The Heidelberg Castle, from 290 steps below

Views of Heidelberg from 290 steps above

The Castle up close

Thanks to Rhonda and Amy donating some drugs to me the night before, I felt much better this morning. After breakfast, we loaded up the coach and were off to Munich. Andee put on the movie "Speed" for us to watch, which was ironically appropriate. It also finished on cue as we entered Munich. We were there just long enough to grab a bratwurst, do a little browsing in the stores and see the Glockenspiel do its little song and dance when it hit 11:00 AM. It was then back on the coach to our drive to the University town of Heidelberg.

Heidelberg was reminiscent of Innsbruck for the fact that it was situated between big rolling hills. Those who chose to, ventured up 290 steps (actually it was several long steep ramps) to the top of a castle and had a great view of the town from above. After walking around the castle grounds, we headed back down, this time it was actual steps, and each one was numbered from 290 at the top all the way down to 1. Again, shopping was on the agenda as we browsed through the various shops, sat down for a drink and then we were back on the coach for a short drive to the Hotel Scheid near the Rhineland. My hotel room was strangely located in an area on its own with no other rooms nearby. It was on the ground floor, where I don't believe there were any other rooms on that floor. Also, the shower was located right in the bedroom of all places, separate from the bathroom. After our included dinner at the hotel, most of us moved out onto the patio for the rest of the evening for drinks and conversation.