To Heidelberg to Breathe the Christmas Air

HEIDELBERG

We wake up fairly early and reach the nearby car park at Malpensa (Parkingo), where we quickly deal with the paperwork and, just as quickly, the shuttle takes us to the airport. The Lufthansa check-ins are already open, so we quickly get rid of the luggage. Unfortunately, the Lufthansa flight is half an hour late. We expected greater punctuality from a flag carrier with a scheduled flight (usually we use low cost, where delays are the order of the day). Instead Lufthansa disappointed us, accumulating delays both outbound and on the return and giving us truly ridiculous snacks on board (an unidentified cereal bar of the Slimfast type). Anyway, we arrive at Stuttgart airport where they hand over our suitcases at supersonic speed and just as quickly we deal with the paperwork for picking up the car at the Hertz desk.

We have booked a car, requesting the supplement for snow tyres, given the winter period and the northern destination of our trip. With our fairly comfortable Hyundai (I don't remember the model) we head towards our first destination: the palace of Bruchsal. It is the residence of the Prince-Bishops of Speyer. Here one visits the state apartments (very few rooms) and the music museum, with a rich collection of organs that represents the most interesting part of the visit. We decide to have lunch in Bruchsal, based on cheese Brezel and cake, settling down in a pretty bakery with small tables, near the palace itself. We then leave Bruchsal in the direction of Heidelberg, where we will spend the night. The journey is short but we find some difficulty in reaching our Hotel Hackteufel, located right in the historic centre but, alas, in a pedestrian zone.

So the problem arises of transporting the luggage and of getting quickly to the Reception to try to understand where on earth the affiliated car park is. Unfortunately we understand that the garage is a few hundred metres away, with some difficulty with the keys for collecting the car. Indeed, the following morning, we will have some difficulty opening the garage due to keys that barely work and sketchy explanations. The hotel, however, is very characteristic and is located above the hotel restaurant, which is also open to outside diners. In fact, we have some difficulty booking a table for dinner. We only manage to get a small table with the promise of freeing it by 19:30. The room is fairly spacious, with everything needed, even if the furnishing is rather ordinary and lacking in character.

We go out immediately to visit the numerous Christmas markets, located in various squares and streets but all connected to one another. Indeed the stands are truly many and, to these, we must add many beautiful shops located along the main streets of the city's historic centre. In particular, we note the shop of the Käthe Wohlfahrt chain. These are characteristic shops of Christmas decorations and items, present in the most characteristic German cities, open all year round. The decor and the location itself of the points of sale are distinctive: very attractive! You won't leave there without having bought something! Anyway, Heidelberg is a beautiful city with a large historic centre, evocative buildings, a lovely riverside with bridges.

At the top of the city towers the castle which, however, we did not visit, due to the difficulty of reaching it given the lack of clear signposts for the right entrance point. We have dinner very early in our hotel's restaurant: the dinner is excellent (traditional German cuisine), the atmosphere is pleasant, the prices a little high.

SCHWABISCH HALL

A fairly abundant buffet breakfast and then we set off for Mannheim where we will visit the Baroque palace. We didn't imagine that Mannheim was such a big city, so modern and so chaotic. We don't like it. We struggle to find a car park. We have to settle for a car park with a maximum time of 1 hour, even though it is right in front of the palace. The palace is the main residence of the Prince of the Palatinate; it is immense but, unfortunately, only a minimal part of it can be visited because the rest is used as a University. However, the part we can visit pleases us quite a lot. In Mannheim there is also a large Christmas market; however we decide not to stop because we have other stops during the day and, moreover, we would never find a car park nearby. The next stop is the palace of Schwetzingen.

Unfortunately here we are disappointed because, although the palace is "open", it can only be visited with guided tours and only in the afternoon. We cannot wait all those hours in Schwetzingen as the town is not very interesting and the market is minimal. After a short tour of the centre and of the very small Christmas market, we leave Schwetzingen for good to head to SCHWABISCH HALL where we will spend the night. First of all we reach our hotel: Romantik Hotel Der Adelshof, which we find very easily, with a large car park right behind the hotel itself. It is a fantastic hotel, as indeed are all the hotels in the Romantik Hotel chain. We have already stayed in several hotels of this group and they have never disappointed us. As the word itself says, these are very romantic hotels, furnished with sublime taste.

These hotels are found not only in Germany but in several European countries, including Italy. The room is spectacular: it is not a simple room but a family Suite with a four-poster bed and an extra bed, also a four-poster but placed in an evocative alcove. Wow, stupendous! However we don't understand the reason why we are the only guests of the hotel. Could it be the price is too high? But no... average price... medium/high but nothing more. Perhaps because SCHWABISCH HALL is not a German city targeted by mass tourism (that of the Christmas markets). Yet it is a fantastic village: one of the most beautiful towns I have ever visited in Germany. The extensive town historic centre is a succession of little squares with splendid half-timbered houses. But the most evocative area is the one along the river.

Here the river forms a kind of little island connected to the village by scenic little covered wooden bridges. A pity that today it is raining and so our photos cannot turn out at their best, nor can we appreciate the landscape 100%. Anyway the place is worth it. Unfortunately, however, the 2 Christmas markets (one of giftware and one of food and drink) are too small compared to the others visited previously. There are nevertheless numerous shops. At the market we eat the typical sandwich with wurstel followed by a Waffel dessert with cream and nutella. As at every market visited, there can never be a lack of the warm drink in the typical mug of the city's market, to feed our collection of market mugs (by now we already own quite a few and, in this last trip alone, we collect as many as 3).

It is possible to drink the traditional mulled wine (gluhwein), but, for teetotallers like yours truly (or in any case for children) one can drink in a mug apple or orange juice, also hot (Apfelsaft or Orangensaft). In the late afternoon, after having visited the whole town, including the beautiful riverside area, we return to the hotel where there is a small wellness area. It is a small centre with a sauna and few other things, though very well furnished. Obviously we are the only guests of the wellness area, so we do everything freely. For dinner we chose a restaurant not far from the hotel. At the entrance we discover it is a Greek/German restaurant: menu only in German and obviously the waiter doesn't speak English. We try somehow to explain that we only want a simple steak with fried potatoes. For dessert we choose a crepe with ice cream, cream and chocolate.

Prices medium/low but unfortunately they don't accept credit cards. After dinner we take a short walk in the town centre, but there is practically no one around. Moreover it is raining, so we decide to return to enjoy the comforts of our hotel.

HEILBRONN, LUDWIGSBURG and back

At breakfast we are the only people in the beautiful breakfast room and the only ones to take advantage of the average buffet. After that we set off in the direction of Heilbronn. The journey is short and we arrive too early. We therefore wait patiently for the markets to open at 11:00. The town is not interesting, too modern, perhaps rebuilt after the war; however the market is fairly large. While waiting we visit the ancient Gothic-style church, with its characteristic pulpit. It is still too early to return to the airport. So we decide to make a stop at Ludwigsburg, which is on our way to reach Stuttgart airport. We have already visited Ludwigsburg a few years ago. Back then we visited the beautiful palace but we clearly remember the large and intricate Christmas market.

We therefore walk up and down the beautiful square of Ludwigsburg among the pretty little wooden houses of the market. By now we have practically completed our purchases; however we buy a truly giant brezel to take to Italy and choose something for lunch. The choice falls on an original large fritter, called Langus (or something similar), to be enjoyed by choosing the filling. We opt for the fritter with ham and cheese. Since we like it very much, we also decide to take one, at the end of the meal, garnished with Nutella. We get all sticky but we are happy. And so the time comes to calmly head to the airport to return our rental car. We do everything quickly and without problems. The check in is already open so we begin the boarding procedures. Unfortunately, this time too, the flight is delayed. Reason: ice on the wings of the plane arriving from London.

So we witness, when we are already on board, the scene—novel to us—of hot water being sprayed on the wings to de-ice them. The result: 1 hour delay. Once we land at Malpensa, strangely the baggage delivery operations are super-fast (a miracle!). Even the Parkingo shuttle is already there waiting for us, without even having to telephone, and so we quickly return home. Goodbye Christmas markets, see you next year, as has now been a tradition for over a decade. But always in different cities! Dani & C. COSTS: Lufthansa return flight: about € 110.00 each Parkingo Malpensa car park: € 21.00 for 3 days (open-air) Hertz Car Rental: € 166.00 for 3 days with snow tyres Average hotel price, family room with breakfast and parking: € 180.00 Average dinner price: € 20.00 per person Average castle entrance price: € 5.00 per person