Regensburg, Germany

We have had an interesting couple of days. The Danube is so low at the moment that the ships are not able to get through. We had to ditch all our water and travel very slowly between Passau and Regensburg. We scraped along the bottom for most of the night. The situation was so dire Scenic organised for four coaches to follow us so that if we had to off load we could continue our trip by road. Fortunately we made it through. The captain is now trying to find more water to refill our tanks because now without the water weighing us down we won't fit under some of the bridges ahead. We saw a number of larger ships docked in Passau. They weren't willing to risk getting stranded. Our little boat and very experienced captain did very well as none of us were too keen on spending the rest of our trip on a bus and in and out of hotels.

Today after docking we went on a walking tour through the streets of Regensburg. It is a medieval town built on Roman ruins. Fortunately much of it was spared during the war unlike other cities in Bavaria. Regensburg's stone bridge was the only bridge for miles so this made the town very important in terms of trade. The town was also very rich as it had copious amounts of 'white gold' (salt) which at one stage cost the same (if not more) than real gold. 

After our walk we were invited to an organ recital. This was also very interesting as many of the fabulous churches we had visited possessed enormous organs, however, we had never had the opportunity to hear one played. 

Back to the boat for lunch and a bit of a rest before getting two bikes for an independent explore around the town. We wound our way through the cobbled streets and I managed to 1) stay on the bike and 2) not run over any pedestrians. 

We made our way to the Historische Wurstkuchl. Apparently the first and best sausage kitchen in Germany. (Although I am not sure there is documented evidence to this fact.) We ordered a small plate of sausages and sauerkraut to share. The sausages are very small and rather tasty. The sauerkraut was very sweet and the mustard sauce delicious. We then cycled back to the boat in time for departure. 

There are numerous boats docked here in Regensburg. All of them much bigger than the Gem. Our captain told us that they had come from Amsterdam and were now on 'summer holiday' as they couldn't go any further down the river. Last year they had the great floods that caused havoc along the river. This year there is not enough water. How disappointing would it be to be put off onto buses?