If you happen to find yourself retracing Mark Twain’s boat trip down the Neckar River in Deutschland, consider making a pit stop at the ruined Heidelberg Castle. He did. Unfortunately, the Apothecary Museum (Deutsche Apotheken Museum) was not yet open during his day, but with over 20,000 objects the place is a must-see for any prescription pill-popping Walgreens groupie. The museum has been open for nearly 75 years, which is amazing when you consider there was a war going on at the time. The exhibits thematically cover the history of pharmacy over the last 2,000 years, including a recreation of a 17th century pharmacists office from the Baroque Period as well as a more modern Bauhaus one. People were always looking for a magic pill, even hundreds of years ago, kind of like Kim Kardashian in that QuickTrim commercial. One miracle cure involved mixing unicorns with a universal remedy called “theriac”, a combination of opium, leaven, honey, the flesh of wild beasts and reptiles, dried scorpion and viper. Apparently that shit was available at apothecaries until 1884. Something tells me I’d rather have honey and reptile flesh any day over Kim K’s drug scam. Anyway, if the history of apothecaries doesn’t spark your interest, you can always wander back to other parts of the castle. They have the world’s largest barrel of wine, 55,345 gallons to be exact. Everyone loves alcohol!
Apothecary Museum – Deutsche Apotheken Museum
