Parallel Activities

It is a positive feature of CLOG away breaks that there are generally a number of parallel activities. This accords with the tried and tested CLOG philosophy of "multi-activity away breaks". So, on our away break in Heidelberg, while our walks were an important focus, e-biking was a novel attraction for some of us, and we found that the Heidelberg area was an absolute gold mine for those espousing the historical dimension. On our first day we had some low cloud. Otherwise, our weather was warm and sunny, without any heatwave. Just right for all that we were able to fit into a week's visit.

On Sonja's walk on Wednesday, we make a short stop at one of the typical huts in Odin's Forest.
Next stop Neckargemuend on the River Neckar.

Our Activities Day by Day

Sunday: We Arrive
- Initial Familiarization. [Link] We came by plane, train and bus or a combination thereof. Most of us flew in via Frankfurt, but some came via Stuttgart. Taking the train all way was another option for some of us.
- Our Evening at "Hackteufel" We arrived at different times, but those of us arriving by about 7:30 pm had a chance to meet up and go to the "Hackteufel" restaurant close to Heidelberg's Old Bridge. At the restaurant we had our introduction to the local brew and gastronomy.

Monday: Walking

Here we are on the Philosophers' Way
I think we all managed to get into the picture!
- Local Walk - Philosophy is the Theme! [Link] On this sightseeing walk (led by Eric) we stayed local since the cloud was low. First we climbed up to the famous Philosophers' Walk. Then we headed for the squat Bismarck Tower; Bismarck was a famous 19th century statesman - to whom we can attribute the introduction of pensions! However, it was the open-air theatre, higher up the hill, which made us think and "philosophize" about past events that shaped the 1930s and 1940s.
- Our Evening at Vetter's In the evening quite a number of us went to Vetter's (also near the Old Bridge), and enjoyed the beer and local cuisine.

Tuesday: Walking & Sightseeing

Here are some of us on the "Scheffel Terrace" by Heidelberg Castle.
We shall shortly be walking up the "Ladder to Heaven" to the "King's Chair".
(No funicular for us today!)
- Walking - Heidelberg to Neckargemuend. [Link] On our walk we scaled the "Ladder to Heaven" to the King's Chair, thus avoiding the funiculars. From there we went through the forest, via the Kohlhof and the Roebuck Cliff, to Neckargemünd. Eric did the honours, although at a modest pace up the "Ladder to Heaven"!
- Sightseeing - Palace of Schwetzingen. Julie (our history expert) led a visit to the famous Palace of Schwetzingen just to the west of Heidelberg.
- Our Second Evening In the evening some of us dined at a restaurant around the corner from the Holy Ghost Church. We made this choice since in Heidelberg most restaurants get quite crowded by about 7pm. We happened to be the only guests in this restaurant, perhaps because it was going on for 8pm.

Wednesday: Walking - Sonja's Day.

On Wednesday, Sonja led a 13-mile day's walk through Odin's Forest,
and arranged a nice evening meal for us at Heidelberg's "Kulturbrauerei".
- Walking - King's Chair via Dilsberg to Neckarsteinach. [Link] This was Sonja's walk. We took the Funicular to the King's Chair and then walked to Neckargemünd, to Dilsberg with its Castle and to Neckarsteinach. This gave us all a flavour of Odin's Forest.
- Our Evening at the "Kulturbrauerei". This was arranged by Sonja - so Wednesday was Sonja's Day! Our meal was moderately late in the evening, but fitted nicely in with the end of Sonja's walk. (See Kulturbrauerei).

Thursday: Sightseeing, e-Biking & Walking

Here are some of us at the "Roebuck Cliff" on Thursday's circular walk, based on Neckargemuend, and taking in Dilsberg and the 4 castles at Neckarsteinach.
- Sightseeing - Palace of Bruchsal. Julie led this visit to the reasonably nearby Palace of Bruchsal. (See Baroque Bruchsal.) This Baroque-style palace dates from between 1719 and 1743 and contains a collection of "music machines".
- E-Biking - up to the King's Chair Melissa, Penny and Phil took at advantage of the added power of e-bikes to cycle up to the King's Chair (567.8 m, 1863 ft) from our base in Heidelberg (114 m 374 ft). This implied a height difference of at least 453.8 m or 1489 ft! (I say "at least" because there are many "ups and downs" between start and finish.) This bike excursion would have been extremely challenging with traditional bikes!
- Walking - Neckargemund Circular via Dilsberg [Link] This walk took us from Neckargemünd past the Roebuck Cliff up to the erstwhile fortified town of Dilsberg with its Castle. Having admired the view, we continued our walk on the north side of the Neckar, via Neckarsteinach, where we explored two of the four mediaeval castles, before returning through the forest to Neckargemünd.
- Our Evening We would return at different times, so we all "did our own thing". Some of us took advantage of the excellent grocery shop nearby in the High Street and ate in at the hostel.

Friday: Sightseeing & e-Biking

We rounded off a day's sightseeing in Speyer by enjoying some local beverages
in the town's picturesque "Little Finland" district.
- Sightseeing - Speyer. [Link] Julie led this visit to the historic city of Speyer. The Romanesque Speyer Cathedral was the burial place of eight Holy Roman Emperors, from Conrad II (+1039) to King Albert I (+1308). When we arrived, we enjoyed morning coffee by the mediaeval town gate. Before we left, we enjoyed afternoon beverages in an area best described as "Little Finland".
- E-Biking - up to the White Stone Melissa, Penny and Phil again took at advantage of the added power of e-bikes, this time to cycle up to the "White Stone" (548 metre, 1798 ft) north of the Neckar from our base in Heidelberg (114 m 374 ft). This implied a height difference of at least 434 m or 1424 ft! Again, this would have been extremely challenging with traditional bikes!
- Our Evening Many of those in Julie's party stopped off at the "Red" Vegan Food restaurant near Heidelberg's main train station, while some of us took advantage of the excellent grocery shop in the High Street near the Lotte Hostel and enjoyed eating in at the hostel.
Saturday: Sightseeing & Walking

On our walk on the north side of the River Neckar we stopped off in the "Biergarten" at the "White Stone", a restaurant hiding in the middle of Odin's Forest.
- Sightseeing - Rastatt. Julie led this visit to the historic town of Rastatt with its Baroque influences and its palace "Schloss Rastatt". Rastatt is on the western perimeter of the Black Forest on the route from Heidelberg to Basle in Switzerland, but we found the train journey from Heidelberg easy and doable.
- Walking - Neckargemuend to Heidelberg [Link] This walk took us from Neckargemünd through the forest to Heidelberg. On the way we stopped off at the "White Stone", the restaurant in the middle of the forest. Melissa and Co visited this restaurant on Friday on one of their e-bike excursions.
- Sightseeing - Sinsheim Museum. Phil visited the Auto & Technik Museum Sinsheim. This is a mecca for those interested in cars, planes (including a Concorde and a Concordsky), trains and military vehicles. It was only about an hour's journey on the S-Bahn from Heidelberg.

Sunday: We Say Goodbye
- Auf Wiedersehen Heidelberg! [Link]. Our last day had come and it was time to say our goodbyes. We had seen a lot and done a lot. We would take the memories with us as we headed for the plane and train. Perhaps it could be "Auf Wiedersehen".

Summing Up

So, as you can see, there was plenty to do! Apart from some interesting low cloud on Monday, our first full day, we had very good weather for walking, biking and sightseeing - sunshine but none of the summer heat wave. Into six full days we were able to fit five days for walks, four days for sightseeing and two days for e-biking, with anything up to three separate activities on any one day! And of course, there was the evening dining! New experiences! We had enjoyed ourselves, and that was the main thing! There was never a dull moment. We all had a good time! That's how we like CLOG away breaks!

If you ever yearn for a tabular approach to life's activities, then you could do worse than indulge your wishes in an "ActivityTable", seen here in all its splendour!

Activity Table
Six Full Days : Monday to Saturday : September 09 to 14