Heidelberg to Ulm (by train)

July 10, 2015

This morning there was a buffet, so we got our vouchers and went to the cafe. We looked and both agreed that it was pitiful, so returned our vouchers and went to a bakery-cafe down the street.

What to do with half a day in Heidelberg? An Internet search implied that there wasn't a great deal to see at the old University and that the German Packaging Museum, which sounded intriguing, was in German only. That left the Bergbahn or Funicular up to Königstuhl where there was a falconry exhibit at the top(?). That could be interesting!

At the bottom station in Kornmarkt, we learned that one couldn't buy tickets on the lower part of the funicular that didn't include admission to the castle. The total was 24€ for both of us to the top, but the upper part of the funicular, the part with historical cars, from Molenkur to Königstuhl, was 14€. So we hiked up to Molenkur.

The Bergbahn was fun. We got to the top and briefly looked around--the view over Heidelberg was much better than from the castle, and the we followed the Falconrie signs. The show was to start at 11:30, just as we arrived. It seemed a touch expensive at 7€ each, given that it would be all in German (we are in Germany, after all), but it was great. It would have been even better if I could have understood, but I would definitely go again. Maybe I will know some German by the time I return to Heidelberg.

Looking back down the track as we ride the Bergbahn up. What are those blue things?

At the midpoint, we are passed by the car going down and I think I am starting to understand the purpose of the blue things.

The falconer with his owl. I think it's a rescued bird that could not survive in the wild.

This is how falcons are trained...somehow. I'd like to attend another show like this in a language I can understand.

It's clear she really loves her birds ...

The last falcon is tiny. It had watched the show from the shed in the background, clearly stating its desire to participate.

Audience members got to meet the birds up close.

Funicular back down to Molenkur followed by a quick walk back down to Heidelberg. We got to the neighbourhood of our hotel with time to grab a quick lunch before collecting our bikes and bags and heading for the train station. It was easy this time since we'd seen the signs for the direct bike route to the Hauptbahnhof just a block from our hotel.

Navigating back to Alex's house in Ulm was a bit more challenging. He'd warned us that his street was hard to find in a GPS unit (and I hadn't thought to mark its location in my Garmin before we left). It's something to do with the punctuation of a street name that has Saint in it (or is that St or St. or St.- or...) Unless you have it exactly right, the way the GPS wants it, you are out of luck.

I found a work-around, however. I found the address on Google Maps with my iPhone and then entered a nearby (non-sainted) intersection into the GPS. Once there, the rest was easy.

We had intended to take Alex and his family out for dinner but they, once again, had prepared a fabulous barbecue, which we enjoyed after disassembling our bikes and getting them into their cases. Sad to be heading home, but what a nice way to end our stay.

Today's ride: 5 km (3 miles)
Total: 937 km (582 miles)

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