We awakened in Regensburg, having traversed 4 locks by the time we arrived. We were docked about a 15-minute walk from the main square. We had decided to wander through the town on our own and forgo the guided walk.
It was a very warm day, even as we left the boat around 10:30am. It was in the mid-80's by the time we returned in the afternoon. By late afternoon, the skies darkened, the temperature dropped about 10 degrees, and the wind kicked up a bit. We were definitely seeing a change in the weather.
We each needed to run a couple errands, and this was just the town in which to do that. No stellar sights or key monuments--just a nice, mid-sized town with a sprinkling of interesting streets and buildings.
Avalon had given each passenger a voucher for a visit to one of two sausage kitchens. It was good for 6 of the (small) local Regensburg sausages, sauerkraut, bread, and a beer. We opted to go to the oldest sausage kitchen. In what was a very busy outdoor restaurant setting, looking ever so unlikely to find a space for four, Chuck and Kathe snagged four spots at a table for eight. (They are masters at this and are in their element in Germany, having lived here twice during their service years.) We promptly met two of the people at our table--two retired Feds. To add to the coincidence, he had worked at one point for the Corps of Engineers (as had I) and they had lived in Germany for 10 years, at one point in Wiesbaden (as had Chuck and Kathe). What a funny, small world.
Back on the boat in the very late afternoon, we were offered a special Bavarian Beer Experience. A local person explained the history of Bavaria's beermaking. We were provided samples of four different beers, each in its own tasting-sized version of the special glasses suitable for each style of beer. We had a light beer, as well as a Pilsner, a dark lager, and a wheat beer. It was quite an interesting presentation, and everyone enjoyed comparing the different styles of beer.
We weren't done with the Bavarian theme for the day, either. After dinner, we were "treated" to the musical stylings of Hansi, a one man Bavarian band. He plays the (electric) accordion, a pan flute, and myriad wind instruments. It was all very corny and clownish, though the music was entertaining. But when he started picking people out of the audience and making them wear silly hats and play spoons and washboards and cymbals and dance around, we started getting uncomfortable with just how close we were to him. We managed to escape his attention. None of us wanted to be tapped, but those that were surely seemed to be having fun with it. Either that or they were uncommonly good sports.
That was enough of Bavaria for the day. We had set sail around 6:00pm and had a busy night of locks ahead of us. Next stop, Nurnberg (or Nuremburg in English), which is the second city of Bavaria, so we might not be done with Bavarian experiences just yet.
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