For those of you who are not familiar with Heidelburg (I know I wasn't until last summer), it is a university town in Germany. Heidelburg University has been around, well, forever. And I'm not using a lot of hyperbole there. The University has been around since 1386, and the Philosopher's Path hike, which overlooks the town, has been around even longer - people have been hiking the path for 2400 years. Celts, Romans, Germans, etc. You name a group, that group has probably made the pilgrimage.
Last summer, my husband and I hiked the Philosophers Path with a small group of other travelers and a guide. The hike was roughly 4.5 miles, which is on the shorter side, but it covered a surprisingly diverse area for such low mileage. The hike started with walking out of the city, over the River Ill, passing the beautiful architecture, but we quickly moved our way up the side of the mountain, via a series of switchbacks through a forest.
When you reach the peak of the hike, you find roman ruins, a monastery, and the ruins of a Nazi amphitheater. The spectrum of what is at the top, to me, really demonstrates how long individuals have been making the hike. There is so much history at the top....There is also a beer garden and restaurant. I mean, a monastery and a old Nazi amphitheater are pretty intense, so it was nice to have something else to cut the tension, even if it seemed somewhat misplaced. The group stopped for a snack.
I ordered an apple strudel, assuming it was a German thing. It isn't - apparently we can thank Austrians for that scrumptious dish. We can further thank the waitress for shutting down my romantic notion of having a German dish at the top of a German hike. But it was delicious, even if it negated any health benefits of the hike and had nothing to do with Germany.
The hike back down the mountain transitioned from switchbacks to old, steep, stone stairs that take you through mountainside gardens. The gardens are private gardens that have been passed down for generations through families. They are not for sale and can only be obtained through inheritance. I am not sure how long it takes those who tend to the gardens to get there, but I am guessing it is not convenient. Due to the gardens being nestled into the steep side of a mountain, there are not a ton of houses nearby the gardens, even towards the tail end of the hike. However, the homes that are located in that section of the hike are stunning structures built in the 1800s for the university professors (talk about a great gig), but now the homes have mostly been converted to apartments. Still stunning.
The hike back down allowed for a beautiful view of the city. There were a number of large churches, but the one that stood out was built in 1386. No one is quite sure how old the city is, but the oldest document they can trace from the city is dated 1197, so the city is long in the tooth. The church was largely in ruins. It had been destroyed, like most castles in the region, in 1689. I can't figure out why anyone used to build castles because based on what I learned on our trip, it was pretty much guaranteed that someone was going to come try to conquer your castle and/or burn it to the ground.
When we got to the bottom of the stairs, we crossed the bridge back into Heidelberg. It was amazing to think that people had been entering the city using that bridge for hundreds of years.
If you ever find yourself in or near Heidelberg, I recommend the Philosopher's Path hike. It feels very humbling to hike where people have sojourned for many, many centuries. It reminds you of your smallness, which I contend at times is a good thing. Being reminded of your smallness keeps your narcissism in check. When you are reminded of your smallness, and all that came before you and will hopefully come after you, it reminds you that time is precious and short, so there is not much point wasting time on things that aren't positive contributions.
We closed out the hike with what is supposed to be the best gelato in Germany. I do not know if it was, but it was pretty delicious. And yes, for a tally that is a short hike that includes strudel and gelato. But...when in Germany? (be a glutton for Austrian and Italian dishes?).
I would be also be remiss if I did not mention the discussion we had on the hike with one of the other travelers, who is an exotic pet veterinarian. We asked him the weirdest pet ever brought in. He said it wasn't totally crazy (it was a baby lion, which I find crazy), but the woman who brought it in arrived in a tiger print bikini. Do you think that she just doesn't own a lion bikini? Does she have a tiger at home? I would probably try to have layers on if I was with a lion, or even at a vet's office. Food for thought.
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