Day 37 Monday, October 6, 2025
On our drive to Stuttgart we stop at Worms, Germany. Worms is pronounced Vurmz. We passed through this huge gate on the bridge over the Rhine River.
We find a place to park on the street but have to move to a parkade because the street machine won’t take our euros…big surprise! St Peter’s Cathedral is our first stop but we can’t find the door to get inside! 
In our walk around the church I see steps leading into what looked like a private area, but I take a look anyways and it is actually a public garden so we go inside. When I see something like this I am so curious. I wonder what it is, why it is there and where does it lead to? 
Turns out this garden marks the location where Martin Luther refused to recant his beliefs at the Diet of Worms in 1521. This was the beginning of the Protestant Church and its split from the Catholic Church. These large bronze shoes in Worms’ Heylshof Park shoes are part of a 2017 memorial sculpture, which allows visitors to symbolically “step into Luther’s shoes” at the spot where he stood and defended his doctrines.
A ‘Diet’ was an assembly or meeting of authorities to make decisions on important matters. The Diet of Worms of 1521 was convened to determine how political and religious authorities should respond to Martin Luther’s teachings. Because the Diet was held in Worms, it is know as the Diet of Worms which still makes me smile because of course I think of eating worms.
We leave the garden and go back to the church, passing a kindergarten with this colourful mosaic mural.
St Peters Cathedral is another cathedral that escaped destruction during the war. Curious, I did a bit of of research and learned that the high belltowers and steeples of cathedrals were used by the Allies as navigational landmarks and that sometimes military planners made conscious efforts to protect major cultural and religious sites. So perhaps not divine intervention after all?
We do finally find small side door that allows us entrance to the church. There is an art display in the cathedral by a group called Atelierblau. There are some really interesting pieces. Unfortunately I couldn’t find the names of the artists or the works they created. Here are a few of them.
The sign on the trunk reads “A thousand roses for a thousand lives”.
There are several large sculptural pieces that are from the church cloister. I think they were placed inside the church as a method of keeping them safe from damage.
Built with red sandstone between the years 1130 and 1181, the church has a relatively simple interior…
…except for the choir and altar.
Bob noticed a side entrance to the crypt which contains the tombs of early rulers from 990 to 1040 AD.
Outside I see what appears to be ancient graffiti.
This fountain is at the end of part of the old town wall.
More graffiti, only on a tree this time.
This little bird sculpture with its huge beak, ragged wings and stubby body caught our eye…we both really liked it.
The Luther Monument is a group of statues. Martin Luther stands surrounded by bronze statues of the individuals that supported him. Plaques of the towns that supported Luther and the Protestant Reformation are placed on the walls of the monument.
This monument is in a lovely park near the Cathedral.
There is a model of the statue with information in Braille, which was unique.
Back on the road I finally manage to get a photo of the Ausfahrt sign…which simply means Exit. I remember that we found this quite hilarious on our first trip to Germany with our daughter many years ago.
Next stop is Heidelberg where we are going to visit Heidelberg Castle that Bob says is like Versailles. We have a hard time finding the entrance to the funicular, even using Google Maps! Finally I notice a small picture of a train on the wall of what looks like the entrance to a mall…we only walked past it two times! The part of the journey we take is all underground.
We walk to the castle but all we see is ruins…turns out Bob mixed up his castles! It is fine though as this looks interesting anyways. There is an in depth tour through the ruins in an hour and a half but we decide to just wander and see what we can. This gate was built in one night by King Frederick V for his wife as a birthday present.
Our funicular ticket gives us access to the courtyard, the German Pharmacy Museum, and the Big Wine Barrel. We walk through the gate to the courtyard…
…and we are greeted with views of the ruins of what must have been a very impressive castle
Walking through the doorway in the above photo we arrive on a huge balcony overlooking the Rhine River with views of Heidelberg below.
A view of the ruins as seen from the balcony.
It is cold out so we go inside to see the Big Wine Barrel. It is pretty impressive and I take this photo and then walk around the corner while Bob is inspecting the barrel. I come back and tell him “You need to come and see the BIG Wine Barrel!
Here it is!
This wine barrel held 220,000 liters of wine. The stairs I am standing on lead to a platform above the barrel that was likely used as a dance floor! 
Last stop is the German Apothecary Museum. It is warm inside, which I really appreciate. Aspirin was a commercially sold product in 1889. 
This chest of homeopathic medicines from 1890 contains 312 vials of homeopathic remedies.
What is it about chests with lots of little drawers that I find so appealing?
Of course, ground unicorn horns were in big demand as a cure for ailments such as fever, plaque, poisoning convulsions and epilepsy! Unicorn horns were just long tusks from narwhals or other animals but they were an expensive medication reserved for royalty and the very rich. 
An early distillery…
…bunsen burners and a telescope from 1780.
We had such a hard time finding the entrance to the funicular and wondered where this castle was located…well, on our way back to the parkade I Iooked up…and there it was! We both laughed, but then we couldn’t find the entrance to the parkade! We looked everywhere and finally walked down the out ramp, and there was the door to the exit. We checked it out and the stairs outside were right beside the ramp we just walked down…no sign or markers though!
Back on the road to stuttgart…and it is raining again.
I think I may have mentioned that there are big trees in Europe? This hollow tree was cut down, I presume for safety. Can you see me in the other end?
We had our picnic lunch on a bench beside the church, overlooking the town far below, then walked back uphill to the park. We hear a lot of laughter and screaming so decide to find out what is going on. Just a short distance away there is an enormous Tree Climbing Adventure Park that covers several acres.
This platform high in the trees…
The kids liked that I was taking photos.
We stroll down some narrow streets on the way back to our car.
and lots of seafood. Too bad neither Bob nor I are fans. The very last picture is of Lapin…Rabbit. Not something we are used to seeing. I had rabbit once many years ago and although it was OK, it isn’t something I am interested in trying again. 
This room was the treasury and in 1995 a secret chamber was discovered under the stone floor, that still contained precious treasures from hundreds of years ago. There was no information on how this chamber was discovered. It is amazing that it would still be there after all this time. Bob is standing beside this secret chamber in the photo.
Rather it is the three enormous silk embroidered wall hangings displayed on one of the long walls. ‘Chamber de Soie’ or ‘Silk Room’ is also created by Eva Jospin. 
I did find a video explaining how these pieces are constructed with corrugated cardboard, but sorry, it is a FaceBook video so not everyone may be able to view it. 
discover that we can climb the bell tower for just 2.5 euros! I’m not wanting to do it today but I hope we can get back another day. We have climbed a lot of bell towers on our other trips, but so far not a one this time.
This is one of the entrance gates to the old city of Carcassone.
This is mostly an opportunity to see the fortifications that make this citadel so unique.
Carcassonne is now considered to be the largest and best conserved medieval fortress in Europe. It is impressive with its set of double walls and ramparts. Both sets of walls and the area between them can be seen in this photo.
I loved this carved lizard, which is the symbol of Montrésor.
I notice that the leaves are staring to turn colour…winter is coming!
But then we enter the display area for the Apocalypse Tapestry and we are utterly astonished. This is the largest medieval tapestry in the world!
This information gives a brief history of this incredible tapestry.
Another interesting panel…well, they are actually all very interesting.
There are usually 5 monks and 7 nuns who live at the abbey and there are only 25-30 people who actually live on Mont Saint Michel. We sat and listened to part of the mass, from the side of the church. The singing was really lovely and I found it interesting that the nuns and the priest sat on the floor of the church during the service.
There are so many interesting doors in this abbey.
There are so many smaller rooms and interesting spaces to be explored. This one is off the side of the crypt.
When the Abbey was used solely as a prison in the 1800’s, this huge wheel was was used to haul supplies up to the abbey. Prisoners walking inside the wheel were able to raise and lower a cart along a stone ladder inclined along the rock wall. 
We hear shrieks and peals of laughter and realize that is is coming from the people out walking on the sands now that the tide is out. Some of them are thigh deep in the water! There are a lot of people out there, some of them way off in the distance. Thanks, but I am happy to pass walking in mud and cold water.
Bob took interesting photos of the inside and outside view of these two stained glass windows.
…interesting details…
…crooked roof lines…
We are staying in the Old Jewish Quarter and the roads are very narrow and crowded. As we leave this area, the roads widen and there are many pedestrian-only roads and big plazas. This large ornate building is the first large building I see on the main Street near our apartment.
We walk towards the nearby Christmas Markets. There are lots of small wooden ‘cabins’ filled with beautiful crafts. I loved these dried fruit ornaments, but I am sure that I wouldn’t be allowed to bring these through Canadian Customs. Too bad, they are lovely and smell wonderful.
There are several stands with all sorts of candies…
beautiful felted hats, that are priced starting at $150.00 CAD.
This our first Christmas tree of the year.
This ‘Little Princess’ is the first of many statues we see on the streets of Budapest.
Another ferris wheel, but we decide to pass on riding this one. 
St. Stephen’s Basilica is in the centre of Budapest.
The inside off the church has lots of gilded ornamentation and a beautiful dome.
The main attraction in this church is the thousand year old mummified right hand of King Stephen. If you want to see this relic, deposit a coin and a light comes on to view the hand.
These two borzoi dogs looked like they needed a bath and brushing. There are lots of dogs here and they live their lives on pavement. I kind of feel sorry for them.
The Fat Policeman Statue represents how hearty the Hungarian foods are, and rubbing his tummy is supposed to bring good luck. There are many ‘good luck’ statues on the streets of Budapest.
The Hungarian government erected the ‘Memorial for Victims of the German Occupation’ statue in the middle of the night in July 2014.
Some seed pods from one of the trees near this statue are interesting.
There is a statue of Ronald Reagan in this plaza as well because of his efforts to end the Cold War.
There are so many ornate buildings here…
like the Parliament Building! It is so big I can’t get it all into one photo.
Across the river we can see the Buda Castle.
Bob takes a moment to sit with the Hungarian poet Attila József…
and then we walk onto the Chain Bridge with its guardian lions for a view of Budapest from the river.
This is the Pest side of the river, the side our apartment was on…
and this is the Buda side. These two cities were united in November 1873, and the name ‘Budapest’ was given to the new capital.
I don’t know what this building is but it had delicate golden trim that sparkled in the late afternoon sun.
We find a statue of Roskovics Ignác, a famous Hungarian painter, on our walk along the Danube River.
Walking through the Christmas Market on our way home I notice this jar of pickled onions! They made me laugh!
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