Weinheim an der Bergstraße

The first time that I sweated since I arrived in Germany

Starting to get addicted to the idea of hopping into a last minute train and going to another city without any map, I went to the Hbf again and took a train to Weinheim, which was about 20 minutes ride. Previously I have read that Weinheim is a beautiful town as well as I decided to have a look. I wish I'd have been more prepared because it turned out to be unexpectedly tiring which left my whole back aching. But it was worth it actually. Armed with a waterbottle and 3 bananas, I walked up the path of the hills leading to these 2 castles. And I did perspire.... although the weather was quite cold and it rained quite heavily as I attemped to walk up the hills.

Windeck Castle - My first landmark

Armed with zest, I acutally managed to reach the top with ease. Perhaps it is because this was the first landmark I approached and diminishing marginal returns have not set in.

This castle is located on top of a 222 meter hill.

Can you see a rainbow? took this shot along the way while climbing up.

I risked my life for this shot... went off the track, tried to balance on the slides and took the picture of the Altstadt (old city) and Markplatz (market place)

View of the city once I reached the castle

It was originally construced in the 12th century, although much of it has been destroyed and continuous efforts have been made to safeguard the castle.

Climbed up the tower with much difficulty cos there was no light to guide me! And the stony steps were very high and slippery.. due to the rain.

Wachenburg Castle

Acutally this is not really considered a castle but more of a Korporationhaus (Fraternity house) built by the Weinheimer Senioren-Convent, which is like a Student Association Corps. It was built somewhere between the time 1907 to 1928.

This building stands 402 metres high above the ground. Can you actually see it? Nowonder I walked this one up like mad.... after descending from the first castle.

Finally I reached!

Check out all the colourful coat of arms of the Corp.

Going down to the Altstadt and Marktplatz

After having enough of the Wachenburg, I took a slow walk down and found myself in some fairy-tale lookalike houses. In German they are called "Fachwerkhaus" - timbered house. Most of them are built during the 17th century and such houses are commonplace in Germany, and cities which are fortunate enough not to be bombed in WWII still preserve such houses. If you notice carefully, the front door is very short. I had to bend down a little to make my way through one of the doors, which made me wonder how tall people were at that time.

Can you still see the Windeck castle on top?

Marktplatz (In old Germany, every town has a marketplace which lies in the centre of the innercity)
Rathaus - Town Hall

Schlossgarten - Palace garden behind the Rathaus

Weinheim is beautiful because it still retains its flavour of a few hundred years ago, especially in the Altstadt and Markplatz. You still see the old buildings which were built long ago and continue to exist today, in which businesses like cafes and boutiques can be found in these old buildings. I have a feeling if you continue to read more of the posts coming up, you'd see castles and castles and more castles. I once heard that there are > 300 castles in Germany!

Along the way back to Mannheim, I passed by Ladenburg... hmmm looks nice too.. Shall add this to my list of places to go.

http://picasaweb.google.com/mannheim08/06Feb08Weinheim