6 nights in Germany - Mainz & Heidelberg - Heidelberg was gorgeous!

More on Chagall Stained Glass windows - The blue in windows cast a gorgeous hue over the quiet space. And because the church was rebuilt after WW2, it was mostly devoid of other mixed centuries of decor, so the windows stand out. https://www.mainz-tourismus.com/en/explore-enjoy/exploring-the-history-of-mainz/churches-other-sacred-buildings/st-stephens. You could walk there in about 15-20 minutes from the Romishe Theatre train station exit, just be sure to take an S-bahn that stays on the correct side of the Rhein!

Heidelberg - We lucked out on weather, it had been rainy & chilly but the week was warmer and clear, gorgeous spring weather with few crowds. It really surprised me about Heidelberg, I’d been told to expect hordes, especially afternoons on the old bridge, but it was pretty quiet. I’m sure it picked up on the eve of May 1st, a national holiday, just as we were leaving. And we found it to be a great town for a few nights, we both took beautiful pictures, never saw a large tour bus, some tourists of course like us wandering around, friendly staff except for the odd grump, and just a very nice place to visit & stay 2 nights.

40 years ago I was a part-time student tour guide in Heidelberg for US teens, while studying in Tubingen at the university, so it was great to come back without that burden! I took the train back to FRA mid afternoon to meet my girlfriend arriving from England. I think she was a bit overwhelmed by all the pre-planning I had done, ((blame the RS Forum HA!) but it did allow me to relax and have plans for possible places to eat, timing of visits to museums, well you know what I mean. We stayed at the Hachteufel Hotel near the Old Bridge, perfect location, 4 minutes walk to Rathaus where trams stop to and from train station. clean & friendly hotel with not-too small single rooms. It does have air conditioners in rooms, BTW. (I got a big kick out of the name of the hotel, as Hachfleisch is literally chopped beef, so I wondered what a chopped devil could mean? (Had to do with an old fable - if you die young & go to hell, it’s because you drank too much, if you die old & go to hell, it’s because the alcohol kept you alive; I think you had to be from the era to find it cute.)

FOOD - Breakfast was an additional E12 and there was no kettle in the room to make tea, so we paid for breakfast there, as getting out to a cafe sans-coffee or tea just didn’t work for us. It’s so nice to travel with a like-minded friend! The breakfast was excellent, fresh, included cappuccino (YES!), usual small buffet, orange juice, and a very pleasant morning server. The breakfast room was truly a work of art, decorated with antiques & a gorgeous oven with the castle carved onto it. Everyone who worked at the hotel was gracious, helpful and we really enjoyed the hotel. We had dinner there the first night, I think it was E50 for 2 people for a main course, no alcohol. I recommend the home made Cheese Spaetzle, (German Käsespätzle) and a salad. It's described as pasta, but it's so much more.

Heidelberg Castle - We paid to take the cogwheel train all the way to the top, wow it was steep. And had really great views! We stopped off at castle on way back, skipped the tour because the Pharmacy Museum https://www.deutsches-apotheken-museum.de/museum, kept us busy for quite some time, I could have gone back up the next day to read more, so much info about history of pharmacology, definitely worth the time, but feet ached by then so walked back to Old Town to wander, took amazing pictures, visited the old bridge and had an OK but not great pizza somewhere nearby. Frankly the food at hotel was excellent, we could easily have eaten there a second evening.

It looks like we didn't do much that day, but there was a LOT more to the day that started by getting up at 6:30AM to take a train to fetch a lost cell phone... more on this later! 13,500 steps

Find a GREAT place to eat cake! (This is why we walked so much....) I had sussed out Cafe Gundel in Heidelberg, where we bought our take-away pretzel sandwich lunches and I bought 'cobble stone cake', Pflasterstein, choice of dark or milk chocolate-covered cake. https://www.gundel-heidelberg.de/images/downloads/Gundels_Spezialitaeten_2024mk.pdf

I took these to my GF's house and they were a huge hit. Just wished I'd skipped lunch and just eaten cake!

Apple strudel at Hachteufel hotel before departure - The sign outside read, "Happy Hour! Apple Strudel & coffee E8.50". We hadn't actually eaten any cake at that point, so shared an incredible apple strudel at the hotel before our early departure back to FRA.

13,800 steps, lots of them at the Frankfurt Airport just getting to Terminal 2 from Terminal 1, plan on lots of walking!!

What worked and what didn’t - Note that the trains leave from Terminal 1, where I'd arrived from ARN, a Schengen destination. My friend's plane came from LHR, Terminal 2, international. There is a bus through a heavy duty construction zone, I found out. Coming back with GF, I searched out the Sky Train (I think it was called) but it was a SCHLEP from Terminal 2 back to Terminal 1, then upstairs and somewhere in there down a LONG corridor. Note to self - I was so happy I packed light!! I think it was a 20-minute walk from arrival hall to train station, if you know exactly where you're going.

Well the first day it took us 3.5 hours to get from FRA to Heidelberg, (versus 1 hour to get back!.) We heard a lot of others complaining about service on the ICE that day, making calls to friends and not sounding polite about it, & one woman was yelling at the conductor, like gee lady go sit down. I learned later from my German friends, we should have walked to the Regional Train Station (after looking on the app to be sure trains were going) and taken a slower train. Lesson learned! Coming back to FRA, we ended up leaving Heidelberg at noon in order to make absolutely sure my friend would make the 6PM train back to London in time. We asked a few people, some said 1-2PM, but one waitress said don’t trust it on the eve of a May Day, basically a 4-day holiday weekend. Friday was a work day, but many take it off. Of course the trains were on time! HA. My German friends told me they add in 1.5 hours to any train trip, just in case.

I would like to stress just how NICE (almost) everyone was to us - I always approached people with 'Excuse me, I'm sorry may I just ask a question' in German, (think Bonjour in France) people were SO kind and helpful! One woman realized we had no clue which way to catch the tram from the main Heidelberg train station, she walked us across the tracks in the other direction from HER route to show us the board with different trams, then went back to her side.

I ended my trip staying 2 nights with German friends in a village outside FRA. It was very warm over May Day, mostly relaxed and took walks. We also went into Frankfurt to see the amazing "Old Masters' collection at the Städel Museum, including works by Chagall, Vermeer & Botticelli.

What happened when my very tired English girlfriend forgot her phone on a train. 😱 We exited the ICE train in Mannheim, only to discover my GF had left her cellphone in the seat back in front of her. She had it in a small wallet, so of course both her credit cards were there as well. We went immediately to the DB Information counter, where a very nice young man helped. He tried to ascertain exactly what train we'd been on (and since we'd arrived so late, we actually took a different train from what we'd booked, yikes) Finally figuring out the exact train, we at least knew it was headed to Basel, he called the train and found the cell phone! It would be waiting for us in Basel, did we want to get it mailed? Nope. We decided to fetch it the next morning, getting up at 6:30AM to get breakfast, take tram back to train station & hop an 8:13 train from Heidelberg, I recall vaguely it took about 3 hours one way. We still hadn't confirmed for ourselves that the phone had been given over to lost & found, as that office had already closed.

Once on the ICE, I calmed down enough to note the ticket was to 'Basel Bad', perplexed because I hadn't heard of it, I asked a conductor, who explained it was the last stop in Germany. Once the 'Left Item' office opened, I called the German office, and the woman was SO excited to tell me they had her phone! The charge was E5 to pick it up, then 3 hours back to Heidelberg, and up to the castle by 2PM to start our holiday....

This sounds like a dreamy girlfriends trip! Dark chocolate cobble stone cake for me, please!!

Nice cliffhanger.... I'll be watching for the "go back for the phone" episode. This is why I tether mine to my purse, though I'm pretty sure a couple of gals on my tour were having a chuckle at my expense. Oh well, I still have my phone!

Such a nice trip report - how wild to go back to a place where you used to give tours as a student !

I have always wanted to go to Heidelberg - I believe the first foreign postcard I ever got came from there - in about 3rd grade maybe from a classmate who had gone home to visit family with her German mother. I really need to make the effort to go - bookmarking your report !

Great report! I didn’t know about the Chagall windows in Mainz. I’d love to see them.

What is the German name for the cobble stone cake?

Hi there, avirosemail, I've done some more editing, hopefully adding German words for things in TR, "Pflasterstein" are the cobblestone cakes. https://www.gundel-heidelberg.de/images/downloads/Gundels_Spezialitaeten_2024mk.pdf

Kim, what a lovely memory, yes do go sometime, preferably not in high tourist season, we found it delightful!

CWSocial - I've edited the Cliffhanger with our dash to Basel to retrieve phone!

Barbara N - It would be worth going to Mainz just to see the Chagall stained glass windows -
The blue in windows cast a gorgeous hue over the quiet space. And because the church was rebuilt after WW2, it was mostly devoid of other mixed centuries of decor, so the windows stand out. https://www.mainz-tourismus.com/en/explore-enjoy/exploring-the-history-of-mainz/churches-other-sacred-buildings/st-stephens. You could walk there in about 15-20 minutes from the Romishe Theatre train station exit, just be sure to take an S-bahn that stays on the correct side of the Rhein! (I've also edited my TR above to add more details about windows.)

There are also Chagall windows in the cathedral in Metz. Just one more reason to add that beautiful town to a trip.

Good cautionary tale about phones and seat back pockets! I just put mine in one on the plane last night. With its tether, I wasn't worried about forgetting it in my flight delayed stupor.

Thanks CWS, it was really a cautionary tale, and also one about friendship. There was NO WAY I was letting my girlfriend, who was my next door neighbor in Singapore 22 years ago & has hosted me so many times in London, schlepp across Germany by herself. I did sigh a few times as we stopped in towns I'd always wanted to visit... And eventually she relaxed and even got a laugh out of it, after I called the 'Found Office' and confirmed they had her phone. She said we needed to take a selfie on the train, as we'd spent so much time on them!

German cake is to die for in cafes and it's the one of the things I miss about Germany/Austria. Even the coffee shops had some form of Kuchen. The US seems more intent on muffins. I never met an Apfelkuchen that I didn't like in Germany.

And yes, if you want to see a bunch of Germans get angry, just announce their ICE train has been delayed or cancelled. Yikes!

I always recommend people to carry some Euros on them in Germany/Austria. There are still some small restaurants and shops that only take cash. And there are far too many pay for play toilets paid by either a turnstile or more often a woman standing just inside the entrance.

One day I'll make it back to see the western part of the country. How fun that you have someone to stay with.

Sandancisco, this sounds like such a wonderful trip! I still regret not fitting Heidelberg into my last visit to Germany, and relying on Rick Steves' advice, who said to "pass it by." But I will definitely make it there next time. And oh how I love the Kuchen and German breads! And the sausages! Everything is so good! Arggh, I should not have read this post before breakfast, lol!

I love following certain artists when traveling. I'm a huge fan of Tilman Riemenschneider from Würzburg, who created the gorgeous wooden sculptures in many churches in Germany, but the Chagall stained glass windows sound amazing! Thanks for a lovely trip report!

Sounds like a really great trip! I am glad you had fun (and successful outcomes). I will get to this area of Germany some time and the Chagall windows are on my list. Research! I spent one night in Heidelberg during the Christmas markets and thought what a nice town it was (and I was way too short on time).

You give me lots of good inspiration!

Thanks Heather, good to be reminded to take a bit of cash for Austria as well. Sweden is a 99% cash-free society, the only place I use a K10 coin is to get a shopping cart...

I never met an Apfelkuchen that I didn't like in Germany. Ha. I'm considering learning how to bake apple strudel, which I think is a very bad idea?

And yes, if you want to see a bunch of Germans get angry, just announce their ICE train has been delayed or cancelled. Yikes yes, we were hiding quietly over in the corner with our backs to our own platform.

KGC - Thanks for reminder about Chagall windows in Metz, because of your recommendation, I have it on my list to visit Metz & Trier.

Mardee - Seriously why didn't I title it 'came for the cake, ate the cake - Heidelberg??' And thanks for your kind words, easy to write a TR with all the research I did ahead of time, much of it from the Forum. OK, Tilman Riemenschneider’s statures look amazing, will look for a documentary. Ah, here's my go-to Waldemar describing a Tilman Riemenschneider Wurzburg carving, start at 2:00 minutes. https://youtu.be/nFqCrULwhD4?si=z6LMWt2r1poiGBh4

Thanks TTM, Just let me know & I can DM you a LOT of travel notes, LOL, impossible to see it all, nor eat cakes in every cafe....

What a wonderful trip and trip report! I don't have plans to return to Germany but the Chagall windows are an enticement. And yes, what an honorable man to give such a gift. Well, and I AM a cake fan, hahaha.

"I think she was a bit overwhelmed by all the pre-planning I had done, ((blame the RS Forum HA!) but it did allow me to relax and have plans for possible places to eat, timing of visits to museums, well you know what I mean."

Seriously this made me laugh. We ALL know what you mean and most of us enjoy the planning part as much as the actual traveling part!

Yikes to the lost cell phone. And you are such a good friend to go with her...I'm sure you all had fun along the way anyway.

I'm glad you included the information about the cash needs in Germany. As mentioned, I've not visited there since 2016 so travel has changed a lot in many places. In Netherlands, France, Italy and UK and from your experience in Sweden, no cash is needed. This is a good example of knowing that the travel was recent and not depending info posted from long ago trips. It's also good to note that cash needs are country-specific and one can't generalize regarding it from experiences in France or UK or Germany or Austria.

Thanks so much for taking the time to post BOTH your trip report and packing report! I've enjoyed reading them over my Sunday pancakes, lol!

Sandancisco, great report. Brought back lovely memories of Heidelberg from years ago. And I've had many a pastry and coffee lunch in Europe.

Like you, I'm a planner. I even have backup plans for my plans. I'd rather spend time at home before my trip researching, than waste time on my trip wondering what do I do today now that it's raining or there's a strike or whatever.

Now I'm off to read your packing report.

Thank you for the link. The windows look amazing.

I’m so glad you enjoyed Heidelburg! Mainz sounds great too, hope to get there someday, but we will at least get to Berlin next year.

Thanks for the cake-related link -- I like the clever name " Kurfürstenkugel " as well.
"

jeanm - I even have backup plans for my plans, HA I guess I do as well, because I always have a list of many more places to visit than there is time. (In Mainz I wanted to visit 3 museums between 2-5PM, including a 45 minute printing demo, not possible.)

BarbaraN - You’re so welcome! Will bring some pictures to our next meeting.

Tammy - GREAT you’re going to Berlin, one of my all-time fav cities. I went there with a study group while living in Germany 42 years ago, it was glorious returning now that the wall had come down. My fav museum was the Gemäldegalerie, a gorgeous art museum with very few visitors.

avirosemail - Seriously, and now I’m yearning for some more cake.

Hey thanks Pam, glad you enjoyed the TR & packing list, I really felt compelled to keep up with you ladies and pack light! Yes, things do change and cash is one of those things.... if I had read up ahead of time I wouldn't have had to skip the cute little Vietnamese cafe I found in Mainz, before I figured out I needed cash. (I was in & out of FRA several times so got it on second pass.)
Pancakes?! I usually read TR's in the evening with popcorn!!

I was hoping you would bring some pictures next time we meet!

BarbaraN, Hopefully I will actually make some photo albums for a change! But will definitely bring my iPad to show pictures.....

My girlfriend just reminded me that including the short sky train rides with major schlepping at FRA, we took ELEVEN trains in 48 hours, yikes thank goodness I had lightened up my travel bag! Much of this was due to the Lost Cellphone that went to Basel....

Sandancisco, thank you for that video! I have not been to Creglingen but it is now on my list for my next trip to Germany. How beautiful! His works fill me with such awe—there is so much detail and skill involved. I also need to get to Würzburg next time as that is where he was from, and I know there are quite a few sculptures there.

I like the clever name " Kurfürstenkugel " as well.

Ha ha, just in time for the election, Avi. :-)

Thank you for that video! I have not been to Creglingen but it is now on my list for my next trip to Germany. How beautiful! His works fill me with such awe—there is so much detail and skill involved. I also need to get to Würzburg next time as that is where he was from, and I know there are quite a few sculptures there.

Mardee, thank you for introducing me to Tilman Riemenschneider what a master sculptor! And, I’ve never met a Waldemar Januszczak video I haven't liked, the one with the clip I mentioned in it is superlative. The Renaissance was so much more than an Italian phenomena.

I really enjoyed readying your trip report this morning! (I also checked out your packing report for future trips.). The Chagall stained glass windows at St. Stephan's sound heavenly. I love his museum in Nice.

Looking forward to see pictures at our next meeting!

Mardee, thank you for introducing me to Tilman Riemenschneider what a master sculptor! And, I’ve never met a Waldemar Januszczak video I haven't liked, the one with the clip I mentioned in it is superlative.

I will definitely be checking out more of his videos! Thanks for sharing that!

Your trip sounds delightful, and I’m glad you enjoyed Mainz and Heidelberg despite them not being in the RS guides! It’s wonderful to hear how you tailored the itinerary with input from the forum community—thanks for the shoutout to KGC, Russ, Nigel, Ms Jo, Tammy, and Jean! Your flexible planning with the Deutsche Bahn app and the light packing strategy (that Samsonite sounds perfect at 6.5 kg!) really paid off, especially with the train hiccups.

Mainz seems to have been a highlight with the Chagall windows and Gutenberg Museum. I love that you dove into the Stephen Fry documentary beforehand—knowing the history of medieval papermaking (handmade from rags and water, pressed into sheets!) must have made the demo even more fascinating. Chatting with the museum director in German is a cherry on top—such a cool connection! The Chagall windows’ story as a reconciliation gesture is indeed touching; I can see why you lingered. It’s great you timed it for a quiet visit—beats the crowds!

Your cash observations are spot-on; it’s surprising how many smaller spots still rely on it. The Hyatt bar sounds like a well-deserved treat after 13,000 steps—Riesling and a club sandwich in peace is my kind of recovery! Werner's Backstube breakfast and Misaki sushi add such a local flavor to your trip.

Joao

I don't want to start a gustibus feud, but having only recently discovered Waldemar Januszczak programs on the BBC has been quite a revelation to me: I never imagined that anyone could be a worse art critic than Simon Schama, but clearly my imagination was too limited. Waldemar Januszczak makes me appreciate Philomena Cunk even more.

I have a small feud going with Waldo fans on FaceBook, where I insist that Sister Wendy must be spinning in her grave while she awaits the Resurrection :-P

Christine - Thank you, there’s so much more to see in that part of Germany, I could have stayed longer, though I must say 6 nights away is turning out to be a nice amount of time, lucky for me there's no jet lag involved.

Mardee- Yes, i am a fan.

Joao - Thanks, yes the Chagall windows were a highlight, but perhaps seen as a 1/2 day trip before moving on somewhere else - We really liked the atmosphere in Heidelberg old town with hills all around & castle above.

Avirosemail -  I never imagined that anyone could be a worse art critic than Simon Schama, but clearly my imagination was too limited. Waldemar Januszczak makes me appreciate Philomena Cunk even more.
HAHA. Well that's the Forum, we don't all agree. You very likely have stronger opinions about art than I. BTW, I completely agree about Simon Schama, but it's mostly his cadence while speaking that gets me.

Sandancisco, I just caught the reference to the Stephen Fry video, and thought, "Surely this is not Stephen Fry, the comedian?". I love Fry, but mostly have watched him on QI and some comedic clips. Obviously, he is very intelligent, but I totally missed this stuff, and it is fascinating! I started the video and had to tear myself away to come back here and post. So thank you for this one, too!!!

I really enjoyed your report. Our next trip will be to Germany, starting in Stuttgart, where friends will be living. Stuttgart isn't mentioned at all in the RS Germany guide.

Mardee - Glad to hear you're a Stephen Fry fan. I REALLY enjoyed the section in that documentary about how they made paper. Without watching that ahead of time, I would have understood EVEN less of the Gutenberg print demo in German! HA. Thank goodness for Youtube.

Thanks, Estimated Prophet - I've never spent much time in Stuttgart, but the Forum has quite a bit written about it, maybe useful? https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/germany/starting-in-stuttgart-advice-on-what-to-see-do-after-that-please.

Nice report - your example should provide strength to those who might be fearful of steering outside of Rick's guardrails when it comes to Germany. The place names you do not recognize can turn out to be most enjoyable.

Hackteufel with a "k" would be the Heidelberg hotel-restaurant's correct name. Hack = hack or chop, or grind in this case. Fleisch = meat. Hackfleisch is ground beef. Hackteufel is NOT ground devil. The name is better understood as "Grinding Wizard" or maybe "Ground-beef Wizard."

Thanks Russ, agreed that it makes no sense to follow one person's view of travel without checking out alternatives. We're hoping to spend a week in Turin, Italy in December, it's not in the RS guide, in fact there's relatively little written about it here on the Forum. Thanks, will correct my spelling of hotel & chopped beef!

One tip for those who want to go see the Chagall windows. If you get off at the Römisches Theater, make sure you go up and around to see the Roman ampitheater and then the fortress. Both are worth seeing. One other site in Mainz that is a favorite of mine is the Isis Temple. Found a number of years ago when they were building a mall downtown, it has a treasure trove of Roman artifacts from around the year 1, left by the soldiers that were here. The display has been done in a creative way and even if you don't speak German, you may find the installation fun by the way Saturnalia is celebrated, or the curses done in a film, kept for posterity rolled up in a metal tube.
Pretty sure Rick has never been to Mainz, the way he tells people to not bother with a visit there.

I hope sometime soon there will be glasses we can wear that will preemptively replace the word

Hackteufel

with

viande hachée

or similar

and the preparer be addressed as a boucher chef rather than a teufel

Even if the same thing was on the table in front of me I would have to be half-drunk before I could smile through a plate of something called hackteufel.

Cover it in Pilzsoße and it may, or may not, help.

{Ok I am not being constructive with this post -- if you think I should delete it, I will]

Thanks Ms Jo! I had added those ruins to my wish list but just wasn’t able to make time for them. And the Temple of Isis is unfortunately closed on Sundays. I prioritized a long visit to the Chagall windows Monday morning.

avirosemail - hahaha, no need to delete post, it was funny. There was a poem on the wall in the hotel that alluded to the origin of the name, which as I mentioned in my original post, left me unimpressed.

Russ, Unfortunately, I'm not able to spell correct my original post, webmaster is working on it!