Schlossbeleuchtung Heidelberg

This weekend I welcomed yet more visitors to Heidelberg, this time Emily (her second visit) and James. After the slight hiccup that was their flight out being cancelled, we had a really great weekend. Admittedly our time consisted mainly of eating and drinking; we went to quite a selection of cafés, bars and restaurants in their three days here, but we also fitted in a more cultural side too! The weather had promised to be terrible with non-stop heavy rain, however we were lucky enough to more or less escape that, which mean that we were able to do the Philosopher's Walk along the river once again, as well as walk up to the castle so Emily and James could get a look at the view from that high up. Somehow no matter how many times I walk up to the castle, this never ever gets boring. 

Instead of walking back down, we decided to use the free ride on the funicular railway that was included in our castle ticket price. We were quite excited to go right to the top of the hill, but we realised after much confusion that our tickets actually only covered the journey between the ground and the castle, which was the first stop. To go any further it costs 12 euros per person, so in the end we decided against it. Still, at least we can say we went on the funicular.

We also got to go to Heidelberg Zoo, which was great because I've seen signs for it since the day I arrived here in February but I'd never actually been. It isn't a massive zoo, but there is still an impressive selection of animals, including lions, tigers, zebras, camels and elephants. It was also quite fun looking at the more common animals too; Emily was particularly taken with the meerkats and a little bunny which was completely adorable. Meanwhile James found himself a favourite amongst the donkeys, which lined up along the fence where he stood and then made quite a fuss when he walked away!

The highlight of the weekend for me though was by far the Schlossbeleuchtung, which translates to 'Castle lighting'.  Three times a year, the castle is lit up on the hill and then a firework display is held by the Old Bridge. Saturday evening was the second lighting of the year, and we joined hundreds, if not thousands, of other people in the street to watch the impressive display. The best view is of course from the hill on the other side of the river, because it is possible to see both the fireworks and the lit castle from there. However, we didn't really fancy the walk up the hill at 10pm at night, so we sacrificed our view of the castle and stood by the bridge instead. It was absolutely incredible and I'm so glad that Emily and James were there to see it too. I tried to get some photos, but of course they aren't the best because of the difficult lighting/timing. Luckily I also got a video, so you can hopefully get an idea of what it was like!