One of the most famous mentions of the RED OX INN in Heidelberg will be found in the book: A Time of Gifts “Between The Woods and the Water” (dt. Titel: Die Zeit der Gaben / Zwischen Wäldern und Wasser) of Sir Patrick Leigh Fermor. Leigh Fermor, was born at the 11th of February 1915 in London; died at 10th of June 2011 in Worcestershire.

At the age of 18, Leigh Fermor decided to walk the length of Europe, from the Hook of Holland to Constantinople.He set off on 8 December 1933, shortly after Hitler had come to power in Germany, with a few clothes, several letters of introduction, the Oxford Book of English Verse and a volume of Horace’s Odes. He slept in barns and shepherds’ huts, but also was invited by landed gentry and aristocracy into the country houses of Central Europe. He experienced hospitality in many a monastery along the way. Two of his later travel books, A Time of Gifts (1977) and Between the Woods and the Water (1986), were about this journey, with a third The Broken Road: Travels from Bulgaria to Mount Athos due for publication (2013). One of the steps during his journey was the RED OX INN in Heidelberg. He liked the RED OX INN that much, that he mentioned his visit in the book. According to the mention in his book. many historic travellers visit the RED OX INN every year.