Black Forest, Karlsruhe and Hiedelberg

On Wednesday 3 Oct it was a public holiday in Germany to celebrate the reunification of east and west. I left Stuttgart and took the train to Bad Wildbad in the middle of the northern part of the Black Forest. It was a nice place with rolling hills and the sun shining in the resort town of Bad Wildbad. There was a huge queue for the fernicular up to Sommerberg so I walked up instead. It would be a nice place to go walking for a couple of days, but I didnt have time so just got to the top and back down again. Then I got the train to Karlsruhe. It had a huge zoo in the middle of town and on the other side another big palace. It had some nice gardens too full of people enjoying the sun, and even an old steam train driving around. In the evening I caught the train over to Hiedelberg which turned out to be really back on the tourist trail. Walked from the train station along the longest shopping street I have come across in a little university town and found a pub with a spare bed.
On Thursday I explored Hiedelberg. It is famous for a huge castle up on the hill overlooking town, so I went up there. It was nice enough but couldnt get inside. I walked up the hill on the opposite side of the valley for a view across town and went to have a beer at one of the terraces in town. In the evening I went out for a few drinks with some Americans, which turned out like any night out with Americans.