The Heidelberg Blog

How could I forget Heidelberg Zoo?

It's fantastic for kids with such a good selection of animals - for such an average sized home it's incredible that it has such a great zoo.

We last visited at Easter (it takes me a while to post as you can see from this blog....) and they were giving out Kinder chocolate eggs to all children on the gate - nice touch. It was a beautiful sunny day and we easily spent 5 hours there wandering around the animals.

The food on offer was a little basic - sausages and chips really - and not cheap, so if you can it would be a good idea to take a packed lunch with you.

There's a terrific children's playground with plenty of things for younger and older children to play on.

I can't remember, as I post, how much we paid to get in, but it was very reasonable.

I plan to add a page to the main web site singing the praises of this wonderful zoo.

Christmas Markets

The Christmas markets in Heidelberg (of which there are 3 I think) are spread across the different market squares in the old town. The markets aren't particularly big, but they are very nice and a good reason to visit.  Go to the markets in the evening when it's dark, drink a gluehwein and eat a sausage - nothing better. You can also do some of your Christmas shopping - there are lots of stands selling Christmassy type gifts. You'll also find stands selling lots of different cooking herbs - my favourite is the pizza seasoning (pizza gewuerz) - chuck it on top of any pizza you're cooking at home and it will take great. 

How's the weather?

It can get very cold in the winter and very hot in the summer, wet at the tail end of the year and a bit snowy at the beginning of the year. It can get very cold at Christmas, so make sure you buy a lovely hot Gluehwein to warm you up at the Christmas Market!

The best things about living in Heidelberg part 2

Going out in the old town on a summer's evening, eating at an outside table, taking a stroll to the old bridge, an Italian ice cream and cycling home in the wee small hours of the morning. Lovely.

Being a vegetarian in Heidelberg - difficult?

Well, people often think (well people I know anyway) that it must be very difficult to be a vegetarian in Germany. Well have I got news for you - it isn't at all. Germany caters very well for us veggies. There will always be veggie options for you on most menus and those veggie options will be delicious. In the summer, the salads on offer are just the best - even the smallest, most unsavoury looking place will do the most amazing salads.

The only time you really lose out is at the Christmas Markets - there are veggie options of course - but the sausages really do look good and I have to say I have been tempted in the past.

So, if you're a veggie, you'll be fine in Heidelberg - there are even a couple of veggie restaurants.

The best things about living in Heidelberg part 1

When I lived in Heidelberg there were many things that I really liked about the place. One of the things I liked the most was getting around by bicycle. I'd go by bike to work, to the shops and out in the evening. There are bike lanes everywhere and German drivers are very considerate towards cyclists, so it is relatively safe. 

You'll see bikes everywhere in Heidelberg, particularly by the train station. If you have time, you can rent a bike from Eldorado and see Heidelber and the surrounding area by bike.

There are lots of really nice bike excursions you can do - the ones to Schwetzingen, Speyer and Weinheim were my favourites as you spend most of the time on country roads restricted to farm vehicles.

Credit crunch?

A lot of visitors to Heidelberg (and to e-heidelberg.com) come from the USA and the UK. With the economic uncertainty of the last few weeks and the weeks/months (hopefully not years...) to come, it will be interesting to see the impact on tourism to Heidelberg. Heidelberg is a very popular destination for visitors from all over the world, but no matter how popular, if people are concerned about paying their mortgages and keeping their jobs, less money will be spent on luxuries and let's face it, weekends away are a luxury. So far, the number of reservation requests being made on e-heidelberg.com hasn't dropped off, so perhaps things aren't so bad or is it too early to tell?

Should you buy a Heidelberg travel guide?

You can buy travel guides for Heidelberg - all the bookshops in town will sell them - but I wouldn't bother if I were you. You can get all the information you need about Heidelberg at sites lilke this or Wikipedia. You'll just end up carrying a book around Heidelberg that is probably out of date anyway.

How long should your visit to Heidelberg be?

Most people visit Heidelberg for a long weekend. Arrive Thursday evening, have a nice dinner then 2 full days looking around - the castle, the shopping, Philosophenweg, etc - then head off home on Sunday. You could stay longer, but any shorter would leave you feeling that you hadn't seen everything or had seen everything in a bit of a hurry.

Favourite German Dish?

My absolute favourite German dish has got to be kase spaetzle. It's like macaroni cheese (kind of) - with fried onions on top and normally served with a side salad. Very, very filling and best eaten on a cold winters day! Not to be eaten if you're on a diet......

If you're going to try this dish, I'd recommend Thanners.