Walking Tour of Regensburg

---

This morning we skipped breakfast, checked out of our hotel, and set out early for the drive to Regensburg. During the drive it started POURING rain outside, though luckily it was while we were safe and dry inside the car. It was about a 2 ½ hour drive to Regensburg from Salzburg and we stopped at Pentling (just outside of Regensburg) for gas and breakfast (apple strudel and bad coffee… yum!) before making our way to Europcar to drop off our beautiful (and very fun to drive) Mercedes. So sad to let it go…sigh.

The car drop off location was easy to find and only took a few minutes to take care of. They called a taxi for us and then we were off to the city center to check into our hotel ( Eurostars Park Maximillian). It was only about noon and too early to get into our room, so we dropped off our luggage, grabbed a city map, and set off on foot to explore Regensberg. Maximillianstrasse, where our hotel was located, lies directly between the train station and Regensburg Cathedral (Cathedral of St. Peter), making it the perfect location for us. We walked toward the Cathedral first, stopping at a bank and some shops along the way as well as another church (Niedermunster Church).

Regensburg Cathedral is a gothic catholic church and the biggest landmark in Regensburg. The outside is actually quite a bit more impressive than the inside, but definitely take a walk around inside while you’re there. We sat for awhile and heard a tiny bit of organ playing before heading back out again. After looking at the map we decided we wanted to find Alte Kapelle (the Old Chapel) because from the picture it looked so much more impressive on the inside. After stopping to do some shopping and making a few wrong turns however, we ended up a little turned around and found ourselves instead standing in between the Statt Theater and Theater in Velodrom (whoops… the Alte Kapelle is actually right across the street from the cathedral…haha). While we were on the completely opposite side of the area, we decided to walk over to nearby Altes Rathaus (Old City Hall) to take a peek inside. You can take tours (the Rgensburg tourist office is also right next door), but we decided against it and instead headed back in the right direction to Alte Kapelle. Whew! It’s a good thing it’s such a small city so walking back and forth wasn’t too big a deal. The church is definitely impressive on the inside!!

After this we walked back to our hotel to put our bags in the room and freshen up before heading back out again to do some shopping… there are tons of popular stores mixed in with smaller shops. After draining my bank account a little (Zara!!) we walked over to the Stone Bridge, where I realized what a mistake wearing a dress that day was. It was SOOOO WINDY on the bridge. It took both arms to keep my dress from flying up over my head and I quickly turned around for the safety of a pillar to hide behind.

Off to more shopping (actually just browsing now, and dodging a few raindrops) at TK Maxx, Tcibo and Mueller (my favorite spot for candy and makeup shopping in Germany!), then back to Maximillianstrasse where we stopped at Café Furstenhof for dinner. They have a really cool upper balcony seating area but it was unfortunately full and we weren’t sure if it would rain again anyway, so we ended up eating inside. The food was REALLY good… I had chicken schnitzel with fries and Helles beer. Yum!

After dinner we walked over to the train station to check it out and see how long the walk from our hotel was (less than 10 minutes) and then walked through the park back to our hotel to turn in for the night.

Tomorrow we take the train to one of my very favorite places…. Prague!!

---