A note to readers of this blog: Somehow your esteemed bloggers mistakenly stated that they visited Heidelberg on the way from Hamburg to Wiesbaden. It would not be impossible to do, but it would definitely be an unlikely itinerary! The following is what we REALLY did!
Heading to Munich, on nearly the last leg of our journey to St-Rémy-de-Provence, we decided to take the indirect route and stop off at Heidelberg, and then Hanweiler, near Stuttgart, where Donna lived for nearly three years with Michael Kirsch, her first husband.
We spent merely a couple of relaxing hours in Heidelberg, wandering the Alt Stadt and strolling along the river in the glorious sunshine. Heidelberg was its usual charming and picturesque self. A renowned university town, situated on the Neckar River, modern Heidelberg can trace its beginnings to the fifth century. However, the first reference to Heidelberg can be found in a document dated to 1196. This is considered to be the town’s founding date. The university, founded in 1386, it is one of Europe’s oldest institutions. In fact, Heidelberg is the oldest university town in modern Germany.
The original castle structure was built in the early 1200’s and expanded several times. Since then it has suffered two devastating lightning strikes, fires and a gunpowder explosion! The castle ruins are among the most important Renaissance structures north of the Alps.
The Hanweiler stop was kind of a bust except for the auld lang syne aspect. The little house where Donna lived was shuttered up tight, so we could only view it from outside. And the Traube restaurant was closed! So we gave LuLu a little walkabout and were delighted in how little the village has changed.
Happily, Hanweiler remains a very small rural village. The major agricultural product is grapes. Every November there is a NeuWeine Fest. The wine makers open their cellars and pour their latest vintage. The traditional food served with new wine is zwiebel kuchen – a kind of onion pizza.
When we moved into our little house it was brand new. We did not understand that one had to supply ones own kitchen cabinets! Behind our house across the street was Traube Hanweiler, the gasthaus. It was an unassuming village gasthaus where you could get a schnitzel or a bratwurst. In the years since she lived there, it has become major culinary destination in Baden-Wurttemburg under different ownership. It is now twice as big as it was when we lived there. They added a entire new wing on the right with a huge dining room on the ground floor and several hotel rooms above.
At the cemetery, Donna found the grave of Frau Haisch, an important person in Donna’s life. While there she met a woman whose mother was Frau Haisch’s best friend. They had a little moment.
We are now on our way to Munich, Donna’s birthplace. We have plans to visit with Petra & Klaus whom we met in Gothenburg when they were picking up their new Volvo XC60. The visit to Munich deserves its own post!
Love to you all,
Sam, Donna & LuLu
August 28, 2019
LuLu's Outta Town 