Regensburg and Kelheim

After another night of cruising, and more locks, we arrived in Regensburg which is a very interesting medieval city.  Another walking tour....sore feet but good for us since they feed us so well....through the narrow cobblestone streets, to see the ancient buildings and life along the river.

 And of course, another beautiful church, this time St. Peter's.

 We are learning much about the history and how south of the river was "civilization" brought by the Romans; north of the river were the barbarians. The oldest bridge in Germany is the Old Stone Bridge built in the 12th century. Unfortunately, this bridge is under renovation, so we couldn't cross it, but it was very interesting, nonetheless.  All along the bridge there are signs of the high water of the floods of 2012, when all the residents spent months cleaning up mud after the flood.  Where you see the plaster was washed away on the gate house shows how high the water was.

Near the bridge is the oldest restauraunt in Germany as well, the sausage house which is still in operation today (the green building).

After a great tour of Regensburg and lunch, we took a bus about thirty minutes outside of town to a small village of Kelheim. This was a village of very rich merchants, rich in the salt trade and breweries.  After a visit to another beer garden, we took a small boat down the Danube narrows where the river cuts a deep gorge and is only 80 meters wide to Weltenburg Abbey, where six monks still live and brew beer.

Atop the hill as you sail into the narrows sits a magnificent building, Independence Hall.