Regensburg is such an amazing town. It was the first big town that we visited since moving to Germany, and continued to be a go to place when wanting to get out of our small town area. If your family is stationed in Germany, I most definitely recommend visiting here.
Regensburg is located in the state of Bavaria, and is the fourth largest city in that state. I'm sure if you have heard of Germany, you have heard of Bavaria. Regensburg is full of interesting history, as is just about all of Europe. The town still has physical history from Roman times, when a camp was built there. Ruins of the Roman town and even the original entrance still stand today. From 1135 to 1146 a stone bridge was built across the Danube river which helped open trade routes between Northern Europe and Italy. During World War II, Regensburg got bombed, surprisingly only ending in a few places being destroyed. The remaining buildings of the town stayed intact and are still there today.
Wurstkuchl: If you want a taste of traditional, amazing, once in a lifetime German food, then come here. This tiny restaurant has a ton of history and flavor. It is located on the Danube river right next to the old stone bridge. This little kitchen has been around for over 500 years and is pretty famous. You know if this small kitchen that serves a small amount of traditional German sausage and sauerkraut has been in business for more than 500 years, its for a damn good reason. Read the amazing history of this kitchen by clicking here, it's worth it.
Gelato: No link for this, because honestly, go to any and every place you see selling this deliciousness and you're set to go. Every place has a few different flavors that you didn't see at the last one, and they're all amazing. I miss it already!
DO NOT GO TO:
Jalapenos: One thing I missed badly while in Germany was Mexican food. Now don't get me wrong, they had Mexican food... but it's not what American's, or even Mexican's are used to. Germans have a sad version of Mexican food. I found this place online with raving reviews about how great it was (reviews from an American even). We made a point to go there and it was so disappointing. At first it seems great because the building and decor truly looks like you're stepping into a great Mexican restaurant. The menu was strange, but I was hungry and hopeful so I ordered nachos and my husband ordered a burrito. My nachos, were basically BBQ flavored chips with a small handful of melted cheese, some chicken, and a little bit of black beans. The chip to topping ratio was horrible. The taste, was even worse. My husbands burrito was basically just full of vegetables. The salsa that came on the side of my "nachos" tasted like weak ketchup. Just don't go there if you truly love Mexican food like I do. I'm saving you a trip of tears.
Regensburg Arcaden: This is a hard to miss mall and one of two in Regensburg. The train station goes right between the two buildings and right below the walkway bridge between them. It makes it for easy travel to and from wherever you are staying. This mall has plenty of shops and restaurants and is not a long walk from the river and stone bridge. In fact, that yummy picture of gelato above was taken inside this mall!
Cathedrals & Churches:
The biggest one in the town is St. Peters Cathedral. It truly is a jaw dropping cathedral, from the outside and in. This cathedral has an interesting tale to it. It mysteriously burnt down to make way for the big elaborate one you see today. Rumor has it was burnt down on purpose because the town was not aloud to rid of the old cathedral that was there before this one. This mysterious fire made way for what was wanted, a big beautiful gothic style cathedral. Anyone can enter this and visit. Just remember to be respectful, cover your shoulders and knees, keep quiet, and respect the signs posted inside.
The Church of Gold, or the St. Emmeram Church is one that is kind of tucked into the city between the river and train station. It's only a few turns away from St.Peters and seems to have a lot less visitors. Maybe, again, because it is so tucked into the city. It is worth discovering though. The sights inside are jaw dropping with it's gold features and painted ceilings and walls. From the outside, it blends in with the other buildings and appears to just be a simple church, but don't let that fool you.
Porta Praetoria: This is one of the oldest things you will in this town, the original wall and gate to the old Roman town in 179 A.D. You are still able to walk through, and around this gate and leftover wall. It amazes me how they used the remaining pieces and included it into the "newer" pieces of the city, still keeping what was there intact.
The Old Stone Bridge: The bridge that is next to the old sausage kitchen listed above was a big part of this cities history since it opened up a trade route. There's also an interesting story that has been told for a long time about this bridge. It goes a little like this...
A man wanted to build a bridge to help connect the sides of the river. At the same time as he was building this bridge, the Cathedral was also being built. Both of these men became very competitive and wanted to finish before the other. The bridge builder was so eager to win this competition that he went to the devil for help.
The devil gladly helped this man win and complete his bridge before the Cathedral was finished, but for a price. The devil told the man that in exchange for his help, the first three souls to walk on his bridge and cross the river will go straight to hell for the devil to keep. The bridge builder accepted these terms and thus the bridge was built.
The bridge builder began to regret his deal with the devil and worried about which three souls would end up belonging to the devil. When it was time to complete his deal he had a plan. He sent three animals across the bridge before any human, The devil was furious that he had been tricked. He was so mad that he jumped off of the bridge, into the water and straight down into hell.
If you walk onto the bridge, pay close attention to the water, because now there is a still area where the water does not move. And that, is where the devil had entered to return to hell.
I hope you enjoyed learning some about Regensburg. And if you're someone who is looking to visit this town, I hope this helped decide some things to do and see while there! I definitely recommend going there. There are many other things to see and do while in this big city.
