When we got back to the hotel, Bill started doing school work for his master’s program.  I laid down and promptly fell fast asleep.  I was out cold until the morning, when I woke up bewildered by how soundly I was out.  We decided to have breakfast at the hotel even though it was 17 euros a person.  I like to try breakfasts at hotels if they aren’t completely ridiculously priced.  The ACHAT in Regensburg has a very nice all you can eat breakfast buffet with a wide variety of choices, though I will comment that there are PLENTY of other places nearby that are even better and much less costly.    But you can get smoked salmon, cold cuts, breads, cereals, fruit, eggs, bacon, sausage, and just about everything else you’d want at the hotel.  It’s quick and convenient.

Since it was Valentine’s Day, Bill and I toasted with bubbly offered at breakfast.  A very nice German lady helped me figure out how to work the bottle stopper.  I had never seen one like it before, but now that I have, I may have to get one for our kitchen!

After breakfast, Bill and I took a stroll around Regensburg.  Not far from the hotel was a restaurant offering a breakfast buffet for 8 euros a person and it included a very impressive looking whole salmon laid out.  Damn… I wish we had gone there instead.  Some lady noticed me admiring the salmon through the window and struck up a conversation.  My brain froze, as it always does when people speak German to me.  On the other hand, I notice now I’m starting to understand a lot more.  I just need to learn to speak.  Or maybe not.  Some people think I talk too much as it is.

Interesting way to advertise karaoke.  We should have checked it out, but Bill and I are getting too old for late night bar scenes.

I love taking pictures of graffiti.  I think it’s an interesting way to see what’s going on locally.  I also like painted walls.

Here’s a sign at the entrance of a park that describes a wind storm that did major damage in Regensburg.  The storm was in 2008.  Bill and I were here for it, though our area didn’t sustain any damage.  You can still see some very weather beaten trees in the area.

A couple of shots near St. Emmeram Palace, where the family of the Princes of Thurn and Taxis live.  We probably should have taken a tour, but we were too busy wandering around, people watching.  

I’d much rather look at all the art at this very cool restaurant/bar…

Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull is going to be playing in Regensburg soon!

The Golden Arches are everywhere…  Oddly enough, I was actually thinking about McDonald’s and how we hadn’t seen much in the way of American fast food when I spotted this discreetly advertised Mickey D’s.  No, we didn’t stop by for a Big Mac.

I noticed quite a few spray painted anti-police sentiments in Regensburg.

The weather was not so nice on Saturday.  It was very cold and I wasn’t wearing a warm enough coat.  After a couple of hours meandering by the river and listening to snippets of other peoples’ conversations, Bill and I decided it was time to drink beer.  We happened upon one of Regensburg’s breweries…

This is the entrance to Brauerei Kneitinger.  From the outside, it doesn’t look that big. 

Once you walk in, you are greeted by a long hallway with lots of long tables and benches, as well as more intimate rooms with seating.  We went all the way to the back of the hallway to a table conveniently located by the kitchen and the WC.

Our first round.  I had a dunkel and Bill had a bock.  Both were excellent and got things off to a great start!

The menu offered a number of tempting choices.  I was in the mood for sausage and so was Bill.  He had two made of meat from “wild” animals.  My guess would be either boar or venison.  They were delicious.  I went with a more conventional curry wurst, though that was only my second time in my lifetime ordering it.  I like sausage, but am leery about things resembling American style hot dogs.  Generally speaking, German sausages are always of excellent quality– unlike their American counterparts. 

For the next round, Bill and I switched beers.  

And we ended with a couple of pils…  Our waitress was very good natured.

One funny thing about this brauerei is that the bathrooms are located near a door that opens to the street.  Because of that, there’s an unmanned table with a plate on it, no doubt intended for those who need to duck in for an unauthorized whiz to drop a little change.

Another thing Bill and I both noticed in the bathrooms were the condom and sex toy machines.  Bill came back from a visit laughing because the men’s room had a condom machine as well as a machine that dispensed disposable vaginas at four euros a pop.  If this sounds strange to you, let me assure you that you are not alone.

It took me a bit with my beer fuzzed brain to figure out what Bill was talking about.  I had pictured a machine that men were using to jerk off with while in the restroom.  Actually, it’s some kind of portable, fake, disposable “hole” that men can take with them to use for masturbation purposes.  I know many Germans are a lot less puritanical about sex than Americans are and I have seen condom machines in gas stations and such.  That was just the first time I’d ever seen one at a restaurant.  It was definitely the first time I’d heard about a sex toy machine, too.  I should have had Bill purchase one so I could see it up close and personal.  I’m sure we have these machines in America, too… just not in the places I usually frequent.  Apparently, Spain has some really fancy sex toy vending machines.

The machine in the ladies room…  I didn’t see any disposable dildos for sale.

Nice day for a swim…  not!

After lunch, we walked around some more… read on in the next post!