750 and was used to hold the Tithe Wine from the Palatinate. 130 trunks of oak were used to make the barrel and it can hold 58,000 gallons! There's a platform on the barrel where visitors can climb up to.

The Great Barrel

We took the funicular from the palace to the Altstadt (German for old town) which took only a few minutes.

The Church of The Holy Spirit

We walked around exploring the town and had lunch at a local restaurant in Hauptstrasse (Main Street). The weather was good that day so we sat and ate outdoors.

German beer!

Rose ice cream for dessert

We also visited another well-known tourist attraction in Heidelberg, the Karl Theodor Bridge. Also known as the Old Bridge, it crosses the Neckar River, connecting the Altstadt with the eastern end of the Neuenheim district. We walked on the bridge and the view of the town from there is just lovely!