Monday the 1/8/16  our ship docked in Mainz  .

We had two choices today a Mainz culinary walking tour of roughly 3 hours or a visit to Heidelberg Castle and The Old Town of Heidelberg. We 3 Sisters chose the Castle.

Heidelberg Castle is built on the northern slope of the Königstuhl mountain,and the views over the Neckar valley, and to the old town of Heidelberg are nothing but spectacular.

The castle goes back in history to about 1300.  You can feel the history as you walk around ruins.  Poets and artists around the world have fallen for the romance that seeps out of every corner. “Mark Twain   described the castle was “deserted, discrowned, beaten by the storms, but royal still, and beautiful”.

The Castle has some interesting claims to fame.  It has the worlds largest wine barrel. The barrel was used to collect wine as a tithe from the local population.  Yes its huge!  There is also a legend that if you can bite through the iron door knocker on the thick wooden door into the private courtyard, the Castle is yours!   We 3 did not get a chance to test out teeth on this door knocker, but I am sure we could have bitten through. Lightning has also struck the castle twice, once in 1537 and again in 1764.

The sun was shinning on the day we were there. Beautiful courtyards with cobblestones that have been there for centuries.   Grassed areas where once the castle moats would have been.

I could have stayed  there all day, looking out over the valley and down onto the Neckar River.

To make it even more amazing, I was able to share  this beautiful, stunning Castle with my sisters.

Next blog will be about our time in the Old Town of Heidelberg.