Day 3 of Winter Holiday: Day Trip to Heidelberg Castle

Day 3: 13 December 2013

We woke up real early as we were still adjusting to Europe timing. Feeling hungry, Princess had a packet of milk before we venture out for breakfast. When traveling F&E, we tried not to take any breakfast buffet in the hotel as we preferred to try out local food.

We walked to Europcar to collect our rental car for the next 2 days. It was a nice experience renting from Europcar. Might use them for our next trip.

Princess monkeying around at the car rental shop, or rather she was actually dramatizing a story for me while waiting for daddy to settle the paper work. 

It was a smooth 1 1/2 hr drive to Heidelberg. We can see the castle from far but first, we would need to search for a parking space which was a challenge. 

Location: Heidelberg Castle

Address: Schlosshof

1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany

How to get there:

There are four ways to get to the castle – car, bike, funicular, or walking.

Car: This method is not highly recommended, as there are few parking spaces. But it is possible. Just follow the signs. (There are particular times during the year when the road is closed to cars, so double-check first.)

Bike: This follows the same route as the car.

Funicular: Walk to the Kornmarkt, or take either bus 11 or 33 to the Kornmarkt/Bergbahn stop. From here, take the Bergbahn up to the first stop, which is the castle.

Walk: Next to the Rathaus and Kornmarkt is Burgweg, which is the path that leads up to the castle. The path splits in two - the short route (with steps), and the scenic route (no steps). After picking a direction, just follow the signs up to the castle.

We decided to walk up from the town centre of Heidelberg after parking our car as we wanted to visit the Christmas market after visiting Heidelberg castle. 

How can we not drink any beer in Germany? Princess first taste of beer and she quite like the taste. 

Lunch is complete for Princess when there is fries and soup! :) Happy girl she is. 

It was a steep walk up to the castle. I am glad my little princess never once whined on the journey up and was happily posing for all photos. 

View from the castle. We were able to see the beautiful town of Heidelberg.

Our family photo with the castle at the back. 

The castle looks beautiful when lit up for the night too. 

We ended the day trip with visit to the Christmas market where our princess had lots of junk food. :p