CHAPTER 13. ROMANTIC ROAD, GERMANY CONT.

On the way out of Rothenburg we stop at a small laundromat where a young man who says he has visited the U.S. 5 times is starting a laundry and dry cleaning business. With clean clothes we drive north on the Romantic Road thru a very pretty valley to Weikersheim and stop to look at the castle and the statues in caricature in the park. We have a good bratwurst lunch at the Gruener Hof Hotel before following the Michelin Hohenlohe route to Bad Friedrichshall, then down the Neckar River valley to Eberbach and the Hotel Karpfen. It is still sunny and hot; the Neckar is full of barge traffic; and roses are in bloom everywhere.

Leaving Eberbach we visit the supermarket for snack food then drive down the wooded and green Neckar Valley in continuing clear hot weather. We go up to the Hirschhorn Castle to see a panoramic view of the valley, then on to Heidelberg before noon.

The hotel we had picked from the Michelin Red Guide is full so we go to the information office at the Hauptbanhof (railroad station) and get a room at the Ballmann Hotel. We have a good nicoise salad lunch at Da Mario Restaurant then walk down to the Neckar River and on to the University. It is on flat land, and there are pleasant courtyards and outdoor cafes, but few students so we assume no classes are underway. We take a bus back to the hotel, almost with heat exhaustion; a cold shower helps, then later we have pizza at Da Mario.

For our second day in Heidelberg we drive up to the castle in heavy traffic and join the many other tourists. We park above the gardens and walk thru them and around the castle to the courtyard. There are so many tours and tourists that we don’t compete to see the interior of the castle, but instead return to the hotel for an afternoon of rest and a good Italian meal at Da Mario’s.

This morning it is not as hot in Heidelberg as we check out of the hotel, pick up the Herald Tribune at the railroad station, and take the autobahn south to Baden Baden seeing mostly hay and grain fields along the way. We walk the promenade from the Casino to the Rose Garden, which is pretty in full bloom. Back at the Convention Center we have a good buffet salad bar for lunch.