Regensburg

Today we became tourists. We left town/post for awhile to get out and experience more of Germany. Friends that use to live here recommended going to Regensburg if we got the chance. It's not too far away and since we are just hanging out a small room, we thought why not.

The trees here are different from the ones in MO and KS. As you can see the snow stays on the trees making it beautiful scenery. The picture doesn't do it justice and it was taken from inside the car. You also see the white/gray sky. Apparently, it stays that way for a good 3 months or so we've been told. The sun has not shined since we've been here. Dreary....very much so.

Here is some German homes in a little town we drove thru. I will post more pics in the spring when the snow goes away and the sun comes out. But the snow hater in me does see the beauty of the snow here. The Germans are great with clearing the roads and sidewalks of the snow and ice. It snowed here everyday for the first 5-6 days we were here and they were out every single morning even with it still snowing, clearing the way.

We went to IKEA!!!!!! I loved it and James said he was underwhelmed (it's his new word as of late). It reminded me of a Crate and Barrel store a little but less expensive. Very contemporary items. I'm excited to get a house and then go back to furnish/decorate the it some.

This is the Historiche Wurstkuche or Historic Sausage Kitchen. In the summer time it is really crowded with tables out in front on the banks of the Danube. Today it was really crowded inside and we were lucky to get a seat. The food was really simple and really good, little wursts (sausages) served on a bed of saurkraut with a sweet homemade mustard. The wursts are cooked over an open fire grill on one half the restaurant and the seats on the other. James also had a weissen bier. A wheat beer that was a little different from an American wheat beer with more a sweet, citrusy taste.

Here are some buildings in the historic part of Regensburg. This is a view from the bridge over the Danube River.

James and Macen on the bank of the river right outside the restaurant we ate at. Macen has a fascination with rivers (and most bodies of water) so he loved watching the water flow. He also liked chasing the pigeons that were plentiful in the area.

Here is the Danube River.

Bavaria is a part of Germany that resisted the Protestant Reformation and is still very much a Catholic area. Many of the days off work are actually Catholic holidays. The Regensburg Cathedral at the city center is called Dom Sankt Peter or St Peter's Cathedral. It is beautiful! We didn't go inside but the next time we are down there, we will. Just imagine how beautiful it looks when the sky isn't gray.

ETA: I forgot to mention the bakeries. Germans love their bread and so do James and I. While roaming the streets of Regensburg, we found numerous bakeries and decided we needed to try it out. We each got a pretzel and James got a cinnamon roll and I got a chocolate covered domut. The pretzels were fantastic! Macen was even begging for one when we got back to the car. Of course he doesn't like bread but he held onto it and licked all the salt off it.