The Beautiful Heidelburg

Day 09: Gensingen to Ubrigshausen, somewhere between Stuggart and Nurnberg.

Last nights camping spot was suprisingly quite and without a tree over Doris we managed to sleep the best we’ve done so all trip. That meant after an eventful seasons end to season one of The Last Kingdom, we had a little lie in.

Much welcomed was the extra sleep, we got out of bed, pottered around, make coffee, showered and tidied the van to an appropriate standard and decided today would be not much of a day in regards to doing and more of a reset day for everything.

After another hour or so of lounging around, reading books and listening to birdsong we decided it was time to make a move and get started with the day. The first stop would be Heidelburg, which was about 65/70 minutes drive from where we had stayed the night.

A relatively uneventful drive into the city and we were greeted with what looked like a lovely quaint and beautiful one. With Doris parked up, free might I add, it was time to sort our first laundry session out for the trip. Perfect timing really because I’d only packed 7 pairs of pants and was on a pair of shorts with a lining in for Day 08, god forbid having to wear pants twice without a wash!

Whilst the now washed washing was in the dryer we took a quick walk through the city and to Aldi. We needed meat for the evening and a snack, of course. It’s a simple life when your main jobs of the day are to find somewhere to sleep and ensure you’ve got a meat and a snack for the evening meal.

Meat and snacks acquired and clothes now dry it was a short walk back to Doris in the glorious German sunshine. Yes, I did just swear. GERMAN SUNSHINE! I imagine the same feeling when finding rocking horse poop. We were shocked, but made the most of it with a beautiful walk along the river Necker.

Heidelberg is home to the oldest university in Germany which was built in 1386. Today it’s still hugely populated by students with 25% of it’s 150,000 being students.

Which would explain a strange event that seemed to be a school leavers party on the banks of the river today. Lots of teens, controlled by police, drinking and partying at 2PM. Strange, but impressed that the police were managing so many students well.

The river and its surrounding city is beautiful. Old buildings, the castle, a church, old bridges, it really is a picturesque city to visit. The old town and the old bridge are both beautiful and date back to somewhere around the 1760’s. I always find old buildings impressive, especially when they’re still standing with little to no restoration work.

Lots of birdlife make use of the river and it’s banks too. Like this little cuties!

The next location in Germany for us is Rothenburg ob Der tauber, which is a stunning medieval town. Unfortunately it was a little out of Doris’ reach for one days worth of driving. But we’ll use the extra rest and energy for an early morning start.

From Rothenburg, we’re going to head into Nurnberg, and then continue east until we leave Germany and enter Czech Republic. We’ll spend a couple of days there and explore through Prague and then head back North where we’ve some castles, bridges and of course Berlin to explore.

Days like today where it feels nothing has been achieved it’s easy to feel a little disheartened. It can feel like you’ve not made the most out of your day. But I keep reminding myself that this is now life. The next 350 days or so, it doesn’t matter what time I wake up or whether I accomplish much. It’s about enjoying the process of travel and writing new memories.

Tonights camping location: Ostertag Wohnmobilpark, Kupfer. (CamperContact:41394)