On Sunday we got up and spent a bit more time with our German friends, and around lunchtime, we set off for Heidelberg, one of the few German towns that was not heavily bombed during WWII.  Julie and I went to Heidelberg almost exactly 15 years ago to the day, just after we got engaged.  Since then, we haven’t aged a day.  Or maybe we’ve aged so much our memories and eye sight are starting to go.  Either way, it was fun to be back with Lydie and Cassie.  The town is wonderfully charming.

We started at Heidelberg castle, which is perched on a rocky hill overlooking the town.  The girls had a great time scrambling around the ruined parts of the castle.

We particularly liked one of the towers, which had been blown off of the side of the castle in a fight long ago.  I’m pretty sure that the French were involved.

We weren’t entirely sure that we were supposed to be walking on the ruin, but there seemed to be a path.  Maybe a path?

Lydie took a break from exploration to give her mother her best “bluesteel.”

We’ve been in Europe for more than a month, so some castle exploration was long overdue.

The sun kept trying to come out from behind the clouds.  When it did, it was a splendid day!

From the castle we headed into the nearby gardens.  Along the way, Team Hubbard founds some more ruins that *had* to be climbed.

Eventually, we made it to the garden, which includes a promenade that provides a great view of the town below.

From the castle, we walked down a narrow cobble-stone path to the city.  Our goal was to walk to the bridge that is shown in the background above.

When we reached the bottom, we made our way to the bridge.

We enjoyed walking around the old town and stopped to go inside the main church inside.  Lydie and Cassie met a German boy named “Martin.”  Sure, he was cute in a foreign sort of way, but something seemed a bit off about his clothes, hair, and, um, hands.

After the church, we needed a snack.  The girls decided to get crepes with cinnamon, sugar, and butter, instead of their usual ice cream.  The day had turned cold, and the warm crepes were delicious.

We walked around the old, German town a bit more before getting some take-away Chinese food for the drive back to Munich.  After another four hours of excitement on the autobahn, we were happy to get back to our flat.  We ended with a quick bite to eat (and a couple of beers) at our local Bavarian pub at the end of our street.  Good times!

-Will