When the plane’s wheels landed in Germany, the excitement I felt is indescribable: all of this time imagining of what it would be like to finally go there — and wonder of what’s ahead.
As mentioned in my last post, I arrived first thing in the morning at Frankfurt Airport and the sky was painted in light pink, yellow and baby blue, and I was far away from anything I was familiar with.
While I was in Germany, my focus was on spending quality time with family, but I want to share some of the highlights and must-sees if you plan on checking out this extraordinary country for yourself.
Since I explored several areas, I have A LOT of photos, so I’ll divide my experiences up in a couple of posts.
HEIDELBERG
One of the first places my relatives took me was Heidelberg, a university town located south of Frankfurt (about an hourish drive). It has the Heidelberg castle, a huge landmark above the city, as well as cool shops to browse, pubs, and the market centre where you’ll find a large patio, a popular spot to hang out for a bite/drink.
What I love most about Heidelberg is the architecture: the different designs of the buildings give it so much character and the churches are beautiful, inside and out.
When you go up to the top and around the castle (be prepared to hike up a lot of stairs), you see the entire town (photos taken on my iPhone 7 — you’ll read why in my IG post below).
The castle is magnificent. It was built in the 1300s and eventually was destroyed by lightning, but throughout the courtyard there remains stunning statues to admire.
We stopped for a break at the market centre, near the town hall, where there the large patio is, and a fountain (where even the birds stop for a drink), it’s an awesome spot to soak in the vibe (we even saw some filming too! You can see it in my Instagram highlights).
If you’d like to see more historical sites, the Heidelberg Thingstatte is an abandoned open-air amphitheatre which was used by the Nazis in WWII and for solstice festivals.
SPEYER
Speyer is another cool town to check out! The Speyer Cathedral is a must-see, I learned it’s Europe’s largest Romanesque church and is on the UNESCO World Heritage List of important sites.
Inside is stunningly beautiful: walking throughout the basilica and appreciating the art that is part of it, and learning about the history is truly mind blowing.
Outside it’s just as spectacular, in fact, you can even see how in time the architecture changes (for example, the styles of the windows).
In my next post, I’ll take you to Frankfurt, on a hike to a castle where you can have a bite as well, it’s near the France border — where we went for dinner!
Meanwhile, if you’d like to see the videos of where I went, they are posted in Instagram highlights on my profile, labelled “Germany” (covering my entire experience in the country), and “Germany P1,” “Germany P2” and “Germany P3.”
Michelle Morton 