After the "illumination" there is also a fireworks display, with the pyrotechnics being set off from the old bridge (which is closed for the duration).
We always seem to be somewhere other than Heidelberg on fireworks day. Last night we were here, the fireworks were on the schedule, and it was a clear warm night--so it seemed like the perfect time to check it out.
Our first clue that this is a HUGE event was the number of people waiting with us for the tram downtown. The trams can be packed in the morning rush hour (the local transit network finally added an "E"--extra--tram for our subdivision to help in those hours, but more is needed) but are normally reasonable at other times. Tram service drops from once every ten minutes to once every half hour at 8:00 pm, and apparently a big event starting at 10:30ish is not reason enough for the powers that be to increase that for the evening.
So, we rode downtown on a standing room, with very little space between you and the next person, tram. We had the bad luck to have a (rare) incident on the tram as well. An older lady, who clearly had some mental issues, had her purse on the seat next to her. When a young man asked her to move it so someone could sit, she started yelling at him, and when someone gently touched her shoulder and told her it was okay she began screaming that she was being assaulted and telling people to cal the police.
Sigh. She kept up the screaming until she got off the tram, (eventually deviating into condemning all young people and then all residents of Heidelberg as rude, and stupid). Thankfully she did not stay on to the end of the line with most of us, and everyone on the tram did an excellent job of not engaging her or confornting her at all. So, that made for an "interesting" start to the evening.
Once downtown, I realized that the slower tram schedule was not the only reason our car had been packed. I have never seen so many people in Heidelberg! This event apparently draws 3 to 4 times as many people as I have ever seen come out for the Faschings parade or Christmas Market.
Where there are crowds, there are candy and nut vendors--so the first stop was for a cotton candy.
We headed across the bridge to the park on the other side of the Neckar river. The street was closed and the bridge was lined with people as if a parade were going to be coming through. And the park, which I did expect to be very full, was jammed packed. BOTH sides of the river, as far as we could see, looked like this:
We waded down into the masses and found a spot big enough to put our blanket on the hay right along the shore, and did our best to relax while waiting for it to get dark enough for the show to start. I have to hand it to people for not smoking or being rude in spite of the crowds.
Once darkness settled, the show began. There were just a couple of fireworks over the castle and then the firework effect. I think in total four fireworks were set off while the castle was illuminated. I missed getting a photo of that, but my friend Melissa got a nice shot off of her terrace, that overlooks the castle and was kind enough to give me permission to use it in this post--thanks Melissa!
The fire effect was pretty cool but the wow factor wore off faster than the show. I think we saw that, and only that, for about 4 minutes--which is a fairly long time actually.
Eventually the fireworks started. I was expecting the castle to be lit at that time, but it was not--which meat there wasn't much to make it special. The show was fine, but nothing outstanding.
The fireworks lasted about ten minutes, and then it was time to trek back home. We chose to walk along the river down to the next bridge and catch a later tram, at about the halfway point, in the hopes of having fewer crowds. The walk was calmer than the crowds on the bridge to Bismarkplatz--but the tram, when it arrived, was fully packed, and some people were not even able to squeeze on. We made it ,thankfully, but it was a bit of a stressful ride.
All in all, we are all glad we have gone once and seen what the fuss is about and we are also all fine without ever going back. If you happen to be visiting Heidelberg when the fireworks are running, and your hotel is in an area where you can walk to a viewing spot, it is worth seeing, but in my opinion I would not plan a trip around this event, or even bother to go if staying nearby but not directly in the city.
--Hadley
No comments:
Post a Comment