Day 33 – Heidelberg to Paris to Glasgow to Home

After our experience in Villach missing our connection, we thought it would be best to get an early train to Paris and spend the day there. We said our goodbyes to Bjorn and Dorothea and headed on our way to the train station, picking up an amazing chocolate croissant along the way. We then caught our intercity express train to Paris for our last stop in Europe and the place where we began our trip. As we didn't want to get stuck somewhere again like in Villach, we had set off early giving us some more time in Paris to relax and enjoy the beautiful city.


We arrived at a different train station from the one we left so had to readjust our coordinates before we set off again for the Eiffel Tower. As it was such a beautiful day we decided to do something we hadn't really done all trip, sunbathe!!! We sat on the grass for the next few hours relaxing before setting off to get the bus to Beauvais.

Our 1 1/2 hour journey to the airport was pretty boring as its all motorway but as it was coming to the end of our trip we had time to relax. In what is a tiny airport they managed to sqeeze 4 flight loads of people into the departure lounge but the flight back was slightly better than the one out and we made it back to Prestwick safely.

Day 32 – Heidelberg

As Bjorn had recommended a few things to do, we set off on a walk up the Philosophers Walk which passes yet more university buildings as you climb higher up the hillside. All along the way there are points to stop and enjoy the view over Heidelberg, the castle and the whole valley below. A winding snake path (Schlangenweg) took us back to ground level at the old bridge as we headed for a tour of the Old University.



The University museum has pictures and exhibits from the history of the uni which although were in German, we got a general understanding of anyway. In the same building is the Old Hall in which famous-alumni once defended their dissertation theses, but it is now used as the main banquet hall. There are beautiful paintings and carvings on the walls and ceilings of the hall.

Our next stop was a somewhat unusual one, the Students Prison. Between 1778 and 1914, if a student committed any minor offence in the town such as breach of the peace, being drunk and disorderly or chasing pigs and piglets through the town, they were sentenced to stays in the prison which would last from 1 day up to about 2 months. Although they were locked up in the same building, they could get visits from friends, order meals from restaurants and go to classes. When locked up, most would pass the time by carving or painting drawings and sayings into the furniture and onto the walls and ceilings. Most of these are still on the walls today and although just a house with a few rooms, made for one of the best things we have seen on the trip.



We then made our way up the 315 steps to Heidelberg's most famous attraction, the castle. Although mostly a ruin, the castle is still very impressive and housed many of Germany's past leaders. The oldest parts of the castle are from the 12th century and bits were added on over the years before large parts were destroyed during wars and by fire. The castle also has beautiful gardens and has the largest wood wine cask in the world which contains 221,726 litres and could serve 5,000 guests. We got a guided tour which took us through the history and the different sections of the castle.

Our busy day didn't end there as we got on the funicular railway (Bergbahn) which goes up the large “mountain” which overlooks Heidelberg. The lower section is considered the most advanced cable railway in Germany and the upper section the oldest electric-powered cable car line. We decided to go up to the very top, but as we stepped on at the bottom, Sam didn't really like it as we started our climb so we only made it half way up. Sam decided it was then best to walk back down which didn't take long and kept us fit anyway.

We had a look around the shops before heading back to Bjorn's for some dinner and chat. Omelette was on the menu for tonight and it was pretty simple, some croutons, egg, milk and butter, and it tasted great and its so quick to make. We then chatted about everything from politics and economics to religion and sport. We were fascinated by all the things we learned and how much Bjorn knew about everything!!! Although Dorothea was extremely busy with her studies, it was amazing staying with them, they were so friendly and kind and we couldn't have asked for a better first experience of couchsurfing. We hope they will come to Scotland at some point to visit us.

Day 31 - Frankfurt to Heidelberg

Our next trip was one of the shortest we have had so far taking us from Frankfurt to the picturesque city of Heidelberg only one hour away. We chose to take another morning train so we could have time to explore when we arrived before we were to meet our first and only couchsurfer of the trip.

We arrived to yet more rain but only light showers so we dumped our bags in a locker and went into the city centre. Although much smaller than most places we have been to, it has a lot to do and is packed full of history with the city centre being the oldest part. Heidelberg is known as a “University City” due to about 30% of its population attending the uni which is the oldest in Germany being founded in 1386. Whilst walking along the main street, it was obvious how much an influence the university has on the city with numerous buildings and museums along the way. One of the first squares we came to was Universitatsplatz which contains the Old and New University along with the Prison Jail (more to follow tomorrow) and the impressive University Library around the corner. However, some of the buildings are closed on Mondays so we have to wait till tomorrow to see them.



The Library was open though so we wandered in for a look. Lets just say Heriot-Watt library looks like it was built by monkeys compared to this beautiful building. After a quick look around we went further into town going into the Jesuit Church and the Church of the Holy Spirit. We also walked through Karlsplatz and Karls gate, Grain Market and the main Market Square, at each place getting closer to the castle perched above the city.

Once we reached the far end of town, we crossed the Neckar River and walked along the opposite bank to the Karl Theodor Bridge (Old Bridge). The bridge once formed part of the old town wall and is the oldest bridge in the city.

We killed some time and had a pint before heading to the station to get our bags to go and meet Bjorn, our host for the next 2 nights. Couchsurfing is a relatively new thing in the UK but seems much more widespread in Europe and it involves contacting someone wherever you are travelling to and requesting to sleep on their couch/sofa bed. Its as simple as that and it allows you to experience more of the culture of the place you are in but also allows you to make new friends and learn loads. Although we were in Germany, Bjorn is actually from Sweden and lives with his girlfriend Dorothea who is from Germany, so we got the best of both worlds!! They stay in a lovely, trendy apartment in one of the best parts of Heidelberg, a 2 minute walk from the centre and the river and they even have 2 balconies!!!


Although we were a little nervous before meeting them, they were so welcoming and made it much easier for us. They are experienced couchsurfers and Bjorn has hosted over 60 people over the years!!! Bjorn works in nearby Mannheim and Dorothea is studying Law at the university, but both speak 3 languages fluently making us in the UK look pretty lazy.

We had a great chat to begin with before Sam and I went out for some food at a place recommended by Bjorn called Madocs. “Big portions”, he said, I couldn't even finish mine and was probably one of the best meals we have had on the trip.

We headed back to Bjorns for more chat which was absolutely brilliant, finding out about the places he has visited, exchanging stories, chatting about life and telling him about Scotland which was lots of fun before heading to bed.

Day 30 - Baden-Baden

Today we headed south into the Black Forest region to the small town of Baden-Baden. The town is famous for its thermal spa's and guess what, that's why we were going there!! Before coming on this trip today was picked out as one of the highlights as for a minimal fee you get 3.5 hours of pure natural thermal steam baths and pools. It is the only spa in the world to contain a room which is heated directly from natural springs without going through any systems first, so we got the full use of all the minerals and goodness from the ground. During the 3.5 hours you can move between the different areas of the building including warm and hot air baths, thermal steam baths, thermal pools and slightly colder plunge pools and for a little extra cash a soap brush massage, in total 17 different stations to relax in. The hottest part was the hot air bath, which was at 68 °C!!! We could hardly breathe let alone stay in for the advised 5 minutes. We couldn't even sit on the towels we were given to place on the wooden beds it was that hot!! The coldest one however was 18°C, felt like the North Sea to us but we went in anyway. My soap and brush massage was done with a “soft” brush, nearly ripped the hairs off my leg. Sam got the medium one, I would hate to know what that felt like!!! However it was absolutely brilliant and we would definitely go back any day.


We had a lovely meal before deciding to head back to Frankfurt. We did however have our first experience of running for a train. The train we were to catch was arriving 1 minute after we spotted it on the board, but it was arriving on the other side of the station so we made a quick dash down the stairs and managed to catch it. Arriving back in Frankfurt suitably refreshed after our spa we came back to the hotel to refresh for another new city tomorrow.

Day 29 - Frankfurt

You may be wondering why we have come to Frankfurt as its not exactly a tourist destination, but all will be revealed tomorrow. As we ourselves didn't know much about Frankfurt, we found out it was the culture capital of Germany and is also known as the “Little Apple” after New York, so there must be something to see here. We arrived in the city centre to lots of noise so went to investigate. It was coming from the Thai cultural festival and had food, music and of course beer which you can drink in the street. There is a picture below of the only guy dancing on the stage, it was so funny we had to take a picture.



We hung around the stage having a couple of beers before seeing what else was in the city. Although much of the city is made up of high rise offices, there are a few lovely buildings including the cathedral, many churches and the Romer area which is made up of old wood fronted bars and restaurants. While there we had our first experience of the beer bike. This is exactly what the name says, a 4-wheeled bike made up of numerous seats around the edges and a bar in the centre serving beer. Very popular with stag parties, these bikes drive around the city centre powered by the drunken folk peddling on there seats whilst drinking.

We then made our way down to the riverside where we had a relaxing stroll before calling it a night when the temperature dropped to what felt cold, although probably still warmer than home, lol.

Day 28 - Berlin (Zoo) to Frankfurt

Our day started brilliantly today with a lovely first course of breakfast, only when we went up for seconds, our table had been pinched from right under our noses with some awkward Germans refusing to give it up. Thankfully some other tables had just cleared so we could finish our food.

We put our bags in hold as our train wasn't until later in the evening and headed for a fun first visit in years to a ZOO!!!! We can't really remember the last time we had been to one so were like excited little kids as we got to the gates. The first fact about the Berlin Zoo you should know is that the first bomb dropped by the Allied forces on Berlin killed the only Elephant in the zoo. Luckily for us though they had replaced it with more :)



The zoo has almost every type of animal you could think of including an aquarium and reptile centre and its huge so we needed the full 6 hours we had planned to get round everything. We can't list everything we seen but really enjoyed seeing the penguins, kangaroos, fish, panda, polar bear, lions, tigers, rhinos, monkeys, giraffes and elephants. There are more if you are wondering but we don't want to bore you. Some of the animals including the elephants and giraffes had babies recently so it was really cute to see them so small. Here are some of our favourite pictures.










Our action packed day came to an end when we had to leave Berlin and catch our train to Frankfurt (after collecting our bags). Luckily though we had time to wait before our train so managed to catch more of the excellent volleyball tournament which was of a higher standard as it was in the latter stages of the competition e.g. the rubbish countries had been knocked out.

We arrived safely in Frankfurt on our superfast train and went straight to bed after another long day.

Day 27 - Berlin

As we were absolutely shattered from our travels and walking yesterday we had a long lie and headed into the city in the afternoon. We got off at the main station again but this time got a slight surprise when we walked out the building, A BEACH!!! Not just any beach, but the European Beach Volleyball German Masters beach!!! There was one small seated stadium which was quiet with a much larger, rowdier stadium on the other side. What more could you want in a city centre, sun, sand and volleyball!! This then proceeded to take over our plans for the day as we sat for about 4 hours watching some brilliant matches including teams from Britain, Russia, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Estonia and Germany. There are some photos below.




We then had to scrape ourselves away from the action to see more of Berlin. We seen some sights, which you can see below, then headed for Checkpoint Charlie. This was one of the main border crossings of the Berlin Wall and where many of the famous moments during the life of the Wall occurred. There is still a small pillar box in the centre of the road marking the U.S. Army checkpoint and a storyline of the history.

Just along from the checkpoint is a larger intact section of the Berlin Wall. It may not be clear from the pictures below but the Germans at the time drew graffiti on the wall, however, it was no real surprise to me to find clear as day written on the wall, Glasgow Rangers F.C. Obviously not a German fan but we did find it quite amusing.



We then covered what felt like half of Germany as we made our way through the streets and parks. At this point our legs felt as though they had been playing volleyball, never mind just watching it, so we called it a night, got some beer on the way home and rested.