Christmas in July (7 of 14), Heidelberg
Heidelberg, Germany – 9pm CET, 20 December 2010.
Many would claim (and agree!) that the Hauptstrasse in Heidelberg can be very busy, and at many times overrun by tourists. We used to complain that there were just too many tourists on shopping Saturday – that I would be one of those very same tourists after leaving the city in 2003 would become amusing, if not a little appalling.
Another wast-east street is Plöck which runs not only parallel to the Hauptstrasse, but runs almost as long. This is like an open secret among knowing residents and University students, for all who traverse the width of the Altstadt along the much narrower Plöck will find very interesting shops. Behind the Kaufhof department store at Bismarckplatz, I made the following photo at the western end of Plöck (at Sofienstraße).
I had spent a couple of hours on this evening wandering through the city I had once lived between 2001 and 2003. Memories continued to surface as I walked along the Hauptstrasse; near the eastern end is Kornmarkt. Kornmarkt (“Grain Market”) was used as a central point to exchange a variety of agricultural goods. Today, Kornmarkt marks the start of the pedestrian path up to the Heidelberg Castle, and is also the end- or city-terminus of the Bergbahn (Mountain Railway). At the centre of the square stands the Mary statue which was built in 1718 by the Jesuits to try and convince the citizens at the time to convert to Catholicism.
I made the photos above in Heidelberg on 20 December 2010. This post is published originally on Fotoeins Fotopress (fotoeins.com).
Fotoeins Fotografie 
4 Responses to “Christmas in July (7 of 14), Heidelberg”
We left Heidelberg two years ago, so it’s been a delight taking a peek at your images, Henry. In fact, I used to walk past Plöck’s shops everyday during my morning commute. I hope to get back to Heidelberg again soon.
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Hi and thanks, Tricia! I lived in Heidelberg for two years until 2003, and I’ve been back a number of times since. I still remember fondly how a bunch of us would walk Plöck between Bismarckplatz and Uniplatz to avoid a good chunk of the foot-traffic on Haupstrasse. As you’ll recall, the Hauptstrasse is particularly “thick” on Saturdays and during the month of December. 😉 I lived in a WG on Rohrbacher Strasse, just south of Adenauerplatz; I really enjoyed being close to the Hauptstrasse and the Altstadt. On weekdays, I took the bus or the Bergbahn to work at the top of Königstuhl: good times! Thanks again for reading and for your comment!
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Interesting – we both lived in Heidelberg at the same time. Like you, I’d often walk Plöck to avoid the hustle and bustle on the Hauptstrasse. I lived in an apartment on Theaterplatz, high in the clouds (5th floor). 🙂 What type of work were you doing on the Königstuhl? Some of my favorite hiking spots were in that vicinity.
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Hi, Tricia. Theaterplatz! That’s a nice part of the Altstadt! That’s where the Harmonie Lux theatre is, right, at Hauptstrasse? I was an astronomer working at the Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie, next to the Landessternwarte. At that time (while we were both in Heidelberg!), the bus service from Bismarckplatz up to Königstuhl was infrequent: a bunch of morning services until 9am, and then a bunch of afternoon services until 5 or 6pm. I relied a lot on the Bergbahn (mornings) and Ruftaxi (evenings)! But now, there’s a lot more bus service up the hill. I have to say as well that all of this recent talk about Heidelberg has gotten me to thinking about a couple of new posts for Heidelberg; thanks! 🙂
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