REGENSBURG

The last 2 days we went up one side river, crossed a ridge and down the Altmuhl River - had to go around the narrowest part of the Danube where cliffs go right down into the water, so no roads near the river.  Options are to ride away from the river as we did, or to take a boat down the river - that might have been interesting, but.....

The Altmuhl  goes through limestone Karst formations, and is part of a canal system that links the Danube to the Rhine - allowing barges to travel from the Black Sea to the North Sea and the Atlantic.  

The Altmuhl and the Danube are pretty lazy rivers here, and in some sections the powerboats, jet skis, and weekend assorted craziness appeared to resemble Florida and/or Lake McConaughy.  Close in to Regensberg, the banks of the river were lined with sunbathers, swimmers, etc. - rather like a 20 km long party beach.

We get a kick out of the ads for "Biergarten mit Kinderspiel Platz" - Beer Garden with kids playground. The ones we've seen appear to be built for getting wasted while your kids play on a McDonald's style play set right in the midst of the picnic tables.  

Stopped and watched some 8-9 year old boys soccer games today - no girls in soccer kit to be seen.

Saw surprising numbers of little kids - looked to be 6-7 - riding bikes with their parents, apparently touring, with panniers on their bikes.  Steady streams of cycle tourists going in both directions all day.

Regensburg is a world heritage site with particularly extensive and well preserved archeology going back 2000 years or so, with "newer" buildings only 1000 years old still being used.  As usual, a very large gothic cathedral, but lots of nice neat smaller churches and old residential and government buildings and the entire central city is automobile free except for taxis and deliveries.

Several clothing stores that sell only the local Bavarian specialty costums.  Cute.

More later.