Vierburgenbeleuchtung...Four Fortresses Lit on Fire

You've got to love German words!  It seems to me that in the German language they are all about utility.  Why fill a page with a bunch of unnecessary words when one REALLY LONG word will do.  Exhibit A - Vierburgenbeleuchtung, the title of this post.  This lengthy word means "Four Fortresses Lit on Fire" and was the descriptor of our final destination last Saturday. 

Before getting to the details of our actual journey, let me first breakdown this impressive word.  "Vier" is the number four.  "Burg"is the word for fortress or castle, and then "en" which is a connector meaning in or on, and then finally "Beleuchtung," which means lighting or illumination.  Slap them altogether and viola - you get Vierburgenbeleuchtung!

I've joked with Tom that I'm going to start taking pictures of long German words found on advertising and see if I can find the longest one.  This one is 21 letters long.  I think that's a pretty good standard by which all others can be judged.  So, stay tuned for REALLY LOOOONNNNNGGGG German words in future blogs. 

Last Saturday Tom and I boarded a coach to Heidelberg, as part of a USO tour.  The afternoon was open for sightseeing around town and at the Heidelberg Castle, which dates back to the late 14th and early 15th centuries, and then concluded with a river cruise on the Neckar River via a solar energy-powered ship.  Our ultimate destination was the Vierburgenbeleuchtung celebration. 

So let's start at the beginning. 

Heidelberg Castle can be reached by climbing a series of nearly 1,000 steps but there is now a tram that can carry you up the slopping hill.  A benefit of purchasing a tram ticket is that it covers admittance into the castle too.  We had a ticket through our tour so we rode the tram going up but chose to descend by stairs.

If you don't want to go in the actual castle but are happy to just walk around the different terraces and levels of the castle grounds enjoying the view, that is free and only requires the scaling of the steps.  It would definitely be a nice place to return to with a blanket, picnic basket and a good book.  Here is a view of the castle from one of the scenic overlook areas. 

Here are some more of the grounds.

The view of the city is spectacular.  Here is a look at downtown Heidelberg.

The outside of Heidelberg Castle is actually very plain.  All the decorative features and statutes are inside the walls.  The outside was intended to be impenetrable with nothing that could be grasped by the grappling iron or other scaling apparatice.  There was also a great, boggy and smelly moat, which has long since been drained. 

Here is a picture of the outer walls and the grassy area is where the moat once was.   The cylinder shaped tower was the prison for the peasants and common criminals - to the dungeon with them - but the square shaped tower behind it is the prison for the affluent.  Literally it's to the tower with them!

Tom and I took a self portrait with the castle's outer walls to our backs.  It was a gorgeous day.  It was our first of four USO tour where we didn't freeze or get pelted with rain the whole time. 

Entry to the castle is via the guard tower and then you walk into the courtyard area.  In the picture below, the walking ramp leading below takes visitors to a cellar where an extremely large barrel is stored.  I don't know the exact dimensions but it was probably at least two stories tall.  Apparently they used to serve wine out of it for visitors but they have since stopped doing that. The shorter building to the left of the photo is where the dining hall was located.  Food had to be carried across the courtyard from the kitchens that were on the opposite side.

This was probably one of the more decorative exteriors.  Our guide told us though that these statutes are copies of copies, the originals long since gone.

A clock to tell time by.  Can you tell what time of day we were at the castle?  Me neither...obviously deciphering the time was an art form!

Apparently the famous German poet - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe - once walked the castle grounds and there is a statue in honor of him.  He is the namesake of the road we live on so we took a picture.  Tom and I plan to buy a book of his poetry to put in our guest bedroom. 

After we had spent a couple hours exploring the castle grounds, we bought some ice cream and began our descent into downtown.  A couple hours later we wandered to the riverfront to meet up with our solar powered boat.  Here it is.

A bit smaller than what we were expecting, and it was rather close quarters, but still it was a gorgeous evening to be on the river and we definitely enjoyed ourselves. 

While visiting the castle we'd seen a very familiar site after spending 6+ years working issues related to the Mississippi River...a dam.  We traveled through two locks on our river cruise.  The first one in Heidelberg and the second in Neckargemund.  

Here we are heading towards our first lock.  The glass windows allowed for an incredible view of the communities and homes along the river.  Almost all of the windows opened allowing passengers to feel very close and connected to the river. 

Tom enjoying the view and the wind in his hair. (smile)

It was about a two hour trip one-way.  During which we had a good German-style dinner and had an opportunity to talk with our table guests. 

It was nearing dusk when we arrived at our destination - Neckarscheinach, first documented in 1142.  it is here in the bend of the river where the four fortified castles meet.  When we arrived, we were greeted by a street festival and revelers waiting for the evening light show.  The four castles are from the 12th and 13th centuries and they are known as "Burgen" die Vorderburg, die Mittelburg, die Hinterbur and Schwalbennest. 

Here is the town and the larger of the four fortresses.

The castles were to be the stars of the evening show.  Once the last trace of dusk was gone, the castles were illuminated with burning red lights and then encircled with smoke - thus "on fire".  This was followed by a fireworks show.  The show concluded with a river of fireworks cascading down the turrets of the castles.  Very cool and pictures do it no justice.  

The show was very good but unfortunatley something very hard to capture in pictures.  Here is one of the castles lit up with red strobes and ringed with smoke.

While our digital camera does have a special setting for fireworks it must not be that good because we weren't able to get any good photos of fireworks but here is one of the better ones to end this post with.