The Castle Road: Eberbach and a Detour

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Saturday afternoon we embarked upon the Burgenstrasse once again. However, this time it was only Seth and I who took to the Castle Route. (After, of course, far too many u-turns and detours to make our way through the overwhelming road construction in Heidelberg.)

It was a nice day, only mildly gloomy in isolated areas, but we mostly experienced a sunny and breezy 72°F / 22.5°C. Nice day to cruise down the Neckar River with the sunroof and windows open. We passed through Neckargemünd, Neckarsteinach and Hirschorn before reaching our destination of Eberbach. Though, admittedly, the journey was a destination in itself.

We parked by the dock and wandered up into the somewhat lazy town. Our first stop was the Museum der Stadt Eberbach. It showed Eberbach through the ages, which we found very interesting, especially upon finding a large book with pictures of Eberbach taken decades or centuries apart but from the same vantage point, and also a large display of an antiquated map of Heidelberg. Plus, there was a cool “forest” and animal display in the attic, fitted into the very eaves and trusses of the roof.

Next we took a walk down the cobble-stoned streets, bypassing all of the cafes as neither of us was hungry. But after a few photos of the town, we sat on a picturesque bench for awhile, and then returned to the car and continued upstream.

We make a brief stop to photograph the Zwingenburg (burg meaning castle) in the town of Zwingenberg. We drove a bit further, but then turned back downstream towards Heidelberg. We took a detour through Hirschorn in search of another castle but were chased out of town by an overcrowded festival. We crossed the river again on the other side of Hirschorn and found ourselves faced with the choice of going up or left, and we guessed the latter would take us farther from home. So we drove many miles up a thickly wooded mountain, precariously high above the view witnessed between the trees, and came out of the woods in a town we didn’t recognize and facing signs to towns we did not recognize. We took a path that led us through fields and hilled farmlands and then again into woods. Here we actually saw a wild hawk perched upon a tree branch above the road. We slowed to a stop to observe it and joked that it may have been hatched at Burg Guttenberg and followed the river here.

We went through some more mountains and woods and came out on the other side of the river from Eberbach. After one more photo pit stop, we cross the Neckar once more and got back on 37 to Heidelberg, actually spotting a second wild Hawk in flight along the tree line of the forest. After returning to our hometown, we relaxed at the German Pizza Hut for dinner, sitting outside so we could have a view of the mountains.

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Photos

Eberbach
We took this photo near the end of our trip, from the opposite banks of the Neckar.

Eberbach
Same as the last photo, a bit closer.

The Town Wall
A closeup of a part of the old town wall that's still a part of the city today.

A Building in Eberbach
This may have been someone's home. I'm not sure.

Zwingenburg
Another castle along the Castle Route.

Zwingenburg
Another view of this castle, from a bend in the river.