Heidelberg Schloss (castle)

I finally made it up to the big castle overlooking Heidelberg.

It rained last night, so the temps were significantly cooler today.

Apparently Europe is having a heat wave with temperatures they haven't seen in almost a decade.

So, I woke up to dismally gray skies, which I was happy about.

I took two buses to the base of the mountain, then rode the funicular to the castle. (that was a first for me- I'd never ridden a funicular before. It's basically a tram that travels up the mountain at about a 45 degree angle.)

I loved the castle.
So beautiful,

Even though it is just a big ruin.

It was destroyed 3 times- once in the 30 years war, once by the French, and then a third and final time by a fire caused by lightening.

They restored part of the building over a hundred years ago, but most of what is left is just the stone work, and the facade. (The interior was all wood)

I would walk around trying to imagine the place in it's former glory, imagining I was a princess, or more likely, a servant girl or something.

Apparently they do plays and concerts there in the summer.

Also you can get married in the chapel, (one of the only parts of the castle not destroyed, because it was made of stone), then rent out the King's Hall for your reception afterwards.

On a side note, when I made it to the bottom I was waiting for my bus when this cute little old man approached me. He didn't speak English, in fact he couldn't speak at all, he had a trachea in his throat, he pointed to it and mimicked smoking- anyway, he wanted to tell me (or just anybody) that instead of taking the funicular, he walked up all 300 steps to the castle.