Germany - Day 1

Day 1, Germany – Well I am still on Orion time it seems…I slept for a while and now I’m wide awake at 9 pm Orion time and 4 am Germany time.  Or maybe it’s perfect timing and I need to get going!  You know the saying, “Sleep when you are dead!” We packed a lot into our first day and I need to get it journaled before I get behind.  

We left the QC airport about 5 pm on Friday and headed to Chicago for our direct flight to Munich.  After an hour delay sitting on the tarmac with electrical problems, we finally were hurtling through space over the Atlantic Ocean.  On my right was a nice young man who was heading home to Munich.  We had a delightful conversation throughout the night as Sandy quietly slept on my left.  I wasn’t able to sleep and listened to Voyager on my Ipod (thank you for the recommendation Steph and Julie) Arriving about 11 am we were met by Christine and headed to Regensburg on the Autobahn.  Christine’s car is fast and she had it revved up to about 130 kph for a minute or two to show us it how it’s done in Germany!

But soon we slowed down a bit and stepped back in time, arriving in the historic town of Regensburg. Christine and her husband Steffan, live on an island on the Danube River where the pace seems a little more relaxed.  People walk and bike everywhere and after meals may sit in the Biergarten for several hours, eating and drinking, talking and playing cards.  The weather is beautiful and sunny, the perfect day for walking and exploring a new (very old) world.  My 100 year old house can’t begin to compare in age to structures here.  Many are 3, 4, 5 hundred years old!  The architecture is incredible!

Our apartment is a renovated fisherman’s cottage furnished with an eclectic mix of antique furniture pieces and touches of modern art and whimsical additions such as an antique marionette hanging from a chiffarobe. We have a quiet courtyard separating our house from Christine’s, and we spent some time unwinding here and enjoying the sounds and weather of Germany.  It is pretty quiet as we are just far enough away from the closest  biergarten to not have the singing still going on disturb us, although I can currently hear it happening! 

Weddings were taking place all over Regensburg today and we saw at least four newly married couples enjoying their day, one taking photos in the town square with their limo of a refurbished, antique English taxi.  In Germany the driving takes place on the right side of the road as in America, but the English taxi was set up with the steering wheel on the opposite side of the car from ours.  We were wandering in and out of restaurants as they were setting up for the wedding receptions and I was able to see some of the floral arrangements they were using.  Simple, modern, clean lines placed in ancient surroundings, atop beautifully carved antique furniture.  Most places are not air conditioned and the windows and doors are thrown open and we could wander in and out at our pleasure.  We enjoyed seeing many beautiful flower gardens and window boxes over-flowing with colorful displays of flowers.  Quite a lot of eye candy for me!

Walking everywhere, we stopped at several shops and loved looking at simply everything!  One was filled with traditional German dresses in every color and the next store over may be a milliner whose windows boasted handmade men’s hats and colorful women’s hats like the ones we saw on TV at the royal wedding, all covered with feathers and curly-ques.  Fun!   

Another delight of the day was Steffan’s father.  Herman is visiting here from his hometown far away.  I forget how far, but it is far, and the remarkable part is he is 70 years old, a retired blacksmith who created iron fences and other decorative metal work, and he biked here!  He reminds me of Grandpa Wilfred, his hands thick and hard from a lifetime of work and he speaks, what he says, is only a little English, but he keeps up with the conversation easily!   

We toured the St. Peter’s Cathedral with its Gothic architecture complete with gargoyles and spires.  I may go there in the morning where a boys choir will sing the High Mass.  We also crossed several times, the Danube on the oldest bridge on the river.  It is an ancient, stone arched structure, with cobblestones underfoot.  A newer bridge we also used to leave the island is interesting in that the fencing is covered with padlocks.  Couples have their names and dates of marriage engraved on padlocks and take them to the bridge and lock them on then toss the key in the Danube ensuring a marriage never to be broken!  Delightful custom!

Steffan gave us tickets for a guided tour of the city in what Christine called, the train.  But it is not like a train I think of as a train, it was windowed buses without the engine portion.  Three of these were hooked together and pulled by a bus around the city with explanations of what we were seeing played on the speakers.  However it was in German and we couldn’t understand a lick!  When it was over I asked the ticket seller what we did wrong and that we had expected to hear it in English also because that is what we had been told.  He said that we needed headphones to hear it in English and graciously gave us two more tickets for another time.  We probably will do this on Monday when Christine goes to work and we are left to explore Regensburg on our own.

Supper was a delicious meal of red beef, sort of like corned beef, in horseradish sauce with spaetzle. (We thought of you, Gin.  Wish you were here!) Christine and Steffan were wonderful company and the moon was nearly full and very bright as we dined in the open air hearing German music drifting in and out.  Lovely!

I know there was more but I must try to sleep a bit more, the birds are starting to sing, St Peter's Cathedral bells are ringing…we have other adventures ahead!

Martha,  I am traveling with my sister, Sandy.  It is just the two of us until Tuesday when we meet up with 16 others from the QC area.  We will then spend the next 14 days traveling southern Germany and into Austria a bit.  Christine and her husband Steffan own this apartment they rent to travelers.  Several years ago my sons met Christine and her daughter while visiting Germany and stayed with them two days.  Then Lia, the daughter, came to America and stayed with us for a week.  We couldn't come to Germany without visiting them so that is why Sandy and I came early before the rest of our group.