Thursday August 26th - Regensburg

We awoke this morning to grey skies and the threats of rain, however, this did not materialize, and we enjoyed a wonderful sunny day with temperatures exceeding 29 C. At around 6 AM we passed this wonderful Greek structure Valhalla on the hills just outside of Regensburg called Valhalla. We were still travelling, and within the hour we arrived at Regensburg. This is a smaller German City with a wonderful history. We were treated to a walking tour which included an explanation of the many features of this ancient town. We saw the City Hall, the Lutheran Church and the remains of the Jewish Synagogue. We then were introduced to St Peter’s church, and left on our own to explore. The following pictures show some of the features of this beautiful Cathedral including both the interior and the exterior of the building. We then had some free time to wander around the town, do some shopping and take photos from the ‘other side’ of the ancient stone bridge. For lunch some of us enjoyed the local sausage in a bun offered at a very established business at the entrance to the city.
After lunch, many of us took the optional tour to the Danube Gorge and the Benedictine Monastery at Weltenburger. This is a gorgeous building with some interesting features. Perhaps the most shocking was the sculpture of St George slaying the dragon as the center of the main alter. Our guide Analease explained the history and interpretation of many of the frescos on the walls and the ceilings. The most interesting was the portraits of the two brothers who decorated the Abbey – one a sculpture, the other a painter. These appear on the ceiling of the monastery. After our tour of the monastery, we enjoyed a very dark beer (brewed right on the monastery grounds), then ventured back to our buses. This, however was a bit premature as our ship had not made it through the locks, so we were treated to a tour of the Liberation Hall, and surrounding scenery, looking over the Danube Gorge. After driving around for a few more minutes we were eventually reunited with the Viking Danube at Kelhein, then enjoyed a toast with the Captain, a wonderful dinner, then the treat of some visual memories of our trip. For those who stayed on board - they were also treated to some wonderful scenery, interesting times through the locks, and generally a very relaxing afternoon.
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