My Dad has been hiking up and down the mountain every morning since we got here. I've been sleeping in... but woke up early enough today to join him.
We headed down the mountain, zig-zagging on a steep incline through lush, green woods with birds serenading us all the way. We made it to the Neckar River, which was sparkling in the bright sunlight, and walked along a path by the river until we reached a lock, with a bridge for pedestrians above the river. We walked over the river (peering at it over the sides of the bridge, but also through the metal grates we were walking on) and into the town of Neckarsteinach, joking that we can combine our workout with grocery shopping (since there is no grocery store in Dilsberg). We walked around town, visiting two beautiful churches (one Catholic, one now Evangelical but formerly Catholic) and then followed the signs to "Vierbürgen" (Four Castles), which we could already see... perched on the top and sides of the hills just outside the town. We walked up to one, which is privately owned (yikes! who owns this incredible building and property? one can make out a chapel and tower from outside the castle walls), and then around it through the woods, and arrived at the fully explorable ruins of another. I spotted a bench and decided to lay down to enjoy the warmth of the sun, the fresh air, and the singing of my birds, my Dad (of course) climbed up to the top of the tower). Half-opening one eye, I had the most beautiful view of the river, the town behind it, the mountain of Dilsberg, and, a few feet from me, a little black bird perched on a rock, singing to me...
The rest of the day: practicing, eating, and (in the evening) watching Poulenc's opera, "Les Dialogues des Carmélites" on ZDF television...
(Sleep)-walking to the Neckar River and Four Castles
