It was raining pretty steady by the time everyone got up this morning. We had enough stuff from the market yesterday that we didn’t need to go out anywhere for breakfast. So after eating some hard boiled eggs, toast, fruit and yogurt, I made an executive decision that we would drive into Regensburg today. Since the weather looked like it was going to be a little “hit and miss”, I figured some local sightseeing would be best and Regensburg was only about 40 km away.
It was a beautiful drive through the mountains to get from St. Englmar back to the main highway and the rain cleared up as we left the mountain roads for the flatlands. Everything was so green, the air so fresh, the farms so bountiful and manicured and best of all, I just loved the condition of the roads and the courtesy German drivers displayed while traveling at such high speeds. We finally figured out how to use the GPS system in the car this morning, so that was a big help too.
We arrived in Regensburg in about only 30 minutes and I made our way into the Altstadt (old center of town) by just driving towards the two steeples I could see on the Cathedral. There was an AutoPark near the Danube River so I paid to park for two hours and led us on a walking tour into the center of town towards the 13th Century Cathedral, Dom St. Peter’s. I snapped a beautiful photo of the town as we crossed the stone bridge over the Danube river that was built in 1146 and has been in continuous use ever since.
Regensburg has been continuously inhabited since about 500 B.C. It was later conquered by the Romans and became one of their Northern most outpost. In the 7th Century, Regensburg was used as a launching pad from which Christianity was spread throughout the rest of Southern Germany and Central Europe via the Danube River. Most of the town’s history and antient architecture remains intact since Regensburg received barely a scratch during allied bombing during WW II.
As we came around to the Northern side of the Cathedral, we stopped in at a very busy little Italian restaurant for lunch. We had passed several other cafes and imbisses on the way, but none were as busy as this place. After we had finished our meals, we knew why. Everything was fresh and made to order right in front of our eyes. There was no way to finish the portions we were served which gave us plenty of leftovers to take back to our resort.
Time was running out on the parking meter so I got everyone moving again, walking along the riverfront back to the autopark. Our timing couldn’t have been more perfect. We could see the parking attendant making her way down the first row of cars, writing tickets to cars with expired time. Luckily for us, I had parked in the 2nd row of cars and we were able to get back to the car and get on our way while she was writing a ticket to the car just four spaces over from us. After such a perfect lunch and close call missing out on a parking ticket, it was time to head out of the town center back and find the highway back to St. Englmar.
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