reasons why I am head-over-heels-in-love with regensburg: part one, to be continued

           

           

           

           

The Donauradweg is my happy place. The solution to all the world’s problems, I think… There is nothing better than cycling beside sparkling waters in afternoon sunshine, bike-riding Danube-adoring companion beside you, with a riverside game of tennis (if you can call the mangled version of the game we played tennis…I’m skeptical), a Gasthaus stop for Sandkuchen and a Bavarian pink sunset in your immediate future. I can’t really put into words how much love I have for this place, how blissfully contented I am that it is Spring, how grateful I am to have a best friend and a bicycle and legs which keep me pedalling even when I’m giddy with the utter beauty that surrounds me and all the blessings in my life.

Scenes from Südtirol (a magical wonderland)

           

           
           




A weekend of adventures…

in austrian cuisine, in cable cars, in dressing in as many layers as humanly possible, in getting lost, in finding one’s way again, in the beauty of the mountains, in solitary train travel, in bakery breakfasts and gasthaus suppers, in the ability of sweet and funny friends and a blue sky to lift one’s soul.

Love letter to Walhalla.

        
        

Magical Walhalla, my favourite. First I fell in love with a river, then an island and now a 19th Century temple in the backwoods of eastern Bavaria. Overlooking a bend on the aforementioned Danube, ten kilometres upstream of the little city that is home. On evenings succeeding a sunny day, the sun sets over the river in most spectacular fashion, turning the sky a brilliant orange. On the more familiar days of rising mists and a sky swimming in clouds, Walhalla seems to stand on the edge of the Earth, headboarded by shivering trees, its steps tumbling down into a pure horizon of white.

         
         

This Sunday Regensburg was enveloped in fog; thus Niki, Piers, Mim and I took Linie 5 to Donaustauf through the grey to visit my beloved Walhalla. Crazy, beautiful things always happen at Walhalla and that is why I love it so. It looked so spectacular in the overcast damp that I fell in love with its unsuspecting grandeur all over again. This time we lured many an unsuspecting German into taking our pictures with wide smiles and over-enthusiastic use of ‘Danke sehr!’ The Chef (boss) of Walhalla himself read our guide book over our shoulder as we sat looking out at the river, translating for non-German speakers, and corrected the mistakes in the text. We met the chief of Walhalla! How cool is that? Then Piers almost died (admittedly, self-inflictedly) jumping down one of the many sets of stairs. We ate a variety of German Weihnachtsschokolade and marzipan potatoes (Germany is strange) whilst admiring the view and it really was the best. And then we were electrocuted by the fence surrounding the perimeter; yet even that can’t cure me of my unabiding adoration for this place. And I still haven’t even been inside yet!

         
         

Recently...

Some perfect late autumn days…

A magical sunset bicycle ride to (my new favourite landmark) the Walhalla Temple…

The first SNOWFALL of the winter on the 15th November 2011…a wonderful surprise on an early morning walk to school! (And nobody batted an eyelid whereas I walked around over-excitedly taking pictures…)

A day trip to Nuremberg with some of the loveliest girls on yet another school holiday (this time: Buss- und Bettag, a church holiday), where we admired the Christmas decorations, sat in a warm cafe and walked around the Altstadt (very pretty.)

Not pictured: remembering how much I love the youngest classes with their ten-year-old enthusiasm and endless questions, a twilight drive to Straubing with the Maiers, a fun evening with Piers and Eloise and her visiting friend, organising pen pal writing with the 9. Klasse, a tour of the Schloss Thurn und Taxis (Regensburg’s very own palace) and excitement for the en masse family visit this weekend!!

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!