Last weekend all 24 of us took another daytrip out to Regensburg, a fairly sizeable town about ¾ of the way to Nürnberg. During the middle ages the town was very important for the salt trade and as the seat of one of the German bishops. The town had very little strategic significance in the 1940’s and thus did not share in the obliteration by bombing that Munich and Nürnberg would endure. As a result, the centuries worth of buildings, bridges, and churches have survived to this day for us to see and explore.
Compared to Murnau or Lengriss, Regensburg is an active city with a lot going on; I really liked it.
The first thing you see as you arrive in Regensburg is also an important navigational landmark, the Cologne-esqe cathedral:


We would go inside later on in the day so, for the sake of being mildly chronological, I will save the inside pictures for later.
From the Cathedral we worked our way towards the town’s Lutheran Church, seen here:
Onward we went to the Danube and the wonderful old bridge seen here:

We went out onto the middle of the bridge for a great view of the city and the buildings lining the river.
We then had two hours free for lunch so a bunch of us decided sat down at Wurstkuchl by the river. I have been variably told that this restaurant is the oldest “fast-food” restaurant in the world and the first place to serve bratwurst. Ever. It was really really good. Check it out:
After lunch was the Cathedral tour. The place was really impressive:




After looking at these pictures for a bit I've decided that they do not do this place justice. I think I may say that every time I post pictures; be aware.
This cathedral was started in the 1200’s but, like the Kölner Dom, the spires were not finished until the mid-1800’s. I was really struck by how elaborate and ornate the place was, considering the majority of it had been built between 1200 and 1550. Those Middle Aged Germans deserve some commendation.
After touring the cathedral for a bit the group moved on to a building next door, moving quite quickly I might add, and I missed everyone leave as I continued to check stuff out in the church. I found everyone again in little time but it was really strange how quickly I was lost.
From the Cathedral we walked west to circle the city’s palace and end finally at the palace’s Lutheran Church. This church has a really beautiful interior, which I wish I could show you all but the service was going on and they wouldn’t let you take pictures. I’m ok with that though. Palace:

At this point the tour was “officially” over, but Patricia gave us the option of staying longer on our own if groups of 5 could be formed to use the Bayern Tickets we had from our trip up. She then asked if anyone was interested in staying and I and 4 other raised our hands. Perfect.
One of the newly formed group of 5, another Chris (!), recommended that we stop by the town brewery, the Fürstliches Brauhaus, by the palace. He had been to Regensburg several times before and really wanted to stop by and enjoy some of his favorite points in the city.
As we sat at Fürstliches drinking a really delicious Weißbier Chris told us all about his lengthy and fairly interesting connection to Bavaria here. Four or five years ago he first set foot in Munich as a high-school exchange student. Over the course of his stay he would meet and begin to date a German girl from Munich, a relationship that did not end when he went back home to Maine. Between then and now he had managed to keep in good contact with this girl and would visit, for months at a time, for the next few years. Then, as a journalism student now in his junior year at a college whose name I’ve forgotten, he decided to return to Munich to study abroad. That’s some impressive commitment. As a result, of course, he is fluent in German and knows the city really well. Crazy!
After the brewery Kyle, one of the newer JYMers, and I climbed up into the tower of a church for a really great view of this fine city. It was a really great way to cap off a pretty solid trip.



Sorry for the delay on that one team; I’m gonna hunker down today and try to get through at least my Zurich trip and hopefully into what I saw last week. Cherrio!
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