The weather has been quite bad over the last week. Cold and rainy every day, where each hour of sunlight is precious. But today, the weather shows signs of being actually nice for once? “Not on my watch,” said Regensberg implicitly. Regen is the German word for rain, so of course that’s when it decided to rain the whole time.
Regensberg is an old German city, dating all the way back to the Roman times. It became a trade hub during the late Middle ages, allowing some families to become super wealthy. They spent this wealth on building towers as homes for themselves, which can be seen all over the city. The city is filled with narrow streets (easier to defend in the Middle ages) and small courtyards, and largely avoided getting bombed during World War II. The centerpiece of the city is a tall, gothic cathedral, used as a church.
Regensberg is also filled with small shops, especially ice cream shops. Within a few blocks, we counted 5 or 6 ice cream places. Some members of our group tried as many as their stomachs could handle, but I only went to one, and had some great chocolate ice cream.
Next up was Walhalla. This is a curious building set atop a hillside over the Danube River inspired from the ancient Greek Parthenon. This building is comparatively modern, having been completed in 1842. Inside housed busts of famous German figures including King Ludwig I, J.S.Bach, Beethoven (both classical music composers), Leibniz (co-discoverer of calculus), and later, Martin Luther (the reluctance was because Bavaria is mostly Catholic).
From Walhalla there was an amazing view of the German countryside, and the steps to go all the way down to near the Danube. At the bottom was a herd of sheep that I visited before timing myself all the way up. It took me 4:10 to go up 416 steps and 242 feet of elevation change, not too shabby.
Last but not least, I tried Vietnamese food for the first time! Although it was somewhat familiar food–chicken fried rice–I think this is a small achievement on the endless road with “picky eater” in the rearview mirror.
I never made it to Regensberg when I did a 3 month sabbatical as a Fulbright Fellow at the University of Ulm. Did get to both Munich and Dachau. Eating German food was not the favorite part of my stay, but the change from American to German food did have a positive effect on my irritable stomach (or was it a new medication I started before leaving for Germany). A visit to Neuschwanstein with Gandma was particularly memorable. Really glad your putting the picky eater in the past. There are many good foods to pick and choose from and many worth avoiding. Love, Grandpa