It was early evening when we arrived in Regensburg.  The sunny skies and relative warmth we left in Baden-Wurttemburg was replaced by cloudy, damp, frigid weather.  Nevertheless, aside from being bummed about hauling my overstuffed Red Oxx Sky Train bag the half mile to the hotel, I was pretty excited to be in Regensburg again.  It was just as pretty as I remembered it.  The ACHAT hotel was right next to Regensburg’s awesome cathedral, too.  Bill and I checked in, eager to ditch our bags and go find a nice meal.  The lady who greeted us was very pleasant and efficient.  We were in room 203, which included free Internet.

Nice desk…

Complimentary water.  There was also a very sparsely stocked but reasonably priced mini bar.  It had a beer, a water, and two Twix bars.

Bed.  It was a little hard for my taste, but Bill liked it.

Safe, which we didn’t use.

Free green apples.  One of them was a God send this morning.

View from the side of the room.

Bathroom…  nice shower and a shower gel that also works on hair.

That towel warmer was the best one I’ve ever seen.   It actually worked!

 

After dumping our bags, we decided to walk around the town.  We passed lots of shops windows advertising authentic Bavarian style clothing.  I used to have to wear a dirndl when I worked in the German section of Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Virginia.  But I have to admit, I might be talked into donning another one of my choosing if the situation arises…  If I had been shopping for one this past weekend, I surely would have found something.

I love sweets… and since it was Valentine’s weekend, there were plenty on display.  Unfortunately, for the first time ever in our marriage, Mr. Bill forgot to hook me up.  Oh well.

A nighttime view of the front of Regensburg’s very impressive Dom.

We ended up having dinner at the Hofbrau Haus.  It was a smaller satellite of the one in Munich, which Bill and I visited back in 2012 (and I had visited a couple of times prior to that).  I remember having to drag Bill into the Hofbrau Haus in Munich because he was so sure it would be very touristy.  It actually wasn’t overrun with tourists, although it is a big tourist draw.  The one in Regensburg is even less touristy than the one in Munich is.  We did hear a few American accents over the weekend, but by and large, Regensburg is not a city that teems with Americans.  Consequently, our first dinner in Regensburg turned out to be delightfully authentic and delicious!

Loved the Stammtisch sign…

Bill tells me how it is…

I say something nasty to make him laugh…

He reaches for his first beer…

We begin to imbibe while waiting for our very Bavarian dinners.

The delightful salad that came with my schweineshaxn.  I actually wasn’t planning to have that a second time this week, but I wasn’t in the mood for wurst.  I probably could have enjoyed the turkey on the menu, but as it turned out, the pork knuckle was vastly superior in Regensburg as opposed to Stuttgart.

This was absolutely delicious!  It’s pork knuckle off the bone served with gravy made with beer and a potato dumpling.  I couldn’t finish it, but did better with it than I did with the one I had in Stuttgart.  It also tasted less like it had been under heat all day.

We tried ’em all…

Bill had sauerbraten, which was very good.

I’d say the Regensburg Hofbrau Haus was a successful stop.

 

What I liked about the Hofbrau Haus in Regensburg was that it was obviously popular with the locals.  Lots of people were there, dressed in Bavarian fashions, enjoying some beautifully prepared local dishes and fine beers and each other’s company.  I think Bill and I were the only Yanks in the place.  I also noticed that the bill was very reasonable.

And an adorable old lady, obviously on the cooking staff, came around to ask everyone how the food was.  She was very cute trying to talk to us since neither Bill nor I speak German well.  Bill’s skills are better than mine are, but they’re still weak.  We still managed to tell her she’d done a great job!

ETA:  My German friend says the lady who spoke to us is Seniorchefin (senior boss) Gerti Schafbauer.  Her son Thomas and his wife, Karin, are now the managers at the Hofbrau Haus in Regensburg.