Unfortunately, the weather didn’t hold out today ranging from threatening, to drizzle to frank downpour. Regensburg has a long history, dating back around two thousand years when the Romans built a fort here to keep the Barbars from crossing the Danube. This lasted until the breakup of the Roman Empire, but then during the Middle Ages, it prospered based in part because of its strategic placement of a stone bridge (which still stands) allowing merchants to safely bring their goods to market. At one time, there were 60 millionaires in Regensburg each building a home with larger and larger towers to show off their wealth. Of the original 60 towers around 20 are still standing. After the Napoleonic Wars, Regensburg’s importance declined dramatically which became a blessing in disguise. During WW II, their was no strategic significance for the Allies and consequently, Regensburg was never bombed. Thus preserving the medieval city intact.
Our final destination in the old town was the Cathedral of St. Peter which dominates the skyline of the city. Mass was being held, and we were able to wander in and listen to their boys choir for a bit. Not the Viennese Boys Choir, but not bad for free. We made our way back to the boat, but not before passing the Historic Sausage Kitchen. This is purported to be the oldest sausage kitchen in the world, and started as fast food to serve the builders of the stone bridge (Steinerne Brücke). We haven’t quite gotten up the nerve to try the sausage (not big on anything but Hebrew National, and these are definitely “answering to a higher authority”).
The boat had bikes to use, so we decided to try to get a bit of exercise. The bikes were not quite up to my discerning tastes. Three speed, kickstand, upright handlebars, and a lard-ass seat. It even had a bell (which actually came in handy to shoo away pedestrians). As we got further from the boat, the rain that had started as a light mist was now a downpour. We had planned to travel down the bank of the Danube on the Regensburg side then cross and ride down the other side and back across the stone bridge. The Regensburg Iron Man Triathlon coincided with part of our cycling route which was pretty cool to watch, but streets we had planned to use were closed off. We got pretty lost thanks to poor English and wet maps, but we finally found our way back moderately drenched, but with an adventure under our belts.
After a quick lunch, we were back out for a tour of Thurn und Taxis Castle. This was originally a monastery dating from the 11th century. In 1812 the Prince of Thurn and Taxis received the monastery buildings as compensation for losing the monopoly he had on the postal service. The family, originally from northern Italy, built the postal system in the 15th century and from 1595 to 1806 (Napoleonic dismantling of the Holy Roman Empire) acted as the Imperial Postmaster General. Today, the princess and her 3 children are the largest landowners in Germany, and the young Prince Albert (26 y.o bachelor) is the youngest billionaire in Europe. The family branched out from carrying letters to packages, now known as DHL, a European rival to FedEx and UPS. As with most of these opulent homes, the size and appointments were over the top. Enormous dining room, ballroom with place fro a 42 piece orchestra, mirrors extending floor to 30 foot ceilings, you get the picture. There was also a burial crypt in a special chapel within the house with several family members spending eternity in the basement.
After the tour, we stopped at a biergarten for a cold one. The beer was pretty good but no pretzels! We’ve been here 2 days and not a pretzel in sight. I may have to go to NY or Philli when we get back to get one. I’m now on a quest for a German pretzel.
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