Regensburg

After our lunch at the Pilsner Urquell brewery in Pilsen, Czech Republic, we began our bus ride to Vilshofen. "But Wait!" You say, "What happened to Regensberg?" We were supposed to board our boat in Regensburg, but the Danube was too low due to the amazingly non-existent fall rains. The upside to having to take the bus from Vilshofen to Regensburg and back, and to missing a little cruising time, was that we had absolutely perfect fall weather the entire trip with bright skies and nice temps, and spectacular fall color. I'll trade the bus ride for perfect vacation weather anytime.

We arrived at Vilshoven, made our way to our cabin, and started with cocktails in the lounge. We were introduced to the crew and staff, and then had our first of many wonderful dinners on board.

In the morning we reboarded our buses and went to Regensburg (about 90 minutes away). Regensburg was once a Celtic settlement, and later a campsite of the Roman legions. It is essentially a medieval city with a strong Gothic character which was somehow spared the destruction of two World Wars.

We spent the morning on a guided walking tour of the city, past the WurstKuchel, a sausge kitchen that has been on the same site since the 12th century, past the Steinere Brucke, a 1000 foot long stone bridge built in 1135-1146, past the Dom (Cathedral) St. Peter (which we would explore later in the day, and then finally onto the Schloss Thurn and Taxis where we had a private tour.

The Schloss is the former St. Emmeram Abbey, originally founded in 739. It remained so until 1812, when the monasteries were secularised at which point it became was granted to the ducal family Thurn und Taxis ("Tower and Badger") and made into a palace. The family was a key player in the postal services in Europe in the and is well known as owners of breweries and builders of countless castles. They still live in part of the palace, but you can also rent an apartment there. The palace includes a 12th century cloister, a library with amazing frescoes and a burial chamber. Photography was not allowed, but you can visit their homepage. After the tour we had lunch in their courtyard, which was our first real Bavarian meal of sausage, cheese and pretzels, and beer (Thurn und Taxis brews their own).

Following lunch we went back into town and visited the Cathedral of St Peter. It was built between 1250 and 1525. The imposing western towers were added only in the late 19th century. The magnificent stained glass dates from the 14th century. It contains more than 100 images of St Peter, the patron saint of the Cathedral.The structure is considered the most significant Gothic work in southern Germany.

We strolled back to the bus, rode back to the boat, and enjoyed a lovely afternoon of cruising along the Danube.