Heidelberg - The Philosopher's Path

The name Heidelberg has a ready association with beer, ancient man, a famous castle, a prestigious university and an inseparable connection with German romanticism which is what likely draws its 4 million visitors each year.  Old Heidelberg is tucked on a narrow conduit of living space along the Neckar River.  Mountain ridges rise precipitously on either side, making for a picturesque setting with a rather elongated town layout.  The romantic charm is apparent  throughout this idyllic setting.

The castle is propped up on a ridge and is accessible
by a tram that negotiates the 37.8% grade in less than two minutes. It was a warm day so we opted for the easy route.  Entry was five euros, so I was expecting a little more than average.  I was not disappointed.  The castle has undergone several rebuilding phases,  each representing different architectural influences.  The grounds and gardens have extensive greenbelts.  The gardens were regarded as a masterpiece of their time.  They were built upon a number of terraces consisting of flower beds, mazes and arbors, sculptures, a heated greenhouse with orange trees, large fish ponds, waterfalls and a man-made grotto for musical water arts.
Attempts have been made to reconstruct older parts of the castle and construction was taking place while we were there.  This was, by definition, a castle complex, intended to provide all the accouterments of power and wealth.  Of note on this site was the addition of an apothecary, now expanded into a museum devoted to the history of pharmacy and dispensaries.  The collection includes over 1,000 raw drugs from plant, animal and mineral sources of the 17th through to the 19th century.  The tools, instruments of measurement, laboratory, manuscripts and pharmacopoeias illustrate the energy devoted to managing the illnesses of their times.

The picture on the right depicts the effects of a major fire caused by a lightening strike.  The heat weakened a fissure in the rocks resulting in half the superstructure breaking away.  In addition, this castle fell victim to a number of other destructive forces.  The Thirty Years War saw many castles in Germany, including this one, destroyed.  The resilient spirit of the Germans has repeatedly reclaimed formerly destroyed sites and masterfully rebuilt them, often back to their former splendor.  Curiously, Heidelberg was not destroyed during the WW II.  Some historians suggested Heidelberg escaped bombing in WWII because the U.S. Army wanted to use the city as a garrison after the war.  As Heidelberg was neither an industrial center nor a transport hub, it did not present a target of opportunity.  


After passing back through the Old Town and across the cobbled Old Bridge over to the other side of the Neckar, you will find the beautiful Philosophers' Path (Philosophenweg).  Said to  
be the most beautiful panorama north of the Alps, this winding path, 200 meter high, offers a fantastic view of Old Town Heidelberg and the ruins of Heidelberg Castle.  It was named after renowned poets and thinkers who came up here to wander, ponder and gather their thoughts.  There is also a  collection of beautiful and exotic plants from all around the world to be enjoyed along the Path.
This last insert is a quote which describes what it is to "truly understand the meaning of what is popularly called the "Heidelberger Dreiklang" (the three "tones" or aspects of Heidelberg):  The Old Town, the Neckar River and the romantic hills surrounding them."

Sinsheim Auto & Technik Museum

This blog entry takes a rather different tack from my normal entries.  We were planning on heading to Ulm to see the world's tallest cathedral and the birthplace of Albert Einstein.  We got a little sidetracked.  Heading south on the autobahn, we approached the city of Sinsheim.  I remembered Elder Dye, the Area Medical Advisor telling about this place.  On the spur of the moment, we decided to have a look and ended up spending the whole day there.
In brief, this city has what must be one of the most comprehensive exhibits of planes, jets, military equipment, automobiles, tractors, trains, motorcycles, racing cars, bicycles and other various and sundry mechanized machinery every collected in one place.  The exhibit covered acres and most of it was indoors with the exception of the planes and military equipment.   They claim in their literature that it is the only place where both a Concorde and a Russian supersonic jet Tupolev Tu- 144  are displayed together. The story of how they got them there alone is quite intriguing. This link has a good cross section of the scope and variety of the exhibits.
Of course, I enjoyed the tractor exhibits.  Those who know me know my penchant for tractors.  The museum would appeal to most everyone, although Arendje did not rank this day trip very high.  It reminded me of the day  we took in an Easter egg exhibit. This I thought was a fair trade.

There were old cars, new cars, fast cars, i.e Lamborghini's and Ferrari's, luxury cars, mini cars, classics, and specialty cars and a few one of a kind automobiles.  German ingenuity and craftsmanship was apparent in the design and features of the the
older automobiles particularly.  Mercedes Benz,  Porsche and other reputable names were well
 represented in the displays.  Many collectors obviously stored their vehicles there.

Spread throughout the 30 thousand square meters of exhibit space were huge train engines, some of which
seemed too big to fit on any track.  Outside was a large collection of military armaments, including tanks, heavy artillery, troop carriers and missile launchers.  Inside were smaller military vehicles, communication devices, examples of every conceivable uniform, guns and personal supplies.  If a picture is worth a thousand words then a lot of books worth of information is contained in this museum.

We took the scenic route back to Frankfurt.  We stopped in a little town of Bad Wimpfen, climbed one of the 12the century city gates and enjoyed a spectacular view of this quaint medieval town.  Every four or five kilometers there is another village or town and many of them warrant a visit.  Each has its appeal, from  the cobblestone streets, to the half timbered houses to the rustic city gates.  The mix of old and new is somehow harmoniously maintained through careful planning and preservation.  You have to love those Germans!

Rheinfels Castle

Among the many fortresses dotting the Rhine there are a select few that stand out for aesthetic reasons, sheer size or their turbulent history.  The castle ruins of Rheinfels lays claim in history as one of the mightiest fortresses in the Middle Rhine region.  The ruins are all we see today.  In spite of its much diminished state, it leaves ample evidence of its impressive battlements and sprawling  dimensions.

We took a self guided tour, reading our way through different sections, visualizing the grandeur of this medieval fortress.  My imagination required little additional support, as around every corner we saw something which bespoke its once proud past.  In some places the walls were 4 meters thick.  Beneath this superstructure is a labyrinth of tunnels, cellars and vaults which held armories, soldier housing and food supplies.  Of course, they also had their wine.  In 1587, a huge barrel was constructed to provide safe storage for 200,000 liters of wine.  This invariably boosted moral and offered some compensation for the cold, damp living conditions the soldiers endured.

Within ten years of construction, in 1245, the fortress was subjected to its first test.  For a year, it withstood a siege before the attacking forces gave up.  In the centuries that followed, it gained importance as a customs castle, reaping the benefits of tolls, taxes and duties of those passing this treacherous part of the Rhine River.  The wealth, power and strategic location of the castle proved it to be a prized possession of the counts, nobles and landgraves, and ultimately it become one of the strongest fortresses in Germany.

In 1692, Louis XIV sent a powerful army to try and take the
castle.  He too was unsuccessful.  The turbulent history of the castle came to an end in 1794, when it was handed over - without a struggle - to the Revolutionary French army.  Sadly the walls and inner castle were destroyed by the French and rocks carted off for projects elsewhere.  A hotel, museum and a few other sundry shops now occupy portions of this grand structure.

St. Goar is the small town that lies at the foot of the castle and is a
key stopping point for cruise boats going up and down the Rhine. We made it a day with about 15 other couples taking in a relaxing Rhine cruise past the fabled Loreley.  Arendje took advantage of the extra people to get a picture.  She said she wanted a bear hug and I was nowhere around.  I was looking at cuckoo clocks.

On the boat we were serenaded by a throng of German tourists, doing what good Germans do, celebrating a beautiful day in their beautiful country, by singing songs and otherwise having a good time.

Messel Pit - A Fossil Site

Ranking high on the world list of fossil sites is Grube Messel, just south of Frankfurt Germany.  In what was once a crater lake, near perfect specimens of 47 million years ago were preserved in the fine sediment later to become oil shale.  Designated as a World Heritage Nature Site by Unesco in 1995, paleontologists have been continuously unearthing remarkable specimens of plants, animals, insects and birds.  The Messel Pit is particularly noted for the intricate detail of the species which are retained in the fossil record.  Stomach and bowel contents, hair, feathers, color patterns, even parts of the skin were left intact.  Speculation exists to the this day as to the factors which enabled such preservation.  One of several likely theories suggest that gases emanated from fissures in the lake    
bottom periodically anesthetizing those unfortunate enough
to be nearby.  They also suggest the lake was near stagnant as evidenced by the type of fish that inhabited the lake.  The mud fish I saw in Ontario is virtually a living fossil as it as been around for close to a 100 million years.  It breathes through a lung blister and can survive indefinitely in oxygen deprived environments.  With little oxygen, the bacterial breakdown would be much slower, allowing sediment to cover the remains before they deteriorate significantly.

At this site one of the most spectacular finds of all time was made.  She was affectionately named Ida.  This primate was touted as a possible link in the  evolutionary chain.  Much has been written about her contribution to scientific research.

The wealth of information to be found in Messe

 seems to be inexhaustible and covers an unbelievably wide spectrum.  Conclusions and debate about climatic conditions, continental drift, species migration

 and plant and animal diversity have all spawned from specimens retrieved in the shale.  Several museums in Germany and throughout the world now  have sections devoted to the finds from this site.

Another notable contribution are the numerous examples
of the predecessors of the modern day horse.   The image to the right is typical of a host of equally preserved finds.  This horse was approximately  30 - 35 centimeters at the shoulder,
about the size of a fox terrier.  Wherever you see a fossil specimen of a horse check to see if it came from Messel.

There is an interesting story not only about the site, but its history as an open pit mine and later as a proposed garbage dump site.  The heated and protracted discussions about its destiny went so far as to become an expensive litigious affair costing millions when all was said and done.