Hello Heidelberg: Part 1 of the Germany Diaries
/ LaurenBe Charmed By This German Uni Town
It was, literally, planes, trains, and automobiles for me to get from San Francisco to Heidelberg. After some mixups with Air Berlin where they had eliminated a leg in my outbound itinerary and never actually told me, I changed my routing and instead of landing in Frankfurt and taking an easy train ride or hour-long shuttle, I ended up landing in Dusseldorf and taking 3 train connections without a seat. Fun times!
But getting to Heidelberg was worth it. Once I got to the main station and on the bus taking me the short drive over to the Aldstadt area, I was pleased to find the routing takes you along the Neckar River. Once I got off the bus, I was in love.
My hotel, Gasthaus Backmulde, was a short walk around the corner from the bus stop and it resides on a quiet backstreet between the Hauptstraße pedestrian street and the main road along the river. It was small and charming with a decent sized room that had all the basics I needed, including Haribo gummy bears on my pillow. Gummy bears are a thing in Heidelberg. As it was going on 9 in the evening, I took a short walk along the pedestrian street to get my bearings and find dinner, which ended up being a delicious cheeseburger from Die Kuh Die Licht.
The next day I milled about getting coffee and meeting my best friend at her shuttle stop, but I was feeling a little under the weather between heat and jet lag so we had the good sense to go back to hotel and take a short nap. Afterwards we explored on along the Hauptstraße and I really cannot stress this enough: Heidelberg is a very charming university town. It's both old and modern, and very easy to walk around. We took in the sights, and enjoyed the stunning view of the Old Bridge.
The food options around Heidelberg are very diverse and hit on anything you could want; currywurst, they got you. Burgers, all set. Thai and Asian, you're in luck! Italian, bring on the meatballs! There was a very cool bar a short walk from our hotel, Regie, that has a very Hollywood-themed cocktail list of good drinks and some good bar food for when you just want something uncomplicated and tasty to snack on. I was oddly in the mood for nachos and salsa that night, and Regie delivered.
Later on in the trip, we visited Heidelberg Castle, which is worth touring for the view alone, but also for some cool parts like the Apothecary Museum inside. It's a beautifully preserved castle with some very interesting architecture.
Overall, Heidelberg is a very cool town, very chill, affordable to visit and has a small town feel while also being very vibrant yet relaxed. I wish we had spent another day there and I think it's a wonderful town to visit as an introduction to visiting to Germany.
With it being an hour from Frankfurt or two-ish from Dusseldorf, which are two of the common airline end points in that region of Germany, it's pretty easy to get there and absolutely worth visiting. It also makes a great home base if you end up exploring nearby towns like the spa town Baden-Baden, the Black Forest, or even a day trip over to Strasbourg, France.
Consider Heidelberg for your next visit to Deutschland, you won't be sorry.
Follow me on social media:
Pinterest: @roamingholiday
Instagram: @roamingholiday
We departed lovely Rothenberg after a brief overnight and decided to help for the Alps to go look at the very famous Neuwanschtein Castle. My bestie is a big Disney fan, so really, when in Germany...you take the Romantic Road there of course! Maybe it's hyped up marketing, maybe it's cliched, but I liked the drive as we buzzed along surface roads and took a break from the Autobahn.
I have longed to go to Rothenberg ob der Tauber for a very long time, mostly due to a single image of a beautifully quaint little yellow house set against what looked to be a village straight out of a storybook.
It was, literally, planes, trains, and automobiles for me to get from San Francisco to Heidelberg. After some mixups with Air Berlin where they had eliminated a leg in my outbound itinerary and never actually told me, I changed my routing and instead of landing in Frankfurt and taking an easy train ride or hour-long shuttle, I ended up landing in Dusseldorf and taking 3 train connections without a seat. Fun times!
But getting to Heidelberg was worth it. Once I got to the main station and on the bus taking me the short drive over to the Aldstadt area, I was pleased to find the routing takes you along the Neckar River. Once I got off the bus, I was in love.
I went to Germany for the first in the end of May, visiting the college town of Heidelberg, the super charming, fairy-tale town of Rothenberg ob der Tauber, a quick afternoon on the Romantic Road down to Schwangau, and then ending in Munich. I wasn't sure what to expect from Germany, and a few very minor language barrier issues and my awful pronunciation of käse aside, Germany proved to be pretty incredible although not without a few frustrations with some rental car woes (always check if there's a deposit hold when using a debit card and always take photo and video of where you parked when you return the car). But that aside, me and my best friend saw and experienced some awesome things.
Lately life has been so busy that it's felt a bit like struggling to keep my head above water. So when feels like they're drowning with the everyday pressures of life, what better way to destress than take a plunge under the sea? I don't know about you, but it's hard to be completely full of despair in the face of otters being cute and adorable.
Disneyland's first Festival of Holidays is well underway and appearing at California Adventure through January 8th. As a fan of Epcot Food & Wine at Disney World, I wanted to see how these holiday booth small plate offerings compared to the ones at International Showcase.
There are 14 booths featured in the festival, all with different holiday-themed foods and some featuring special cocktails and wines. They're laid out over one stretch of walkway just past the entrance of California Adventure as you walk towards the direction of Paradise Pier. And don't worry, a big sign for the event will make sure you know where it is.
So is this new offering a success? Well.....yes and no. Disneyland has some things they need to tweak if they want to do future holiday festivals like this. But first, the food.
With round two of London accomplished, I thought I'd share my Top London Travel Tips for those who might be first or second-time goers to this amazing town. It might be some familiar bits for the veteran world wanderers, but hopefully there's a few nuggets of wisdom you might not have heard yet or will inspire your future travels to what is, basically, my current favorite city in the world.
Before you think about dropping a lot of quid on a black cab, or think you absolutely must fly into London Heathrow, take a pause and read on, because you might not necessarily require either things for a great trip, but you should probably still bring an umbrella.
Once, it was the most powerful and important city in the world; before New York, before London, and and anywhere else, Rome was a bonafide powerhouse. From its fabled beginnings as a town formed by two brothers nursed by a she-wolf, this settlement along the Tiber river soon grew into the epicenter of one of the most sprawling empires the world would ever know. Kings gave way to Emperors, a Senate was born, and much of current practices, law, business, and governments to name a few can be tied back to to this place and its people.
As they say, when in Rome.
With the weather hot and this ancient city before us, it was time for Roaming Holiday to finally have a Roman holiday.
When you think of Florence, it's impossible not to think of the beautiful, massive Duomo and Cathedral Santa Maria del Fiore. Of Ponte Vecchio and Piazza della Repubblica. Of Uffizi Gallery and all the lingering presence of Renaissance Tuscany. These are the familiar touchstones for tourists flocking to see pieces of beautiful history and perhaps imagining just for a moment that at any moment they might pass Michelangelo in the streets.
It is a city easy to see in a single day, but worth spending more in.
John Steinbeck said it best in a 1953 Harper's Bazaar article:
“Positano bites deep. It is a dream place that isn’t quite real when you are there and becomes beckoningly real after you have gone’. And later in the article, ‘In a few days we became aware of Positano’s greatest commodity – characters.”
As you descend upon this Amalfi Coast town, through winding mountain roads high above the deep blue sea, it feels like stepping out of reality and into a tranquil oasis forged atop hills and spilling out to the volcanic rock beach below. This is not a town for a busy pace, instead you move to its slower ebb and tide and you will find yourself happy to be at the whims of its pace.
Do you like outdoor water sports? Hiking? Seeing marine life in the wild? Good food, good shops, good wine? If yes to any or all of the above, you're in the right place! Just a short drive past Monterey on 101 is the charming, idyllic little village of Carmel-by-the-Sea.
There's a lot of great food options at Disneyland, and you could easily snack your way through the park for days between the candied apples, Matterhorn macaroons, and the oh so tasty corn dogs. Here are five tasty options to savor in between rides, that are both cheap and yummy.
When I was five, we went to Disneyworld and I barely remember it outside of riding Haunted Mansion the Dumbo ride. Since then, I hadn't set foot in a Disney park for twenty-five years. I'm a bit terrified of roller coasters, and just never had time to go back. Also, Florida is crazy humid and I do poorly in humidity for too long.
And then three years ago I went to Disneyland for the first time ever, and fell in love. It really can be the happiest place on Earth and from the moment I walked onto Main Street with it's quirky, bright small town feel, I was in love. And that was before I had even tried the wonder that is Dole Whip!
Disneyland makes you feel like a kid again, and really, you're never too old to visit.
Much like San Francisco, Portland is a city with a strong counter culture vibe, and it's also smack dab in the middle of so much beautiful geography and activity. Roughly two hours from the rugged Oregon Coast, it's very much a city...that also happens to have a large forest in its northwest section and is close by to several waterfalls and parks.
There really is something for everyone in Portland, whether you're a literature lover, outdoor adventurer, or cocktail connoisseur. Here are some fun things to do the next time you visit.
Between San Jose and San Francisco, the leafy and quaint Mountain Vew lays tucked away just off US-101 and Central Expressway. It's downtown area, served by a main artery in the form of Castro St., is perfect for a leisurely weekend stroll. I like coming on Sunday, when the Farmers Market is in full swing.
Spring travel season approaches, and London is a great destination to consider. It's shoulder season still for one, meaning it can be a more affordable time of year to visit, and secondly, it's quite a pretty time as well with flowers and trees in bloom. I imagine Kew Gardens is lovely in springtime.
If this grand city is calling to you, you can check out my post covering my London vacation last autumn that includes a bit of an overview, where I stayed and why it was a convenient home base, getting around the city, and places worth visiting.
But let's talk about food.
It seems like an odd choice visiting Las Vegas if you don't gamble, but there's actually quite a few cool things to do in the sin city that don't require sitting at a poker table.
Ah Edinburgh. You old, green, overtly hilly town. You stole my heart utterly and thoroughly nine years ago during that mad August I spent living in you.
Vacation is usually synonymous with summer time, but there's something to be said about traveling in winter. It's usually the cheapest time of year for many destinations worldwide, and traveling in a shoulder season means places are less crowded. Why not spend some time next December strolling through Christmas markets in London or Germany? Or, if you're wanting to get away from the cold there's always Hawaii.
I've been, admittedly, putting this post off for a month now. Partly because I got very busy at work, and a largely in the wake of the events a few weeks ago in Paris. It felt trivial at the time to post about my brief 24 hour visit from October right after the attacks. But life must go on, and it's important to see the bright spots after dark times.
A few days into our London trip, I had planned for the boyfriend and myself to go out to the Cotswolds for a day. Our friend Hope had gone a while back and had nothing but great to say about it. As someone who frequently reads historical fiction set in the 19th century and often in country settings much like this, how could I not visit?
Now that the after effects of jetlag are wearing off and I'm not staring at my ceiling bemoaning that it's 3:30 am, why am I awaaaaakeeeee I can finally get down to business and talk about my trip to London, which was the first proper international vacation my boyfriend and I have actually ever taken.
I spent my Memorial Day weekend in Portland, land of hipster and according to Portlandia where the young go to retire. I'm not sure how much merit there is in the last part, but I do know one of my friends seems pretty happy to live there and work at a cat cafe.
Let's get this out of the way first: I didn't go to Voodoo Donuts. Yes, it's a tourist tradition, hailed on many lists as a Must Do, blah blah blah, but...
I have Memorial Day Monday off, since my SO is away working, I decided a mini-weekend vacation is in order. Easier said than done when you're indecisive.
At first, I thought Quebec. I've never been, it has beautiful Old World charm, good food...and unfortunately no good plane itinerary from Bay Area that would work for me to get there and have actual time to do things, and it meant 6am or around there in way too early in morning flights. No. Sadly, pass for now.
Then I thought New Orleans. I have 30k Virgin Elevates points in my account, I could use points and fly SFO to Dallas and then Southwest to New Orleans, right? Well, same problem with itineraries and the cost just wasn't where I needed it to be.
So after mulling it over, one of my friends and elite grade travel hacker Tuan suggested Portland.
We arrived after our brief Alpine adventure to Munich, staying at Schiller5 Hotel, a rather great and affordable option on a side street across from the main train station in an area that is, frankly, not great. It's just a bit shabby and a bit too modern is a brutally ugly way. But needs (and budgets) must and despite the neighborhood not being utterly idyllic, the hotel itself was really nice and the staff really friendly. So if you're looking for budget, convenience to public transport (which LOL WE WILL GET TO IN A BIT), but without sacrificing quality, then Schiller5 is a good bet.
Anyways, I'm not sure what I expected of fair München. Maybe it was being based in a less historical, kind of iffy neighborhood. Maybe it was that Rothenberg, Heidelberg, and the Alps were so freaking charming and quaint, but I found myself a bit disenchanted with Munich, maybe unfairly so.