Regensburg!

Ummm.  When I hopped off the train I went to an Imbisse and for my last Munich dinner ordered the biggest, most serious sausage I could find.  I have no idea what it is.  I pointed.  It's wonderful!

I took a longish day trip to Regensburg on the Danube in Northern Bavaria.  The city actually deserves at least three days rather than the few hours I was able to give it.  It's a lovely place with an impressive Alt Stadt and a lot of pedestrianized streets and lanes.

My first stop was the St. Emmeran Palace of the Thurn und Taxis.  The family, which is still around, has a long and fascinating history.  The Tasso originated in Lombardy, and one of them conceived the idea of creating a reliable and confidential messenger service, which soon attracted the notice of crowned and mitered heads. The Duke of Burgundy established some of the family at his court, and they ended up working for the Holy Roman Emperor.  So rich did they become and so vital their service that one was appointed a Prince of the Empire--hence the palace.  When Regensburg became part of Bavaria all monasteries became state property, and the Duke of Bavaria let the Taxis have St. Emmeram and they turned it into a lavish palace.

The palace is still occupied in part by the Family, and the current Princess--Gloria--is much in evidence.  Many products in the shop bear her name for example.  One can visit the palace only by guided tour--in German, but a (meh) audio guide is provided for the rest of us.  I carefully timed my arrival using the information in my guidebook which turned out to be wrong, but I got my ticket and explored the town until it was time.

The palace is very worth seeing and to my mind far more impressive than anything Ludwig II came up with.  Most of the rooms we saw were Rococo done in the most lavish of styles.  Then to my surprise someone who appeared to be the Princess herself welcomed us and warned us of a religious service in the chapel. We tromped through as respectfully as we could.

Although the Thurn and Taxis kicked the monks out of St. Emmeran, they carefully preserved the cloisters part of which are Romanesque and part Gothic, and all lovely.  The tour takes about an hour.

Then I walked though the Alt Stadt because I was very keen to see the Stone Bridge over the Danube. And I did, too, by peering under the scaffolding.  It's undergoing a major restoration, and a wooden substitute takes pedestrians across the river.  Since the original was built in the Eleventh Century, I think we can cut the structure some slack in the need for restoration.

I walked back up to visit the Cathedral which is a magnificent Flamboyant Gothic structure.  I strolled some more and made my way back to the Hauptbahnhof and came home.  I tried to check in on line, but Lufthansa does not like my iPad, so keep your fingers crossed for me that I don't end up in a middle seat!