rain can not hold us back in Heidelberg

The skies are still cloudy and the air is chilly, but layers help to block out the cold. This morning we landed in Speyer on the Rhine. Speyer has a lot of history in Europe dating back more than 2000 years. Of course the town has been rebuilt many times over the past 2000 years but there were many historical sites including the largest Romanesque-style church in Germany. Now there have been so many facts given to us that I would never be able to tell anyone 5 minutes after I was told, but at the time of hearing it, I was enthralled.

We spent about 2 hours in Speyer, but it was rather quiet because today is both a religious holiday (Ascension Day) and a national holiday (Father's Day). Most of the shops are closed but they do keep the "tourist" shops open.

Following our little tour of Speyer, we took the optional tour to Heidelberg. I'd heard about this town and its castle from Jacob when he went with Sebastian 4 years ago. What an amazing site. This castle has only been partially been restored but is a beautiful palace made of red and tan sandstone with ornate carvings and a panoramic view of historic Heidelberg (not destroyed by WWII). It was a scene from "The Princess Bride" - with the moat, balcony, and 55,000 gallon wine barrel (the largest in the world).

After our tour of the castle, our guide took us to one of the 4 remaining buildings not destroyed in the mid-1600 fire. The Hotel Ritter is a beautiful 500+ year old building that we ate a wonderful German meal at. Then we walked around the mostly Baroque-style old town in the light drizzle. Even in the rain it was beautiful and way better than work (sorry people--but you would agree!)

Back on the River Ambassador we had an Epicurean experience. So what is Epicurean, you ask? Well, Wikipedia says "It propounded an ethic of individual pleasure as the sole or chief good in life. Hence, Epicurus advocated living in such a way as to derive the greatest amount of pleasure possible during one’s lifetime, yet doing so moderately in order to avoid the suffering incurred by overindulgence in such pleasure. The emphasis was placed on pleasures of the mind rather than on physical pleasures. Therefore, according to Epicurus, with whom a person eats is of greater importance than what is eaten." So that is a little wordy--in our language it means that we enjoy our food and drink to moderation (we had special wines with each course) AND enjoyed delightful meal conversation with Roy & Mary from Thunder Bay, Ontario. Just average people enjoying a new experience on a river cruise--similar to us. The people we have met have been as much a highlight as the places we have seen.

So tomorrow we head to Strasbourg, France--a new country for both of us. Until then...