Time past, time present, time future

Germany

The not blue Danube

If you saw 2001: A Space Odyssey, Strauss's Blue Danube Waltz is almost sure to conjure up scenes from the film but, ever since I was a kid, mention of the Blue Danube Waltz always brought to my mind the image of a gloriously blue river, blue as the bluest ever summer blue sky. So, when we got to Regensburg yesterday, a town situated on the banks of the River Danube, the first thing I wanted to do was visit the blue Danube. Sadly, I must report that, at least on that cloudy day, the river was not blue. It was gray.

Gone

Also, the town's famous medieval stone bridge was covered for repairs and even the one medieval carving on the bridge that M. Lee wanted to see had been removed for cleaning. But I'm not saying Regensburg is a bust. It's an intriguing town that's been around since the Stone Age.



In 179, Regensburg marked the northern most reach of the Roman empire though when they abandoned the city they removed it from their maps. No matter. Regensburg continued to thrive and remains a vital center to this day. For example, what is perhaps the oldest restaurant in the world is located in Regensburg. The place has been continuously open to the public for the last 500 years. And it stands on the site of a building from the 12th century that was also a restaurant, the "Garkueche auf dem Kranchen", or 'cookshop near the crane'.

Regensburg today

In 2006, Regensburg was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site and, trust me, the town has an excellent historical museum that makes it clear why it qualifies. This morning we spent five hours there seeing some of the archeological treasures from Regensburg’s last 7000 years before again exploring the city of today.