Königstuhl

By Amy Mutch

One of my favorite things to do, especially in the fall, is to hike.  Getting out in nature and breathing in the fresh air is something that really energizes me. It gives me a peaceful getaway.  During the first few weeks, I planned a trip on a Friday morning up to the Königstuhl, which is behind the castle.  The day of the hike is important, which is why I mentioned it.  I put a post on our page about the hike probably a week before I wanted to go.  Immediately, many people were interested.  The day came, but after euro shot night at Jinx, only four of us ended up going. 

Many times when I am hiking, I have no plan or direction, I just walk.  This hike was no exception.  Our only direction was up because the Königstuhl is the highest point in Heidelberg.  We all expected and prepared for a rough hike uphill after experiencing the hike up to the Thingstatte.  We were pleasantly surprised when we found that the trails weaved back and forth up the mountain, gradually increasing us up the mountain, taking us through the greenest forests I have ever seen.  It took almost two hours to get to the top, but when we did, it was worth the time.  The view from the top was incredible.  Since we were all starving, we made the rule that no one takes pictures before everyone eats so we stopped at the little biergarten restaurant they had there and got some food.  I had bratwurst with potato salad and apple strudel.  Maybe it was how incredibly hungry I was but it was really, really delicious.  With full stomachs, we were able to appreciate the view even more. We could see for what felt like forever and the sun shining highlighted the green trees and the river below.  It was incredible. I felt like I could sit up there all day and just look out.  It was a little crowded but not too bad. 

We explored around the top for a little while before deciding we all wanted to head back and take a much needed nap.  On our way down, we found a set of stairs that seemingly went to the bottom.  Instead of taking the trails we took up, we decided to take a chance and see where this staircase took it.  Have you ever gone down a flight of stairs for more than five minutes? Well, your legs begin to feel like jelly and we learned at the bottom, there were over 1300 stairs. 

This hike really helped us all learn to overcome obstacles and keep heading in whatever direction we felt was right.  A few times, we took trails with no signs and had really no idea where they led to.  As long as they were heading up, we felt we were in good shape.  We learned to enjoy each other’s company and take in the beautiful scenery around us.  Just being in the woods was enough for me, but the good company and the amazing view we found was more than I could have asked for.