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Right in the heart of Bavaria
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The German city Regensburg retains its old-world charm
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REJUVENATING REGENSBURG The riverside city charms with its scenery, architecture and food
Regensburg in Germany is a town of the past, strong on character and charm! From picturesque old alleys one steps out into wide streets and squares flanked by splendid castles and patrician palaces that are witness to almost a 1,000 years of history. Smart shops featuring designer labels peer out of gothic vaults and narrow medieval alleys, while beer taverns and pubs proliferate all over the town, especially along the fast-flowing Danube. You stroll along the riverbank and onto the two islands in the river, admiring the pretty skyline. The city offers three prime pastimes as the local tourist jargon puts it — shopping, tavern crawling, and old-fashioned lazing. Hugging the swiftly flowing Danube, Regensburg reflects a millennium of history. Green and charming, it is a riverside city on the banks of the mighty Danube, and a port on Europe's great Rhine-Main-Danube waterway that connects the North Sea with the Black Sea. For 700 years, it was Bavaria's capital, and for a hundred of those years, it was also the seat of the Carolingian Kings. Today the heart of Bavaria — a claim no tourist has ever disputed — throbs with renewed energy.
History tells us emperors, princes, and diplomats turned the Old Town Hall into a political hotbed. Today, international tourists flock here to savour the heady local experience, from exploring the famed medieval buildings to tasting sausages and beer by the river, in the country's original sausage kitchen.
Germany's only and largest completely preserved surviving medieval city presents a special urban experience through its architecture. Still intact are ancient witnesses in the form of massive stone blocks in the walls encircling the fort on the Danube that once housed an entire Roman legion 2,000 years ago.
World wonder
In the 12th Century, locals built the then equivalent of a world wonder — the Old Stone Bridge, whose huge arches have spanned the Danube for 850 years. And for three centuries, they financed the construction of the culmination of Gothic architecture in Bavaria and Regensburg's pride, the massive St. Peter's Cathedral with its stained glass windows, a mass of glowing colours. A stone angel bestowed a smile on the Blessed Virgin, and the melodious voices of the Domspatzen, the cathedral choir, resounded in the lofty vault as we toured the massive courtyards.
Two minute's brisk walk and we were at the river, flowing swiftly through the arches of the Old Stone Bridge. This is the tourism epicentre, especially the area around the stone bridge with the Historische Wurstkuche (Historical Sausage Kitchen) where we joined hundreds of other visitors fanned across the boulevard.
As old as the stone bridge itself, the world-renowned restaurant is an absolute must. And its legendary fixed menu of sausage, sauerkraut, and potato soup, good enough for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, attracts the high and low to its tables by the river.
Mugs of local beer in hand, we were politely asked by our gracious guide if we were just hungry or very hungry. My `just hungry' declaration landed me a huge bratwurst (grilled sausage) and another, larger mug full of beer. A few short steps got us to the other celebrated local eatery. Dampfnudel-Uli Café is small, intimate, and world-famous for its steamed pastry served with vanilla sauce. Try their typical Bavarian fare, which starts with dumpling of pork liver soup, with a main dish of potato dumplings, sauerkraut, roasted pork, potato salad and green salad. With a hundred rooms, and displaying evidence of human ingenuity and skill, and works by Albrecht Altdorfer — the Master of Regensburg — the City Museum is a classy institution. A few more steps brought us to Johannes Kepler, the famous astronomer's house. There's more art ensconced in the East German Art Gallery, which contains paintings by Lovis Corinth and Oskar Kokoschka.
Tips for tourists
Regensburg is a couple of hours by train or road from Frankfurt. It is connected with several Indian cities by Lufthansa.
Accommodation options include budget, standard and deluxe hotels, with tariffs ranging from Euro 50 to 200.
Dining options are vast. Offered is a range of cuisine that includes vegetarian and `Asian'. A meal for two costs from Euro 25-35 onwards.
The high season is April through October.
Indian nationals require a visa to enter Germany.
INDER RAJ AHLUWALIA
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