Regensburg

Today we took the train to Regensburg which took about 2 hours (with one transfer). Regensburg is a UNESCO Heritage Site. It is one of Germany's oldest towns and was founded by the Romans in 179A.D. It contains many landmarks from the Middle Ages such as the Cathedral of St. Peter, the Old City Hall and the Stone Bridge across the Danube. Regensburg was largely undamaged during World War II and today is a bustling city of 137,000 people with 3 universities. There are a lot of young people about, mostly on bikes presumably going to and from their classes. We had a great day exploring this beautiful medieval city. The old buildings are quite beautiful and even the new ones blend into the old look very well. Most of the windows had flower boxes with still colourful displays of flowers. For lunch we joined the crowds to experience the best sausage and kraut Regensburg has to offer. In an old quaint building from the 1300's down by the edge of the Danube, the Wurstkuchl restaurant offers up Schweinsbratwurst vom rost mit sauerkraut and a Jacob Kleines Pils vom Fass for about 10 euros a head. The kitchen looks very old indeed but they were cooking up the sausages non-stop for the hungry hordes who kept coming down to the restaurant. What fun! Must say they were delicious and served with caraway seed buns. The buns are in a basket on the tables. When you pay they ask if you ate any bread from the basket -- that's when you find out it costs extra to have the bread!! Caught the train back to Passau about the same time as all of the students were coming home for the weekend so it was very crowded. Having stuffed ourselves with bratwurst at lunch we opted for a bit of fresh salad and fruit and yogurt for our dinner. We were still stuffed full by the time we got back to Passau. Tomorrow a sort of down day in Passau before we board the boat Sunday. Don't imagine there will be internet on the boat so we will be quiet for a time. Tchuus! P.S. Noah - Papa took a photo just for you today. Can you find it?