Saturday, October 8, 2011

Guided Walking Tour Apps


Some time ago I announced that I had created the content for three guided walking tour apps for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod-Touch about Heidelberg, Germany for a company named GPSmyCity.com. Creating the content meant selecting the sights, determining the GPS coordinates of the sights, taking pictures of the sights, writing the text descriptions for each sight, and making audio recordings of the text for each sight. GPSmyCity.com put the whole thing together by doing the programming, providing the map which directs the user from sight to sight, and getting the apps posted on iTunes. An iTunes account is necessary to download the apps. Each tour is available as a “lite or demo” version which is free, and a full version which includes the audio descriptions and step by step directions from sight to sight. These guides work off-line, hence no Internet connection is necessary, nor do they incur the costly roaming charges when traveling to foreign cities and can be downloaded via the “Free City Maps and Walks” app at:


So far travelers from the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, the Netherlands, Estonia, Romania, Great Britain, Greece, and Germany have bought copies of the apps.

Here are the latest fliers I have created to advertise the apps.

Charming Heidelberg - A Walk through the Old Part of the City

A popular German folk song is entitled Ich hab' mein Herz in Heidelberg verloren. Literally translated that means, "I've lost my heart in Heidelberg." The old part of town (Altstadt) with its many historic sights introduces the visitor to the charms of Heidelberg. Here is a short description of a tour to some of the most important sights in this charming city.

A leisurely walking tour of the Altstadt might start at the Bismarckplatz and proceed down the Hauptstrasse (a 1.6 km pedestrian zone), stopping at the statue of Robert Bunsen, inventor of the Bunsen Burner, past the Providenzkirche (Providence Church), to the Kurpfälzische Museum (Palatine Museum), to the Universitätsplatz (University Square). There the visitor will see the Old University building, the building known as the Neue Universität (New University) and around the corner the Universitätsbibliothek (University Library) and the Peterskirche (St. Peter's Church). Then on to the former student prison (Karzer), the historic Hotel Ritter, the Marktplatz (Market Square) with the Rathaus (City Hall), the Heiliggeistkirche (Holy Ghost Church), to two historic squares: Kornmarkt (Corn Market) and Karlsplatz (Charles' Square) with views of the Castle, historic buildings and the historic student pubs, Zum Sepp'l (Seppl's) and Roter Ochsen (Red Ox). On to the Alte Brücke (Old Bridge), the medieval former arsenal called Marstall, to the Stadthalle (Congress Center) and back to the Bismarckplatz .

 
This was a brief introduction to the charms of Heidelberg. There are greater details about the sights in the old part of Heidelberg provided by a two-hour guided walking tour called "Heidelberg, Charming Old Town" which is available as an iPhone, iPad and iPod-Touch App via iTunes. You can also access it at:


Scenic Heidelberg – A Walk along the Philosopher's Way

Heidelberg is well-known world-wide not only for its famous university, but also because of its scenic charm. Nestled between opposing hillsides where the Neckar River flows toward the Rhein River, Heidelberg displays a scenic beauty that has inspired many writers and artists to sing its praise in poetry, prose, and on canvas. Here is a short description of a tour that will take you to some of the venues that inspired artists to choose Heidelberg as their theme.

A tour with views of Heidelberg from surrounding heights starts at the Bismarckplatz (Bismarck Square), goes over the Theodor Heuss Bridge to Neuenheim, then up the hill to the Philosophenweg (Philosopher's Way) with its spectacular views of the old part of the city and the castle, a little further up to the Bismarckturm (Bismarck Tower), down the Schlangenweg (Snakes Path) to the Karl-Theodor Bridge at which time the tour ends and the visitor is free to enjoy downtown Heidelberg or to take part 2 of the Scenic Heidelberg tour.

This was a brief introduction to the scenic charm of Heidelberg. There are greater details about the scenic views of Heidelberg provided by a one-hour guided walking tour called “Heidelberg, Scenic Part 1” which is available as an iPhone, iPad, and iPod-Touch App via iTunes. You can also access it at:



Scenic Heidelberg – A Walk through the Heidelberg Castle Grounds

Heidelberg is well-known all over the world for its romantic charm, its old university, and its scenic beauty. Many famous poets, painters, and authors have praised Heidelberg and its charms in their texts, songs, or in their paintings. A visit to Heidelberg is incomplete without an excursion to its surroundings, notably the ancient castle which keeps watch over the city.

A tour to the Heidelberg Castle starts at the Bergbahnstation (Mountain Railway Station) Kornmarkt, goes up a romantic walkway between some stately villas, through the Elisabethentor (Elizabeth Gate) to the Stückgarten (Gun Park). Then to the Torturm (Gate Tower), which is the entrance to the castle courtyard, through the castle courtyard on to the Altan (Great Terrace), then back to the Pulverturm (Powder Tower) and the Hortus Palatinus (Castle Gardens) to the terrace known as Scheffelterrasse where the tour ends.

This was a brief introduction to the scenic charm of the Heidelberg Castle. There are greater details about the Heidelberg Castle provided by a one-hour guided walking tour called “Heidelberg, Scenic Part 2” which is available as an iPhone, iPad, and iPod-Touch App via iTunes. You can also access it at: