Heidelberg Castle

Ry, Ellie, and I headed to an English speaking Calvary Chapel Church this morning.  It was in a town about an hour North of us called Heidelberg.  We have a great German Speaking Church in our town (there is someone who translates for us) but decided that we would take a short road trip and catch some sights after church.
Heidelberg Castle kept coming up on Trip Advisor as a the number one place to see in the town.  Over 3000 people had contributed to the comments of how awesome it is so we thought we would take a look for ourselves.
We were able to see Neuschwanstein Castle in late January.  Maybe it was the fact it had recently snowed- giving the castle a winter wonderland effect.  Or maybe it was the Alps as the backdrop, or it could have been the artistic beauty of the castle architecture- Whatever it was, the castle and surrounding area was breathtaking.
I figured seeing castles was one and done- we had seen the ultimate castle so time to move on to other things- wrong!!
The raw edge of the Heidelberg Castle was the first thing noticed as we came up around a sharp turn in the road, leading us up to the parking area.  For as breathtaking as the refinement was of Neuschwanstein, the ruggedness of Heidelberg was equally breathtaking.  You could feel and see the decades old stones you were walking on- you could see a mixture of still standing and ruined parts of the castle.  You see authentic history, not a man made recreation- it was awesome.
For those planning a trip to Germany, put this castle on your list- you will not be disappointed (but make sure to put Neuschwanstein on your list too).
P.S. True to what we have experienced so far in Germany- sightseeing is very affordable.  Entrance to the castle for the 3 of us was 11 Euro (7. for me, 4. for Ry, and free for Ellie)