Regensburg

Today was another long day and the first time we had any problems.  It started with and hour delay in our departure time.  Instead of 8:30, we didn't tie up until almost 9:30AM.   We could have slept an extra hour.  Then we boarded 2 completely packed buses.  Usually there are a few seats left over but not today.  The ride was about 2 hours and it was raining off and on.  We finally arrived at the dock to board a steam boat for a trip through the Danube Gorge to the Weltenburg Abbey.

Danube Gorge

We were among the last people to board the steam boat and discovered there were no more seats available except for the ones out in the rain. After standing for awhile one of the guides convinced a few people who were not part of our tour group to move over to give some of us room to sit on the upper deck, but we missed out on the coffee served downstairs.  Once the rain stopped we went out on the open deck and took a couple of photos.

St George and the Dragon

Once we arrived at the Abbey things were a little confusing because instead of 2 separate tour groups, we all merged into one and the guide who was assigned to our group disappeared.  We entered the church an one of the guides explained the significance of the various art.


The church is beautiful.  It's patron is St George and there is a statue of him slaying the dragon behind the altar.  The painting on the flat  oval ceiling is done so that the ceiling appears vaulted. There are wonderful paintings and gilded statues all around the room.  Everyone left exclaiming how magnificent it is.

Ceiling in Abbey Church

After seeing the church we had a lunch in the Abbey, consisting of salad, chicken & noodles, ice cream for dessert, and of course, beer.  The Abbey is famous for their dark beer and former Pope Benedict had this beer sent to the Vatican, since it is his favorite.  In case you don't know, he was I believe his brother lives at the Abbey.

Lunch in the Abbey

After a visit to the gift shop, we gathered for the half mile walk to where the buses were waiting to drive us to Regensburg.  Of course, it started to pour just a we began the walk.  We were totally drenched by the time we got to the buses.  We then had another hour ride into the city for our afternoon walking tour.


Regensburg is an old city, with structures dating from the Romans.  It was a very interesting tour and the rain mostly slowed to a drizzle.  Our city guide did his best to keep us out of the rain.

After walking around the city for about an hour and a half we ended at the ancient stone bridge shown below and the oldest continually operating sausage house in Germany, where we had a voucher for sausages, sauerkraut, and more beer. The food was good.  Even Ray liked the sausage.  We also got to go in a shop where they explained how coo-coo clocks are made and showed us that there are several kinds.  We enjoyed the demonstration, but refrained from purchasing one.

Old Stone Bridge

The ride back to the ship took another hour and a half.   We went to happy hour and the nightly brief on the next day's activities, but then skipped dinner.  We had enough food today.  Tomorrow is another long day, but our cruise director said we will be back on schedule with our itinerary by tomorrow night.

Historic Sausage House