27 March - Zell to Heidelberg

Despite the grey and dull of the morning in Zell there was one beacon of light today; one of the shops had decided to open (and I do mean one) and so I had the pleasure of breaking my annual Lent fast by sampling a couple of those Black Cat wines and achieving that aim of buying a selection of bottles.  Along with the wine we also bought a bottle of grape oil that we were assured was good for cooking.  It sounds like another form of wine to me but we will see...

  

We headed off in the rain to today's destination: Heidelberg.  It looks nice in the photos on the Internet and it lives up to those images: an old 18th Century town stretched thinly along the banks of the Neckar river and contained within the steep valley of that river.  Our hotel it turns out is quite funky with all rooms decorated differently and representing different cities.  We are in Nairobi, should anybody be wondering, with a selection of wooden and leopard print furniture (more tasteful than it may sound) and a somewhat scary witch doctor mask above the bed.

Heidleberg

After a beer to celebrate the end of Lent, and then lunch with wine, the two of us were fit for very little and so wandered around the old town enjoying the atmosphere and what had now turned out to be a nice day.  Germanic authority reared its head when I was told off by an old lady for walking in the wrong direction for my side of the road (oh yes, it seems that like driving the pavement on one side of the road is for one direction and the opposite side for the other direction).  I dare not imagine the rigid Metropolis like dystopia that might be that woman’s idea of a well ordered town.  After weeks of not drinking our lunchtime wine had also left us both with fits of the giggles which had me wondering whether we were breaking yet another bye law by laughing in the street and generally enjoying ourselves.  We managed to end the day without being locked up (despite more wine and yet more laughter).  We are spending another night here and it is nice to think we don't have to drive tomorrow.