Heidelberg

Here's a few. On top of the Heiligenberg (the mountain on the opposite side of the river from the Schloß), there's the ruins of an old monastery and an intact Nazi-era ampitheater. You can either walk here up from the Philosphers' Walk (a pretty vigorous hike) or drive, although the road up the mountain is rather hard to find. The nearby town of Schwetzingen has a large baroque palace, complete with gardens. The one reason to go out of your way to visit Mannheim is the beautiful Luisenpark. This gets my vote as Europe's best urban park. Perfect place to spend a summer day. Take a drive upstream along the Neckar river from Heidelberg. There are several castles overlooking the river, including an impressive intact specimen at Hirschhorn and the castle town of Dilberg. There's tons of interesting stuff scattered throughout the Odenwald (the mountainous upland that Heidelberg sits on the western edge of), but not enough room to write about.

More stuff. Heidelberg lies along the Bergstraße, which is an old wine route running along the western edge of the Odenwald mountains. Many of the towns along the route between Heidelberg and Darmstadt are rather scenic and have a castle (or two) overlooking them. The most interesting towns are Bensheim, Heppenheim (my favorite) and Weinheim. They don't look that great on a drive by, but walking through the old centers of these towns is a delight. Lorsch sits just to the west of Heppenheim and Bennsheim. Most of the town is rather ordinary, but the market square looks very similar to Fantasyland in Disneyworld. Located right around the corner is the remains of an old monastery complex from the Carolingian period. Only the gatehouse and the chapel remain intact. The Odenwald itself is a hiker's paradise. About 10,000 km of marked hiking trails criss-cross the entire naturepark. Every weekend that I'm not out of town, I'm usually wandering around here with my dog. I'm always stumbling upon something new, be it a forgotten Jewish cemetery, castle ruins, ancient border stones or simply stunning views. The most interesting towns in the Odenwald are Michelstadt, Lindenfels, Erbach, Hirschhorn, and Eberbach. If you're going to be in the area for awhile, it might be worth your time to drive to Waldkatzenbach. There isn't much to see here, but it's a quick hike from to the highest mountain in the region, Katzenbuckel. The summit doesn't look very impressive from a distance (see the picture: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Katzenbuckel_1.jpg), but if you climb the tower on top, you can see just how high it rises above the surrounding countryside.

Bring an umbrella!!!

Schwetzingen palace and gardens are a must see. About 12 km from Heidelberg. From there, by car, you are really only an hour or so from the Romantic Rhein area. Head for Rudesheim, see the Nederwald Monument (Germany's "Statue of Liberty", then take the day to drive on up to Koblenz, passing literally dozens of castles along the way. If you have time, drop back west at koblenz and go down the Mosel and tour Burg Eltz, one of the best preserved medieval castles in Europe. Another good day trip is to head east (about an hour's drive) over to Rothenburg ab der Tauber, a completely restored, walled medieval town, a fantastic day trip. Lots of great shops and places to eat, not to mention the charm of the town.

Love the idea of driving along the Neckar River. Bad Wimpfen is about an hour from Heidelberg and is a charming little town. www.badwimpfen.de