On Cities

With the advent of warm weather I have found myself missing Regensburg. Not surprising, of course: the sunny seasons there signalled non-stop Danube swimming, riverside picnics, plenty of gelato (only one country separated us from Italy, of course!) and sitting in the shadow of the medieval skyline late into the night laughing with friends.

It’s not a tear-your-hair-out, throw-yourself-onto-the-ground, life-crisis kind of missing - simply a gentle tug on the heartstrings when the sunlight dances in patterns across the floor, when my hands cup a melting ice-cream or walking through meadows towards the river. I wonder if others miss cities this way.

I have realised I love cities like friends or family. I live in a city (or perhaps just visit) and fall head-over-heels in love, the most whirlwind of romances - I define myself by my surroundings. Last year did I think of myself as an English girl living in Germany? No. I thought of myself, with a fierce loyalty, as a Regensburg citizen with as much love for the Danube and Walhalla as any born and bred native themselves. 

London is my sister, my partner-in-crime. Our secret hobby is people-watching on the tube. She knows my secrets and I know a few of hers. We know together that Green Park is the best place to meet a friend in summer, that the National Gallery is best visited on a weekday, that one needs to push and shove just a little to get anywhere downtown. She’s old and beautiful, if a little rough around the edges, and she knows how to make me swoon (note: St. Paul’s at sunset.) I love her. Inevitably, though, we sometimes need a break from each other - we grew up side by side after all.

In this space, Bristol slipped in. We were fast friends. My heart leapt at the delicious old houses, the dreamy cherry blossom tree outside the French department, the acres and acres of green. Bristol is my grown-up best friend, and she’s not easy to stereotype. She’s lively, sometimes, but equally quiet. Walking along deserted Redland streets, trees bowing to make tunnels above one’s head, you’d not be mistaken wondering if anyone lived here at all. We kindled our friendship over hot mugs of tea in dimly lit cafes, overlooking the Suspension Bridge, walking through streets of grand sandstone houses covered in crawling ivy and wisteria. On rainy days (of which there are many) I curl up under blankets and appreciate our friendship. Bristol is the friend who’ll sit with you quietly in the daytime and take you out for a spontaneous adventure in the evening. I love her for her beauty and her solitary side, her surprises, and her hills which yield the most unexpectedly breathtaking views. 

And then.

Regensburg.

The city to end all cities. 

My true love. Regensburg which defies description. Her colour palette of Danube blue, medieval orange, grey cobblestones, green-leafed trees bending to kiss the water. The white-washed house I lived in, sitting on the spine of Europe’s greatest river. The colourful parade of 18th century houses adorning Stadtamhof’s main street. Regensburg is my soulmate. We have so much fun together. We swim in rivers, dance down ancient streets, cycle alongside streams, and sit outside at Biergärten as the sun goes down. Regensburg has the best sunsets. There’s a reason the Bavarian sky is world-renowned. I miss her every day. She taught me the essence of fun and adventure, and she was always waiting in her glorious splendour when I deserted for a few days. Regensburg lifted me up on the darkest days and made me cry with beauty blanketed in snow. She, like any good friend, will always be there for me.

I miss these places all the time. I know I will yearn for Bristol’s green magnificence when the time comes for me to go. And I wonder, with excitement, what beautiful friendships await me in the future. I’ve always wanted to be friends with Munich but our trysts, as yet, have been of the fleeting kind. I have something of a crush on old-school Los Angeles. I’ve never been to Paris but I think we’d get on well.

How exciting! All of these friendships waiting to happen! I can’t wait.

Photo: London, 2009 (taken by my sister.)

some things to tell you

Stadtamhof’s window boxes have never looked prettier.

It’s hot, the very definition of high summer. The banks of the river are mostly empty; I imagine every sensible person has retreated to their cool parlour for respite.

My bicycle is on its last legs. I think it may be suffering from heatstroke….

Ice-cream is the only acceptable snack. Even if you did just eat a full meal.

Tonight is my last night in my little island home (and I’m going to be spending it watching Fuβball of all things, but beside the Danube so everything’s peachy really) and I still can’t quite believe I was blessed enough to spend four seasons thirty seconds (at jogging pace) from Europe’s greatest river, in the prettiest city on Earth.

         

         

           

Regensburg was never more beautiful than it was today. 

in the last weeks of 2011

…there were so many awe-inspiring sunsets over the river, never-ending skies of inky blue punctuated with clouds a heart-stopping orange, that I stopped taking pictures and vowed to simply enjoy them.

… I fell more and more in love with this towering Christmas tree outside the Altes Rathaus.

….Niki visited Germany for the first time! We explored the perimeters of my Donauinsel and visited the Christmas market at the Schloss Thurn und Taxis (that’s the palace in the centre of the city - oh, Bavaria!) 

…we took a day trip to Nuremberg to meet up with dear friends, where we drank various warm beverages, bought gingerbread, danced to a big band and took refuge from the crowds in the city’s prettiest church - and decided that Nuremberg really is the quintessential German city at Christmastime. 

After a whirlwind weekend trip to Berlin for a dear friend’s 21st birthday (which was so entirely lovely I forgot to take a single photograph), Philly made her way to Bavaria on a fifteen hour train from France….

Though the last week of school was rather busy, we still managed to explore a little bit of Regensburg, visit Christmas markets, have a lovely supper at generous Rudi and Christl’s, partake in a little carol singing, stay up late talking…

…and have a very pleasant evening cooking dinner at a good friend’s new home (I have never been so jealous of anyone’s room in my entire life…he has a balcony!)

On that very same evening, a snowstorm waltzed through Regensburg and really, I’d never felt so contented in my entire life. It was the perfect conclusion to my first term in delightful Bayern…

Living beside the Danube is everything I’d ever dreamed of, and more. See you soon, Regensburg!

Since we last spoke...

Herbstferien arrived. With Christl’s guidance I became a Stadtbuecherei member, made friends with a sweet librarian (we talked for a long time about the differences between the library service here and in Great Britain) and hugged a bookcase, so ecstatic was I to find English literature in the heart of continental Europe. Franziska and I drank coffee and spoke German for hours at Cafe Lila, which is quickly becoming everyone’s go to coffeehouse for its happy purple blankets and perfect outdoor seating. I can’t, in good faith, recommend their Fruechtetee but everything else about that place is honest-to-goodness gemuetlich. There were more awe-inspiring autumnal sunsets over the Danube and a visit to the farmer’s market on my island. The first evening of half-term was spent baking nutella shortbread for Emmy and Alice and reading my newly acquired novels instead of at the Erasmus party I was invited to. Whoops! I suppose the truth is out; sometimes I prefer books to people (or, at least, people I don’t know.)

Then, of course, BERLIN happened. Beautiful beautiful grand grand Berlin with its streets overflowing with history and its lively energy and its tree-lined avenues. We had such a wonderful and hilarious time and I promise photographs and stories will arrive soon! I arrived back in Regensburg on Tuesday night after an entirely hair-raising train journey through Sachsen, a brief glimpse of Dresden from the train window and two hours spent with another soot-coloured puppy sitting on my feet - oh, and did I mention the man sitting next to me on the Munich train who was taken away for police questioning? Just another normal day with Deutsche Bahn…

The weekend away made me appreciate Regensburg even more. Berlin will always make me weak at the knees but I am glad to live somewhere a little calmer and more authentically ‘German’. Since then lovely Emma and Gemma visited from Kronach and we spent their day trip drinking genuine Earl Grey from my cupboard and reminiscing about home, eating bowls of spaghetti at my mother’s favourite Pam Pam and strolling about town. Today Piers and I explored the Galerie Leerer Beutel, upon finding the Domschatz closed for all of November (schade!), and we bumped into two of my favourite students from Dr Biermeier’s 9. Klasse who, according to Piers, seemed very happy to see me too! 

One can feel winter tiptoeing across the bridges now, almost ready to seize the day. Today was a bright, blue-skied morning but the notorious fog returned in the afternoon. But I now have appropriate shoes so, snow, you’re welcome anytime. The Christmas lights are in place and the markets will begin soon. I used to be one of those people who lamented the encroachment of Christmas onto November but now I’ve had a change of heart and don’t mind at all. Gluehwein, Lebkuchen, Stollen (and also good friends, whilst we’re on the subject)…feel free to pay me a visit whenever you wish!

Basically, everything is really wonderful. I feel as though my German, albeit still far from perfect, is improving leaps and bounds every day and am beginning to feel like a true European! I wish I could share this experience with everyone but for now, these words will have to suffice. Bis bald!

P.s. According to my mother, she keeps telling everyone we know to read my blog. So if you are, hi! I miss you!