Day 9: Regensburg, Germany

It was breakfast time again!

Every morning at 7:00, we could look forward to a wild assortment of delights to choose from.

Eventually though, we settled down to a healthier breakfast. Ummm... Well... You do notice I didn't give up my ONE slice of bacon.

We then went up on the top deck to watch the boat go through another lock. Art was endlessly fascinated by the locks.

Me? Well... since there would be 67 of them to go through, I got used to them.

Our lunch onboard the boat was pulled pork. It wasn't quite like the pulled pork we are used to in the U.S. The flavor was very mild, very mild.

At 2:00 PM we put on our tour wireless whisper boxes and headed out to meet Hubert.

I remembered to write his name in my journal because he even had it sewn into the back of his cap.

Would you believe he even sang us a welcoming song for Regensburg? (Oh gosh! Now you spell the burg with a u instead of a e?)

Regensburg, a Bavarian city on the Danube River in southeast Germany, is known for its well-preserved medieval core. The 12th-century Stone Bridge, a 310m-long icon with 16 arches, crosses the river to the old town. The 13th-century Regensburg Cathedral, a twin-spired Gothic landmark, is home to the Regensburger Domspatzen choir.

                                      --Google Search

 The first site Hubert took us to was this section of an ancient Roman fort.

And here's that famous 12th century Old Stone Bridge.

We signed up for the tour that would also trace the Jewish origins in the city.

Hubert said that Jewish people had lived in the city since the 10th century but didn't have the same rights then because they were blamed for Christ's death.

Jewish people were also relegated to living in only certain areas, had to wear special clothing and were also blamed for causing the plague.

And then... of course... we know that in 1938, they were sent to concentration camps.

Hubert pointed out the Stolpersteins (stumbling stones) in the street that holds the name of someone who was killed during the Holocaust.

   He then proudly showed us the home where Oskar Schindler once lived.
It was interesting to see this poster on the inside of Schindler's home chastising President Trump.

St. Peter's Cathedral (construction starting in 1273) was built in the Gothic style (High and Late Middle Ages) which requires two towers according to Hubert.

Hubert had a number of fun tour gimmicks to share with us.

One of them was a healthy snuff-like powder that you were supposed to inhale. The guys were a lot braver (trusting?) and tried it. Terry and I looked at each other and shook our heads. No way!

The guys then had to spend time blowing their noses to try to get the smell out of their heads.

We walked back to the boat after a leisurely exploration of the town. We especially enjoyed this cuckoo clock store. There was even a model of a clock showing the interior machinery. The salesperson told us that everything had to be made of wood except the gears and other machinery within the clock.

Back at the boat, we enjoyed a lovely lunch and then walked back into town for another look.

       I loved all these elaborate store signs.

As the sun dipped lower in the sky, we returned to the boat for dinner.

And here is Galin with two more German beers for us to sample.

We were now on our way to Passau (still in Germany).

The temperatures were scheduled to be 68 degrees F in Passau. Things were really looking up. We knew that it was a late spring and were constantly worried that the tulips at Keukenhof would still not be popping out of the ground when we flew back there.