Post-Canadian Depression

Almost Settled In

2009-07-19T16:48:00.004+02:00

We have been living in Buxtehude for nearly a month and are almost settled in. The most important things have been done around the house, but we still have some small projects to complete, like putting up lamps and shelves and organizing the kids' rooms.

Matthias is enjoying his job and his business travel plans are starting to pick up. Each week, he will be gone for two or three days at a time and that is something Emil and I will have to get used to.

As for myself, things are moving along as fast as I can complete them, but it's getting harder to do anything, now that I'm getting towards the end of my pregnancy. I'm 36 weeks along and this kid can come out anytime between now and the middle of August. As a matter of fact, I should pack a suitcase, program the number of a taxi into my cell phone, and make arrangements for someone to watch Emil when I need to go to the hospital. Yikes ... time is moving fast.

As for Buxtehude, I'm having mixed feelings about the town. I just need to give it more time for it to grow on me. I really miss Regensburg and all my friends there. Also, Buxtehude doesn't have the same beauty and charm as Regensburg. I have been so busy with the house and my 1 year old, that I don't have the energy to venture out to the downtown area on a daily basis like a did in Regensburg. I think it'll come in due time.

Well, I just wanted to give a quick update for those who are following the blog. I apologize for not posting any pictures but I don't know where the chargers and USB cables are for our cameras, so I haven't been able to download any pictures (we have lots of them to share).

Anyhow, till next time.

R&M

Buxtehude

2009-06-09T13:23:00.009+02:00

When we started doing research on where to live in Hamburg, my MIL had suggested Buxtehude. I found some information on the internet and instantly fell in love with what I read. I was very eager to visit the city and experience it first-hand for myself, so we planned a weekend trip for the end of February.

Matthias and I found it to be a very charming town, considering that it was a rainy a day, but we both agreed that it would never have the same elegance, richness and beauty as Regensburg. But it was perfect for raising a family. Here are some of the pictures that we took.

Local restaurant that's on our list to try. My MIL raved about it.

A small canal runs through the city center (Altstadt).

There is plenty of shopping and restaurants for the tourist.

One of the main streets with the Rathaus at the end of the block.

The Rathaus

Typical architecture in the downtown area. Some buildings date back to the 1500's.

St. Petri Church

Just behind the church is the Primus Weinbar Restaurant.
Buxtehude has a wine festival each year, but dates are not known at the moment.

Buxtehude is known as "The Fairytale Capital" of the world. The Grimm Brothers wrote many tales situated in Buxtehude, like "The Hare and the Hedgehog" (and many others that I'm not familiar with yet). There are some people who actually believe that Buxtehude doesn't really exist at all. Hence, the German proverb "... nach Buxtehude jagen", which means sending someone too far.

We'll post information and pictures on this site as we discover more things about Buxtehude. So check back in from time to time. You can read more about Buxtehude here (English), and if you're fluent in German, you can check out their official website here (German only).

Take care,

R&M

We Found a House in Buxtehude!

2009-05-08T15:29:00.003+02:00

ORIGINAL POST: May 5, 2009

It's funny how once you start having kids, you think about more what is best for your family rather than what you like. That was the case on Monday when we decided on which house to live in.

We really liked the first house we saw on Saturday. It was spacious, the rent was in the right range, and the availability of the house suited our needs. The landlord and neighbours were also very friendly. The only thing my husband didn't like about the house was the location (which I didn't mind so much). The house was close to the downtown area and a bus route near by. However, the house was situated on a busy main street and my husband's main concern was that something could happen to one of the kids if they ran out to the road. The landlord was very accommodating and said that a gate can be put up so the kids wouldn't get out of the yard. This sold us on the house and we told him that we were interested, but we still needed to look at a few more houses in Buxtehude before making a final decision. We would give him an answer by Monday.

We looked at two more houses on Monday. The first one was about 10 minutes outside of Buxtehude in a town called Aspensen. The first thing we didn't like about it was the long drive from my MIL's place, which took almost an hour. This also meant that it would be a long drive for my husband into work. The house was also under construction so we weren't able to see the whole thing. We also wouldn't be able to move in until September 1st, which is a bit late, since we're looking to move in on August 1st. The only things we liked was that it was a quiet area and the lot was a good size for kids to run around and play. We also checked the bus route and it only had 3 buses during the day going into Buxtehude. We're trying to avoid the cost of another vehicle and the bus schedule just didn't cut it. Unfortunately, we had to turn this house down, and the first house we looked at on Saturday still looked promising ... until we saw third house.

The third house we looked at was in a quiet neighbourhood in Buxtehude, just minutes from the downtown area and about 10 minutes from the train station . Even though the house was still under construction, we were able to see the whole thing. I personally didn't care for the layout (I thought it was boring) but it had everything a growing family would need ... three bedrooms, a finished attic (maybe the kids' playroom), a large laundry room, a huge lot for the kids to run around, etc. Some of the other "selling features" the agent told us were that it is VERY close to downtown, shopping is readily accessible, there is a day care just 100 meters from the house, the neighbourhood is multicultural, and my husband could carpool to work with other people in the area. I really liked the fact that the area is multicultural (which meant English speaking families), and my husband loved the fact that he could carpool with others to work, which was only a 15 minute drive. The only thing we didn't like was that the rent was 120 Euros more than we wanted to spend, but when you look at it in the long run, it is still cheaper than buying a car. We told the agent we were really interested and that we would get back to him later in the day.

In the opening paragraph I mentioned that once you have kids, you think about what is best for them and not for yourself. This was the case in our decision making. I really wanted the house that we had seen on Saturday because I just loved the layout and the fact that it was spacious was also a plus for a growing family. However, my husband was right about the high traffic. I don't want to put my kids in any danger. My husband thought that the last house we saw was the ideal one for us ... and I reluctantly agreed. Matthias called the agent and told him that we wanted it and the rest of the day I spent wondering if we made the right choice. After sleeping on it one night, the next day I realized that it was. I was thankful that we had found a roof over our heads.

There were other things that we checked out like the hospital that I'll be giving birth at. We really liked the facility and the nurses also speak English if I don't understand something in German. I don't feel nervous anymore about where we are going to live and where am I going to give birth. We really accomplished a lot this past weekend and a lot of the stress is gone. I must say that everyone in Buxtehude seems to have a friendly nature about them and they seem to be more open to welcoming foreigners. I think we'll be just fine.

Take care,

Rosa

We Made It Safely to Hamburg

2009-05-08T15:28:00.003+02:00

ORIGINAL POST: May 1, 2009

We arrived yesterday around 4:00pm after being in the car for 7.5 hours. We actually had a pleasant trip with not that much traffic and Emil slept for most of the way. However, by the time we arrived at my MIL's, we were hungry and in desperate need of stretching out our legs. My MIL had made some white asparagus soup and after we ate, we went out for a long walk. By 9:00pm we were all in bed.

Today is a holiday in Germany - Tag der Arbeit. This is when all workers have a day off work. This is equivalent to Labour Day (also known as International Worker's Day) and is celebrated around the world but it is rarely celebrated in the US and Canada. The celebration of Labour Day has its origins in the Eight-hour day movement, which advocated eight hours for work, eight hours for recreation, and eight hours for rest.

In order to celebrate the holiday, we decided to take a long walk along the river and found a cozy spot where we had our picnic. Then we laid in the grass, enjoyed the sun, and watched the passersby and bikers. It was such a beautiful, sunny day. It was nice to forget about the purpose of our trip for several hours, which brings me to the next topic - house hunting.

Tomorrow is the big day where we start looking for a house. We only have one lined up but I hope it will meet our requirements. The ad sounds perfect ... the house was built in 2006, it is 137 square meters (almost 1500 square feet) and it has a huge back yard for the kids to run around and play. It has more features and square footage than our current apartment in Regensburg. If we both like it then we will reserve it on the spot. We will still look at the ones we have lined up for Monday, but these houses are going fast and nothing new has come up (even though the agent said that there would be new listings). An Italian proverb comes to mind here that my mom used to say ... chi dorme non prende pesci ... he who sleeps will not catch any fish. I'm wondering if we waited to long before coming up here ...

Anyway, I will keep you posted as to what happens tomorrow. I hope everything will turn out. I wish you all a good day und bis später.

Rosa

New Changes Coming Our Way

2009-05-08T15:23:00.003+02:00

ORIGINAL POST: April 28, 2009

Change is good. It makes life more interesting and you're not in the same old boring routine. Over the next three or four months, there will be a lot of changes in our lives. For starters, my husband found a new job in Hamburg and we are planning to move there at the end of July. This weekend we're driving to Hamburg to start looking at houses and apartments (rent only), so hopefully, we're able to find something decent that meets our needs.

Our area of interest is Buxtehude, a quaint little town just outside of Hamburg, south of the Este River. We've been checking immobilienscout24.de almost on a daily basis and making appointments with agents to look at houses during our visit next week. So far we have 3 confirmed viewings and two tentative ones. It may not seem like much, but the agents have told my husband that there should be new listings coming up at the beginning of May.

Our apartment is also listed on Immo but the photos don't do the apartment any justice. It's a gorgeous two-floor apartment, with lots of wood trim and flooring and LOADS of sunshine. We're situated right on the Danube and only a few minutes from the downtown area. If you're interested in taking a peek, here is the link, but keep in mind that once the apartment is rented out, the link won't be available any more. UPDATE: the link didn't work. Go to immobilienscout24.de and copy and paste 50013162 into the Scout ID field.

There are always advantages and disadvantages to moving to a different city. The great thing about moving to Hamburg is that my MIL is there and we can see each other more often (and yes, I get along with her wonderfully). She will be able to spend more time with her grandkid(s), and my husband and I can occasionally go out on a date as well. Another great advantage is that we are closer to my husband's family who live on the beautiful island of Rügen. We would be able to visit them more often rather than just once a year.

However, as I said before, there are some disadvantages to moving to Hamburg. For the most part, we will miss all our friends in Regensburg who have become like family to us. They have really enriched our lives since we moved here 2.5 years ago. Another disadvantage is that I won't get to see my family in Milano as often as I would like to, but I could always fly out to see them rather than driving or taking a train. However, the worst disappointment for my husband is that he won't be able to spontaneously go paragliding for a weekend in Austria when he wishes to. Now he will have to do some preplanning. :-o

With the baby due in August, we're hoping that everything (or at least the important things) gets done by the end of July. To help speed up the process, we're going to hire a moving company to pack all our belongings and bring it to Hamburg. That will definitely save lots of time and is one thing less to worry about. I don't think I would want to pack a household being 8 months pregnant! As stressed out as I am, I should count my blessings, too. :-)

Speaking of blessings, last week I had an ultrasound done and we found out that we're expecting another boy! For some reason I felt that I was having a girl, but the ultrasound proved me otherwise. My husband was grinning from ear to ear when he found out. He was hoping for a boy and I was hoping for a girl. The most important thing is that the baby is healthy. At least I don't have to worry about new clothes (hehehe). I already have everything I need for a boy. :-)

I haven't really talked too much about my pregnancy on my blog. That's because I have been having such a wonderful pregnancy that sometimes I forget that I am pregnant! The baby kicks from time to time to let me know he is still there. I have been so relaxed with this pregnancy that I honestly don't know which week I'm really in! However, what I do know is that the baby is due in August and when contractions kick in then it's time to go to the hospital!

I remember with my first pregnancy, I had registered myself on babycenter.com and some other websites in order to stay up-to-date with how the baby was developing on a weekly basis. Now, I rely on my monthly doctor visits to make sure that the baby is fine. I honestly, don't understand everything the doctor says in German, but when I hear "sein Herz ist kräftig" (his heart is strong) and I see him moving in the monitor, then I know everything is fine.

Between the stress of the move and having a baby, my husband and I are both excited about the changes. I'll blog about our adventures to Hamburg, so check in from time to time to see how we're doing.

Take care,

Rosa

American Ruins (returning to Detroit)

2009-01-11T11:39:00.010+01:00

Haven't posted for a while, thanks to Junior keeping us busy.

Anyway, we introduced Junior to friends and family back in Ontario, and I spent a day sightseeing in downtown Detroit.

This area has a special charme - a mix of old glory and modern depression, misery and richness. Hard to describe. Feels a bit like Indiana Jones discovering some old palaces, covered with dirt and dust.

Many of the high-rise buildings are vacant, often only the first floors occupied.
The closer you get to these buildings the more depressing it gets.

It's fascinating and depressing to see how a city can change within only 100 years - let's hope it doesn't take another 100 before better times return....

All the best...Matthias

Herrenchiemsee

2008-10-17T08:16:00.009+02:00

Fama Fountain and Garden Facade

The first weekend in October we decided to go to the Island of Herrenchiemsee for the day. It rained on and off throughout the day, but we were able to walk around in between the rainfalls. It was a two hour drive from Regensburg and we caught the boat to the island from Prien Am Chiemsee. For the ferry times and prices click here (ALL LINKS ARE IN ENGLISH).

Fama Fountain and Garden Facade

Ludwig II purchased the island in 1873 and 5 years later started building the Herrenchiemsee Castle to resemble the Versailles Castle in France. After his untimely death at the age of 40, many rooms in the castle remained unfinished to this day. We initially purchased the tour in German but were able to exchange it for the English one. Our tour guide, Martina, spoke perfect English. Once the tour began, we weren't allowed to take photos.

Royal Palace of Herrenchiemsee

Ludwig II had built 3 castles and Herrenchiemsee was more expensive than the other two combined. The tour began at the grand entrance and the remainder was all on the upper level. We brought our stroller along and just asked one of the people in the group if they could help us bring the stroller up (and then down) the stairs. People were happy to help.

Monastery Courtyard

After the tour, we strolled over to the monastery and found it to be a quaint museum. On the main floor you had the former library, a "modern" kitchen of its time, and pictures that described Germany's Constitution of 1948 after WWII.

Former library

The Grand Hall

Look closely and you can see two rainbows.

By the end of the day we were tired from all the walking, but the excitement didn't end there. When we took the boat back to Prien, there were two full rainbows that we saw on the lake. Just about anyone with a camera was taking pictures. The photos above are some of the ones that Matthias took.

We decided to stop in Rosemheim for a traditional Bavarian dinner. We were hoping to see an old city center but were a bit disappointed when we only saw shops. It would be a great place to go shopping for the day or weekend.

We were happy to get home. Nothing is more comfortable than your own bed.

Cheers,

Rosa

PS: For additional castles to visit in Bayern click here and for shopping click here.

Get There Early or You Will Miss Out!

2008-09-30T14:43:00.009+02:00

My mother-in-law was visiting us for the weekend, so we decided to take her to Oktoberfest in Munich. The day started out beautifully ... the sun was rising, the cruise ships were settling in, and the vendors were getting ready for the Saturday fish market.
Around 10:00am we leisurely walked over to the train station, bought the Bayern weekend ticket, and took the train to Munich at 10:45am. We had packed everything we needed for the baby - food, diapers and the stroller. We thought it was a good idea to bring the stroller but it turned out to be more of a hassle than we had anticipated. There was hardly no room on the train and it was cumbersome using the escalator when an elevator was not available.

By 1:30pm we eventually made it to Weis'n only to find that ALL the beer tents were closed because they were full to capacity. We walked around and then decided to leave early. It seemed as though there were more people there this year than last year.

After we left the Oktoberfest we stopped at a local bar for a beer. Needless to say, we did not enjoy ourselves. We then decided to make our way to Odeonplatz. Here are some photos that Matthias shot:
Sunday was a more promising and relaxing day. We did a tour at the Schnupftabakfabrik in Regensburg. It was 5 Euros to get in and the tour lasted about 1.5 hours. At the end of the tour, everyone could sniff some tabacco (if they wished to).

Hopefully you will have a good time if you go to the Oktoberfest. Just make sure to get there early well before noon to secure a place in the beer tent. Once you find it don't leave it!

Cheers!

R&M

What To Do On a Rainy Weekend? (Part Two)

2008-09-21T14:26:00.013+02:00

Read part one here.

Last Sunday we decided to stay in Regensburg rather than driving out of town. We were expecting it to rain but surprisingly enough the weather was great with lots of sunshine for a cool autumn day. We wanted to give my brother a closer look at Regensburg and experience it the way we do. It was a great opportunity to take advantage of the "Open Door Day" or "Tag der Offenen Tür" that was taking place that weekend. We started our tour from the Eisenerbruecke walking along the Donau to the Royal Villa.

Royal Villa for Maximillian II.

Ostentor

From there, we went through the Villa Park, which brought us to the Ostentor on Ostengasse.
We continued walking on Ostengasse and came across the Brandl-Brauerei where a bear once lived. We would have stopped for beer but they were closed for a few weeks on holiday.

Brandl Brauerei

We made our way to the Historisches Museum (or check here) located in Dachauplatz. This is a great place to bring your visitors. It shows how Regensburg was built and how the people lived in the Roman times. As Matthias and my brother went through the museum, I sat in the court yard and had lunch (with a beer) while little Emil fell sleep in his stroller. Here are some photos that were taken:

This is a model of the Porta Praetoria.

Minoritenkloster St. Salvator (connected to the museum)

After the museum the boys had lunch (and drank beer) and then we headed over to the Thurn und Taxis Palace. We signed up for a tour that lasted over an hour. The palace used to be a monestary and then it was changed to the royal palace. Click on the link above for more details.

Here is a picture of the court yard where you begin your tour, but once inside the palace, no pictures are allowed to be taken. It was 4:30pm when we got out and it started to lightly rain. I was ready to go home, but the boys still had energy and wanted to check out the police station and the Rathaus. Unfortunately, they were closed. I headed home with Emil and they walked around town a bit more. Considering it was a rainy weekend, we found plenty to do and show my brother!

Rosa & Matthias & Emil

What To Do On a Rainy Weekend? (Part One)

2008-09-21T07:52:00.013+02:00

Last Saturday, we wanted to treat my brother (who was visiting from Canada) to a trip to Neuschwandstein and then Salzburg. However, as we were on route on A3 we decided to change our plans due to the rainy weather all weekend. It wasn't really a weekend for site seeing. Since my brother is a huge fan of Audi, we decided to stop in Ingolstadt and visit the Audi museum. You can find their hours here and their entrance fees here. Here, my brother is standing next to one of his dream cars, the R8. However, notice that the key he's holding is a Volkswagon key...

The direction sign stood in the middle of the museum. We were only 6653 km away from Niagara Falls.

After the museum, we drove to the downtown area about 3 km from the museum. Within walking distance from where we parked, the boys went to the Neues Schloss Ingolstadt, and I walked a bit further into the Altstadt and sat at a small cafe in front of the Thalia.de bookstore and read a book. I already visited the castle back in April and didn't feel like going through it again.

Here is my brother in front of Schloss Ingolstadt with all the mid-evil military stuff.

And here is Anthony again amidst the green cannons found in front of the castle entrance.

By now it was late afternoon and after walking around town for a while, we decided to eat some ice cream. Then we headed back to the car to go home. On the way home we took a country road and we stopped at a church called Wallfahrtskirche Mariä Himmelfahrt (Allersdorf) found near Biburg and Abensberg on highway B16.

It is a beautiful old church. This is the south side of the church.

This church is absolutetly stunning inside! Unfortunately, there is a gate that separates the entrance from the rest of the church in order to protect against theft.

For being a spontaneous day, it turned out pretty awesome. My brother was happy, so we were happy, too. Stay tuned for what we did on Sunday (part 2).

Cheers!

Rosa

We Haven't Forgotten About You!

2008-07-18T23:28:00.002+02:00

It's been a while since we wrote the last entry. And we have a perfectly good reason for that - our son, Emil, was born. The last day that Matthias wrote the last entry (May 5th) is the day my water broke and two days later our son was born. Our lives haven't changed much except the sleepless nights and the joy that he brings us. He has enhanced our lives with the colourful episodes our diaper changing. But he really is fun to have around. He's at the point where he smiles a lot and makes your heart melt when you look at his teethless gums. And have I mentioned how cute he is when he spits up?

We do have a lot of stories to tell but not tonight. We need to catch up on some entries but it's hard when you're typing with one hand while holding the baby with the other. I still haven't mastered the skill of typing fast with one hand. Well, Emil has fallen asleep in my arms (again) and I should put him to bed. Hopefully he will sleep longer than 10 minutes (more like the whole night) without waking up in his own bed. And did I mention that my mother-in-law is visiting for the weekend? She might babysit tomorrow while Matthias and I go car shopping. We'll see how that pans out.

Have a good night.

Rosa

Paragliding in May

2008-05-05T20:01:00.008+02:00

Just returned from an awesome flying weekend in Austria.

From Greifenburg P...

In May we still have a lot of snow in the mountains. Looks actually pretty nice. Nice until you climb to cloudbase at 2900 mtrs and freeze your butt off. Yikes, was it cold!

From Greifenburg P...

Austrian Open - Hanggliding Competition

From Greifenburg P...

I always manage to visit Greifenburg when they have some competition going on. This time it was the Austrian Open in Hanggliding. 70 registered pilots and another 40 free flying. Add another 100-150 paragliding pilots and you end up with a crowded launch site and heavy traffic in the air. It was actually amazing to see how well everyone got along - and how all the pilots scattered throughout the air and didn't really annoy each other.

From Greifenburg P...

Incidents
When 200 wings fly at the same site little accidents are bound to happen. Luckily nobody got hurt:
1. Paraglider landed in a tree above launch (must have been thermalling too low)
2. Paraglider and Hangglider collided above launch. The paraglider continued flying, but the HG lost control and came down under the reserve chute - landed safely in a tree.
3. Hangglider landed in a powerline near the LZ.
4. Countless screwed up launches and landings

From Greifenburg P...

My first Cross Country Trip

From Greifenburg P...

After having flown in Greifenburg for some time I'm ready for the next challenge - trying to rack up some distance. Forget about returning to the LZ - just fly down the valley as far as possible and hitch hike back to Greifenburg. Landing in the LZ is so yesterday.

From Greifenburg P...

Had a nice launch around 1pm and got up to cloudbase fairly quick, outclimbing quite a few other pilots. Then I headed down the valley and climbed back up a few times.
Reached a bend in the valley and was able to clearly see the next town - Spittal! I had made it halfway to Spittal!!! But after a few heavy collapses and being blown back I had enough and looked for a nice landing spot...

From Greifenburg P...

I landed right next to the road, packed up my wing and hitchhiked back to Regensburg. After waiting 10 minutes for a friendly local we passed quite a few other pilots on the way back. Awesome.

From Greifenburg P...

Since I haven't bought a GPS yet I marked the track manually:

cheers, Matthias

PS: It's pretty exciting to see a helicopter pass 200 mtrs below you. Luckily my wing is very colorful and visible. And helicopter pilots must have good eyes, right?
Here are all the photos

Munich - Traces Of The Past

2008-04-21T19:58:00.003+02:00

In an earlier post I described some of the things we discovered in Nuremburg

Last weekend we visited Munich - and I stumbled across this:

The eagle looked vaguely familiar. And when I saw when this building was erected I knew I was right.

Chiseling off the swastika must have been a bit cheaper than taking the whole eagle off...

Kelheim in Spring

2008-04-21T19:49:00.002+02:00

We've been to Kelheim many times - and we still discover new spots.
And when the weather plays along (as it did last Sunday) it's even better.
Check out our earlier trips to Kelheim.

From Kelheim In Spring

This Sunday we visited the archeological museum, got some pretty interesting stuff from roman times, and beyond that. The Organ Museum was not open yet (they open at 2pm) - but we found this awesome brewery with a nice little beergarden.

From Kelheim In Spring

The food was awesome, and the beer not too bad either.

From Kelheim In Spring

Anyway, check this place out yourself!

From Kelheim In Spring

Cheers, Matthias

Burning Bridges - Follow Up

2008-04-09T20:24:00.003+02:00

Remember the bridge that got heavily damaged by a boat in March?
Now they finished removing the concrete/tarmac so you can actually see the twisted steel. It's clearly beyond any repair.

From Regensburg - ...

Now, remember that the gas burned only for half an hour, and there was no additional load on the bridge itself. And this is the result:

From Regensburg - ...

So why are there still some whackos out there trying to explain that the World Trade Center was blown up by the CIA (or the Jews or whomever), because the burning kerosine was not hot enough to melt and weaken the steel? Give me a break...

Cheers, Matthias

Ingolstadt

2008-04-01T20:52:00.004+02:00

Last Sunday we had awesome weather, sunshine and warm. Perfect weather for a trip to Ingolstadt - just 50 km from Regensburg.

From Ingolstadt

We parked close to the New Castle and passed by this abandoned factory building - creepy and fascinating.

From Ingolstadt

Then we went to the New Castle - shining bright white in the sunlight.

From Ingolstadt

I'm still amazed how the knights could see through their helmets - and all the weight they had to carry. They were absolutely helpless once they were pulled off their horses...

From Ingolstadt

The museum has awesome military artefacts from the middle ages all the way to today - suits of armour and machine guns. Old swords and Nazi decorations.

Some old fortification shows battle damage from more recent times: the scarring was caused by an air attack in WW2.

From Ingolstadt

We'll have to come here again - just too much too see in a day...
Here's the link to my KML Google Map.

Cheers, Matthias

Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber

2008-03-24T19:48:00.003+01:00

From Rothenburg

This town is sooo cute and neat, it's unbearable. Almost like Neuschwanstein, except Rothenburg is not fake and features torture chambers.

From Rothenburg

We made the 2 hr drive from Regensburg on Easter Monday, the weather was sunny and crisp. Finding a parking spot was no issue, and the city centre is so small you can easily walk everywhere.

What is most peculiar about this place is the abundence of towers and gates, ringing the city. Makes you wonder how many people they needed to be on the lookout.

From Rothenburg

The Criminal Museum had an awesome collection of "shaving blades" (for the extra close shave) and other "accessories" of the middle ages. If you got into trouble in those days, you really were in trouble...
I might get Rosa one of these comfy lounge chairs:

In any case - this place is absolutely awesome. We'll come here again, when the weather is not as cold and when Rosa doesn't have to carry so much stuff anymore...

KML on Google Maps (download KML here).

Cheers, Matthias

Regensburg on Google Earth & Google Maps

2008-03-22T22:15:00.003+01:00

Some of you may have seen my little Google Map of Regensburg - mapping points of interest with the Google Maps API. It's a bit tedious to use and requires quite a bit of Javascript coding.

In the meantime Google has enabled several other methods to create and publish your own map. One very easy way is to use Google Earth to map your points of interest, save them in a KML file, publish and link that KML file on Google Maps.

Here is my first try:
1) the raw KML file from Google Earth
2) the linked KML file on Google Maps
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=http://tour.regensburg.googlepages.com/regensburg_test.kml

Cheers, Matthias

Adlersberg - Palmatoranstich

2008-03-16T19:15:00.003+01:00

I'm amazed I'm still able to post this entry to the blog.
A couple years ago I wouldn't...

From Adlersberg - ...

Okay, first I'll have to explain what "Palmatoranstich" is.
Every year, on Palm Sunday (a week before Easter) there is a big festival on the outskirts of Regensburg (Adlersberg), celebrating the tapping of the barrels with Palmator-beer.
In any case, this annual traditional fe4stival is one huge drinking event. Lots of police and a few ambulances stand by for the usual casualties. Just like the Oktoberfest, don't be surprised to see a few folks completely plastered. Sometimes there's a few brawls too, but normally just some drunks hurting themselfes when they fall flat on their faces.
This Palmator beer actually tastes like s**t, but after a glass you typically don't care anymore.

Adlersberg is a traditional bavarian beergarden, very popular in the summertime with bikers and everyone else trying to escape the city.

Adlersberg is actually an old monastery, with old cellars and basements, ruins of long forgotten days. In the summertime the courtyard is used as a beergarden.

Next year we'll see whether we can get a free ride back into town with one of these:

So, if you're in Regensburg on Palm Sunday you HAVE TO make your way up to Adlersberg - and joing these traditional festivities.

From Adlersberg - ...

Cheers, Matthias

Burning Bridges...

2008-03-15T17:48:00.005+01:00

I always try to avoid "burning bridges" - but some dutch captain did just that.

From Regensburg - Burning Bridges

Last Thursday (March 13th) he was passing through the Regensburg river locks, when his onboard crane collided with the bridge and ripped a gas pipeline. The ensuing fire burned for a while, and managed to weaken the steel enough to damage the bridge.

It's amazing how much the bridge has dropped. Initially they thought the bridge would collapse any moment. That's not the case, but the city will have to tear this one down and build a new one.
To make matters worse, no boat can pass until the bridge is torn down. (Would be really bad if the bridge collapsed when a boat passes through... So right now there mus be dozens of boats waiting on either side.

I'm not sure who's car this is - looks like it was a little too close to the fire.

Cheers, Matthias

Deutsches Museum Munich

2008-03-02T10:46:00.002+01:00

From Deutsches Mus...

A great place to spend a Sunday in is the "Deutsches Museum" (German Museum) in Munich. It's a huge place, with exhibits covering airplanes, mining industry, computers, glas making, natural sciences, music instruments and much more.

From Deutsches Museum

Here you can see the red painted triplane, like the one flown by the "Red Baron" during WWI. Also shown are a few Messerschmidt fighters from WWII...
This reminds me of a joke:

A World War II pilot is reminiscing before school children about his days in the air force. (Joke best delivered with a good thick accent)

"In 1942," he says, "the situation was really tough. The Germans had a very strong air force. I remember, " he continues, "one day I was protecting the bombers and suddenly, out of the clouds, these fokkers appeared.
(At this point, several of the children giggle.)
I looked up, and right above me was one of them. I aimed at him and shot him down. They were swarming. I immediately realized that there was another fokker behind me."
At this instant the girls in the auditorium start to giggle and boys start to laugh. The teacher stands up and says, "I think I should point out that 'Fokker' was the name of the German-Dutch aircraft company".
"That's true," says the pilot, "but these fokkers were flying Messerschmidts."

From Deutsches Museum

This museum is HUGE - make sure to take some water bottles and snacks with you, and don't forget your hiking boots.

Cheers, Matthias

No More Smoking!!! Hooray!

2008-03-02T10:32:00.003+01:00

After many years of heated discussions Germany finally implemented some new strict laws against smoking in public places/restaurants. Awesome! After enjoying smoke free restaurants in Ontario I wasn't used to the smoke anymore. Quite a few times Rosa and me left a restaurant because of it.

It's quite interesting how the discussions are repeating in every country. Yes, business does go down a little, and yes, there's new customers coming out now so that business even picks up. Yes, declaring your pub to be a "Smoking Club" is a nice attempt, just like some Canadian bar owner had a heated school bus on his property (because smoking in cars isn't banned).

Cheers, Matthias

Trip To Lindau (Lake Constance)

2008-01-02T19:59:00.008+01:00

Hiya, it's already March and we haven't posted anything for a while.
We've kept quite busy, and we'll catch up with some interesting posts.

Lindau at Lake Constance (Bodensee)

Last December we travelled to Milano in Italy - and when I checked the route I noticed that the train is stopping in Lindau, a little town on a small island within Lake Constance.
There is a good Wikipedia article on Lindau.

The german railways offer a "nice weekend ticket" - for 35 EUR you can travel anywhere, with up to five people, with any regional train (not the ICE or IC trains though). So, I got us that ticket and we headed off to Lindau by train. After a quick stopover in Munich we arrived in Lindau in the afternoon and started exploring this little island.

It got a very cute little harbour and a charming old city centre. There's a few hotels right on the island which are quite affordable (at least off season).

From Lindau

The night scenery is very charming as well - especially after a nice meal.
Be careful though - the lights at the harbour are turned off at 10pm (I was a few minutes too late when I went for my other camera...)

From Lindau

We really loved this place - we'll come back here in the summer time...

From Lindau

Cheers, Matthias

Christmas Season

2007-12-20T17:34:00.000+01:00

It's Christmas season, and just one more day of work until we get some well-deserved rest. We got family visiting us, and I'm looking forward taking them to the Christmas market at the castle of Thurn & Taxis.

Our Christmas tree is setup - and Rosa had fun decorating it.

I insisted on old-fashioned candles, just as I am used to from my grandparents. It's absolutely worth it, just gives you that nice atmosphere that electric lights just can't...

Wishing you all a wonderful and peaceful time with friends and families!

Cheers, Matthias & Rosa

Sabotaged Fireworks in Regensburg!

2007-11-24T23:48:00.000+01:00

Today the city of Regensburg celebrated - one year after it received the designation as "World Heritage" from the UNESCO.
The celebrations were topped off by nice fireworks at the Stone Bridge.

So, we went there early, to get a good spot to watch the show. Set ourselfes up at the beergarden Alte Linde with a nice view at the Bridge, Cathedral and the river.

The fireworks were to start at ten thirty. It turned ten fourty. Ten fifty. Eleven. And then the announcer told the crowd that someone had sabotaged the show and smashed the radio remote control, so they had to hand-fire all the pyro. Wow.

From Regensburg Fi...

Anyway, we had a good show, enjoyed ourselfes and are looking forward to the next fireworks...

Matthias

Abensberg is such a charming small town.

2007-11-18T17:29:00.000+01:00

Today we visited the charming small town of Abensberg. The weather was much better than last Sunday - still cold, but dry. It's just a short drive from Regensburg, parking is no issue at all.

Wanted to take my woman to the Kuchlbauer brewery/restaurant - but they were closed. The italian restaurant across was not bad either. Walking through the historic city centre doesn't take that much time (it really is a small town).

From Abensberg Photos

Then we visited the museum and were pleasantly surprised. They got really interesting exhibits from the stone age to recent times - a lot "hands on" items, awesome for kids (and adults like me). Unfortunately they don't have english audio guides yet, but my wife was able to translate the explanations for kids...

From Abensberg Photos

Next Spring we'll be back, by then it'll be asparagus season again and we'll eat the famous "Abensberger Spargel".

Matthias

Christmas Market - Preview

2007-11-18T17:27:00.000+01:00

December 1st - that's when the Christmas market opens in Regensburg.
Can't wait...

Matthias

Whacky Bavarian Kings (Castle Neuschwanstein)

2007-11-17T09:15:00.000+01:00

You must have heard about castle Neuschwanstein. The "original Disney castle" - built by that weirdo bavarian king Ludwig II (the one that never got married, was into Wagner-operas and drowned after he got declared insane). You've probably seen hundreds of Neuschwanstein photos.

When we had a day off (thanks to the Regensburger Pope Benedict and his Catholic church) we decided to visit this place. It's about a 2,5 hr drive from Regensburg, so we got ourselfes some accommodation nearby (no reservation - just stopped at a small "Gasthof").

The next day we headed there - and found ourselfes waiting a full hour for tickets.
(Reminder: next time reserve tickets in advance). They have tours in pretty much every language, but we tagged along with an italian tour (they had the day off too).

From Neuschwanstei...

First we visited the older castle Hohenschwangau - where Ludwig II actually grew up. All the interior is painted with old german fairy tales, knights in shining armour, the whole works. As a 6 years old boy I would have loved to live in a place like this. Nowadays I would probably paint all the walls white, rip out the golden decoration and replace it with IKEA furniture... :-)

From Neuschwanstei...

Then we hiked up to Neuschwanstein...

From Neuschwanstein..

Looking back this place kind of reminds me of Michael Jackson's Neverland ranch. Old Ludwig II was a weirdo too and created his own fantasy world for himself. In those days they were a bit more respectful to kings...
I'm not sure what I should think of this place and Ludwig II - but it's well worth a visit.

Cheers, Matthias

Winter is here.

2007-11-11T16:00:00.000+01:00

What a crappy weather. Rain, snow, sleet, wind, cold, miserable.
Somehow we're not in the mood to go on a hike today...

Matthias

OpenSocial - things to do on rainy weekends...

2007-11-11T12:34:00.000+01:00

I am active on different social networks - LinkedIn, XING, Facebook and others. So when I heard the announcement that Google would offer an interface to all these platforms I was excited. Got me a developer key and poked around a little. Good distraction from the rain and snow outside.

Unfortunately, my excitement was soon replaced by disappointment. OpenSocial is buggy as hell - even the tutorials don't work properly. But that can and will be ironed out.

The real kicker is that OpenSocial doesn't do anything for the user - it's just a tool for developers to spread all these obnoxious applicaitons/gadgets across different platforms.

Here's a little presentation to explain and demystify this a little:

Cheers, Matthias

Finding a New Hairdresser

2007-11-07T13:19:00.000+01:00

Probably like most women, it's a challenge trying to find the right hairdresser. He or she must have all the right qualities: a skillful hand, a keen eye, and a friendly personality. Well, I think I may have found these qualities in my new hairdresser at Haarstudio Deluxe.

Her name is Anna and she is located on Drei Kronnen Gasse (Altstadt) right next door to St. Petersburg soup kitchen. She opened her shop on September 1st and it seems that she has a steady flow of customers (but she is still building her clientele).

I had my appointment yesterday and it went better than I had expected. She doesn't speak very much English (and I'm not fluent in German yet), but we managed to carry on a conversation in German the whole time I was there. She got rid of the blond highlights I had and added copper red highlights instead. She trimmed my hair to minimize the volume at the bottom (my hair is naturally curly) and she straightened it out for me. When she was done I was extremely happy with the results that I made another appointment for next month. I think she will get busier as she builds her clientele.

I highly recommend her. For those who are interested and need a change, here is her contact information:

Haarstudio DELUXE
Anna Langowski
Drei Kronnen Gasse 2
Regensburg 93047
(0941) 58 61 23 23
HOURS: Monday 9-17 uhr, Tuesday-Saturday 9-19 uhr

When I first arrived in Regensburg earlier this year, I had found a really good hairdresser on Maximillian Strasse, but in September I found out that she didn't work there anymore, and they had no idea where she went. Her replacement cut my hair and it was the worst haircut that I had in a long time. A few months later I found Anna and I'll keep going to her as long as she has her shop.

Cheers,
Rosa

Haarstudio Deluxe

It Was Only a Test

2007-11-07T12:33:00.000+01:00

Last week flood barriers were set up in front of our flat assuming that the Danube was going to overflow. Well, the river never flooded and the barriers were set up only as a trial. Early the next morning the flood barriers were dismantled and neatly packed into large blue bins.

At least it was only a trial run and not the real ordeal. The river is still low and cruise boats are still coming in. Unfortunately the weather isn't co-operating. It's been raining pretty much most of the day. Hopefully the tourists will still enjoy their stay in Regensburg. It still is a beautiful city even when it rains.

Bis später!
Rosa

Flood Barriers

2007-10-30T10:36:00.000+01:00

This morning I woke up to the sound of fork-lifts driving back and forth in front of our flat. I didn't know what it was till I looked out the window later in the morning. Flood barriers are being installed in case of a flood. Will we have a flood later this week? Check out the pictures:

Flood Barriers

You'll notice that in the background (on the other side of the river), there are cruise ships that are still arriving on a daily basis in Regensburg. The weather lately hasn't been cooperating, but it's that time of the season where it's always cloudy and foggy in the mornings. I noticed that the visitors still seem to enjoy Regensburg when I go for a walk in the Altstadt.

We'll see what happens with the flood. The water level looks pretty low but it could rise at a moments notice.

Bis später!

Rosa

For Your Own Safety...Keep Out of The Castle Schleissheim!

2007-10-22T20:46:00.000+02:00

This Sunday the weather was crappy - rain, snow, cold and miserable.
But we did our usual Sunday trip, this time to Schleissheim, just north of Munich. It's about an hour from Regensburg.

Anyway, just before entering the park grounds you can see this sign:

We advise that after Closing of the park - within the limits of the law - the game in this park is being hunted. For your own safety we ask you to adhere to the opeining hours.
Holy Moly. Are they really saying that I might get some birdshot if I don't get off the royal park grounds? Are they kidding? Or was that how they enforced opening hours a hundred years ago? I have no idea.

Anyway, after sneaking our way in without getting shot at, we made it into the castles. Yes, castles - as there are actually three - the old one, the new one, and the hunting lodge (Altes Schloss, Neues Schloss, Schloss Lustheim). The Old Castle contains changing exhibitions - religious artefacts and other stuff. The New Castle with it's large spacious halls serves as a gallery for old paintings. And the hunting lodge should only be entered a few minutes before they close - otherwise you'll wait hours as your wife marvels at all that precious china. This is not a castle for men - no torture chamber, no weapon gallery, no cannons or suits of armor. And way too much pink in the decoration. Yuck. ;-)

So, if the weather is halfway decent I can really recommend visiting this place:

Alle Photos

Cheers, Matthias

Fall in Regensburg - Smell of Burnt Sugar

2007-10-19T17:30:00.000+02:00

Fall in Regensburg
The temperature drops, and the beergarden is empty.
Fog is rising from the Danube and stays for days.
It smells of burnt sugar and dirt.
Trucks full of sugar beets roll through town.
Ah yes. The sugar plant is running again.

Every year the same spectacle - all the farmers bring their sugar beets to the plant, where the brown dirty beets are processed into snow white sugar.
Only this year might be the last, as the plant is gonna close. Can't compete against imported sugar from Latin America and elsewhere. I'm happy we won't have to stand the smell much longer - but there's gonna be some folks without a job soon.

Fall can be depressing...

IKEA in Regensburg

2007-10-18T20:28:00.000+02:00

We're trying to free up one bedroom and move the office into our living room.
But then, how do you hide a computer workstation from view?

I've been scanning the internet for some ideas - but I think it'll be IKEA time again. Got some general idea, and with Google's free CAD software "sketchup" I sketched my ideas out...

And for all those IKEA fans out there I found this great tale of IKEA madness:
IKEA Jones and the Dresser of Doom
.

Cheers, Matthias

Oktoberfest - 6 Million Liters Later

2007-10-09T18:13:00.001+02:00

Two weeks ago some friends and us went to Munich to visit the infamous Oktoberfest.

Now, this was actually the first time I ever went there myself - in all the years before I never ventured there, stuck to the smaller local festivities like Dult in Regensburg or the Gäubodenfest in Straubing.

Gotta tell you, we had a blast. A lot of rides with people screaming their heads off.
But then the real entertainment starts in the Bierzelt (beer tent) - with thousands of people just getting shitfaced, dancing on the tables, and so on. We were there in the early afternoon, and we already saw a few folks had reached their limits. Can't imagine this place late at night.

If you've never been there you must watch the movie "BEERFEST". It actually is a quite truthful documentary** about Germany - and very very entertaining.
If you haven't seen it, make sure to get the DVD and a case of beer (sixpack won't be enough).

If beer doesn't interest you that much, you may want to check out all the eye candy at display. I just LOVE these bavarian dresses - gives me more insights into the bavarian culture... :-)

Anyways - here's a few more photos of Oktoberfest 2007...

Prost - Matthias

**) About as truthful as a "documentary" by Michael Moore.

Tuba-Terror - The Video

2007-09-23T14:10:00.001+02:00

And here is the video of our little stunt:

You can watch and comment the clip directly at http://video.google.de/videoplay?docid=6977884975060439156

Have fun, Matthias

Tuba Terror in Kelheim!!

2007-09-23T13:59:00.000+02:00

We've been to Kelheim before - here's some earlier visit: http://post-canadian.blogspot.com/2007/01/kelheim-and-altmuehltal.html

Ever since I experienced the impressive liberation hall in Kelheim I tried to convince my brother Phil to bring his Tuba along an do a little sound check. Two weeks ago it finally worked out. We snuck into the hall and he unpacked his instrument.

WHOA! The sound was just absolutely enormous. The deep fat tuba sound reverberated and echoed through these holy halls. It was magnificent.

And Phil had a blast. Everytime he stopped playing the sound continued for a good few seconds - almost as if it were playback.

I was a little worried wether we'd get kicked out, but no trouble at all. The staff and all the other visitors enjoyed the show.

Fotos: (Video will be published soon)

Tuba Terror

Cheers, Matthias

Schloss Pruefening

2007-09-16T19:31:00.000+02:00

Today we visited Schloss Pruefening in the western part of Regensburg. It was actually a monastery and later converted into a castle by the Thurn & Taxis family. The castle is now used as a Montessori school. Beautiful beer garden directly by.

Regensburg - Schloss Pruefening

Visit To Passau

2007-07-29T11:05:00.000+02:00

Last weekend a friend from Canada was visiting us and we visited Passau. It's a little over an hour drive from Regensburg.
Passau Castle

The castle is located on a mountain range - overlooking the old city centre of Passau. Steep hike. And after having some beer we got into the medieval spirit - arming ourselfes and burning and pillaging Passau. We had a blast!

The Crystal Ship
Svarovski crystal. Argggh. It's hard enough to drag my Woman away from a shop full of them. And now a whole friggin boat decorated all over with that stuff? Give me a break! What's next? A hotel made out of crystal? Toilet sinks? Funiture? Underwear? Please make this stop!

Here's some more photos of Passau...

Passau Visit

Cheers, Matthias

Hiking to Monastery Weltenburg

2007-07-17T20:29:00.000+02:00

Last weekend we hiked from Kelheim to the Monastery Weltenburg. Awesome tour along the Danube... Only hitch is the steep part - a certain person from Ontario is not used to mountains.

But, the hike is well worth it - with a breathtaking view down on the monastery, a quick ferry crossing and into the beer garden to get some fresh cold beer and some food. Yum yum.
Then we took the boat back to Kelheim - it's only 4 EUR per person!

Here's a few shots....

Weltenburg

Cheers, Matthias

Canadian Women...

2007-07-12T16:50:00.000+02:00

Today my wife told me about this news report.
Maybe she was sending me a message?
I'm not sure...

Nfld.-Labrador. Grandmother kills another bear

CanWest News Service, Published: Wednesday, July 11
Gun-toting grandmother Cecilia Smith has struck again. The 87-year-old western Newfoundland woman who made headlines in June when she shot a 200-kilogram bear outside her cabin bagged another one this week. Smith said she was in her garden installing a new door when she looked up and saw the bear in a trap she'd set. "He was right near me, only 25 or 30 feet away. And I said 'I got a bear in a snare.' Well, I ran and got my gun and I plastered him." The good news for the bears is she now has her two-bear spring hunt quota.

© The Gazette (Montreal) 2007

Stinky old cars... (4th Classic Rallye)

2007-07-08T18:13:00.000+02:00

These architects, doctors and business men must be running short of money - apparently they can't afford new cars. I saw them all driving around in old cars that were 30, 40 or even 97 years old!

Absolutely magnificent. This classic car rallye holds up very well to the events that R&M Auctions is organizing in Chatham.

Here's some photos I took today:

4th Regensburg Classic Rallye

The cars started by the Cathedral this morning, went on to several checkpoints around Regensburg, before returning in the evening. Lots of families were out and about, marvelling at these classic beauties.

Cheers, Matthias

Arson...

2007-07-01T15:54:00.000+02:00

I was just walking home when I saw this burned out bus...whoa!

Actually, I wasn't that surprised at all. The bus had stood there for years, ever since the owner got into a little feud with the city almost 10 years ago. Apparently he had violated some building codes, and chose to fight the city. He ignored that one rule "Obey your teacher, police man and administration official, as they can make your life miserable."
You can probably guess what happened when the license for sight seeing tours (that he was running) came up for renewal. Too bad...

Since then he used his property as a bill board with the most bizarre accusations against the city and the mayor. The city was breaking the law, ruining him, harboring free masons, etc. etc.

Actually, I'm curious what posters I'll be seeing next. Mayor torched my bus? The free masons are arsonists? I got no idea, but I'll keep you updated...

Cheers, Matthias

Buergerfest in Regensburg!

2007-06-24T22:53:00.000+02:00

Whoa - this weekend we had quite some action in downtown Regensburg.
It was the annual Buergerfest (citizens festival), with music, shops and beer available all through downtown.

Saturday was fairly entertaining to watch from our window. The weather was a bit flaky, and every hour the sky just opened up and drenched the people coming from the parking lot. I knew another downpour started whenever I heard squealing from the street...

Sunday was much nicer, the weather playing along, and thousands of people coming out. It was absolutely perfect (except that the missus was missing).
I'm looking forward to a few more festivals this summer.

Here's a few shots...

Buergerfest

Matthias

Hot Air Balloon Over Regensburg

2007-06-03T17:54:00.000+02:00

Every once in a while we see hot air balloons drifting slowly over Regensburg. Last weekend I saw one again - and got the idea for a perfect wedding gift for some friends...

...and guess what my wife wants to do now... :-)

Cheers, Matthias

And The Thunder Rolls....

2007-05-14T20:58:00.000+02:00

The Thunder Rolls and The Lightning Strikes...

A few more impressions can be found in my Picasa Album.

Have a good night...Matthias

Ruine Wolfstein

2007-05-01T19:41:00.000+02:00

On our drive to Nuremburg we noticed an impressive castle ruin overlooking the city of Neumarkt i.d.Opf. Naturally, it went onto our list of places to visit - and in April we finally made it.

From Wolfstein nea...

Weather was absolutely gorgeous, as we drove the 70 km on the A3 from Regensburg towards Nuremburg, taking exit Neumarkt and driving up the hill. Just a short hike later we stood on top and started exploring the castle ruins.

From Wolfstein nea...

VERY IMPRESSIVE!!!

Here's a few photos of this place for you to enjoy (Click picture for more).

Wolfstein near Neumarkt

Cheers!

Someone's 32nd Birthday

2007-04-15T20:13:00.000+02:00

Today we celebrated someone's 32nd birthday. Weather was picture perfect, trees in full bloom, birds chirping....

I have a stash of these birthday matchboxes handy - you just take a Sharpie and mark off the right numbers, viola!

We did a river cruise from Regensburg to Walhalla, started at 10.30 and got to Donaustauf/Walhalla an hour later.

The boat stops right below the famous Walhalla, after a 20 minute hike we were up and had a breathtaking view.

On the next mountaintop lies a beautiful ruin of Donaustauf, a castle going back over 1000 years. It's absolutely gorgeous, and perfect for a nice picknick with some freshly baked cake and some red wine...

Walhalla looks pretty impressive, actually it is only two inches wide - as you can see in the photo!

This is Walhalla - the German "hall of fame", honoring such famous Germans as The Scorpions, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Milli Vanilli (just kidding!!).

We finished the day off (and ourselves) with a few beers and Schnitzel at the Spitalgarten. It's a very popular beergarden, right by the Danube.

Anyway, we had an awesome day...Matthias

Warm Wedding Welcome!

2007-04-01T19:11:00.000+02:00

Today I want to show you how newly-weds are being welcomed in Bavaria.
We actually saw this a few times and wanted to share this funny tradition with you.

This house is just a few blocks away from ours - and you may notice that blue-white pole with a stork on top of it.

Coming closer we get a better look at this installation...

And then we can finally read the sign:

The stork, high up on the tree, fulfills so many children's dreams.

He can't do it all alone, you better help him out.

This tree won't be moved until a child is born.

If there's not three of you within a year,

you have to give us food and beer.

GOOD LUCK!

Talk about pressure! Can you imagine coming home and being reminded day in and day out that you have to have a child within a year - or feed a bunch of "friends"? Oh well, this is the way it is.

Fortunately, our friends don't are a bit easier to satisfy....

That's it for now...Matthias

Nuremberg - traces of the past

2007-02-11T18:22:00.000+01:00

Last Sunday we visited downtown Nuremberg and were surprised to realize how much destruction was brought to it. This sunday we visited the place where it began - the Nazi party rally grounds. Or, as Germans call it: Reichsparteitagsgelände.

We were surprised to see the traces of a german eagle and swastika on a building - even more surprised to see that it now houses a Burger King. Amazing how time goes by...

There is an excellent museum within the unfinished congress center - they do have english audio guides that explain everything. From the Nazi's rise to power, all the gory details of war, death and destruction up to the Nuremberg trials when the Nazi leaders were brough to justice.
(Visit their website for more details)

Near the congress center you can see the Zeppelin field where the big rallys were held. In the middle of the picture is the place where Hitler stood before hundreds of thousands...

You can read more about this place at Wikipedia.

That's it for now, folks - visit this place yourself and get a little spooked by history...
Matthias

Nürnberg, The City of Survival

2007-02-07T11:59:00.000+01:00

On February 4th, Matthias and I drove out to Nürnberg. When I first got there, I wasn't sure how I felt about the city. The first thing I noticed was that the majority of the buildings had a pinkish red ting in the masonary. I wasn't impressed initially, so I nicked named it, "The Red City". We stopped at a local cafe called "Der Beck" and had some coffee and sweets, and read a little bit.

Later, we hiked up to the castle and went through the museum first. It was one of the nicest museums I've been through in a long time. It displayed some amazing artifacts that demonstrates the city's rich history.

After the museum, we bought tickets for a tour around the cathedral and palace. It was beautiful to look at, but boring and frustrating to listen to. Our tour guide had a great sense of humour but I wasn't able to enjoy it because I couldn't understand German. I know Matthias enjoyed it very much and he gave me the highlights of each room, but it wasn't the same. I really wanted to participate in the tour and enjoy the humour.

Well, after the tour we grabbed a bite to eat at a local restaurant and then we continued walking through town. The first church we stopped at was St Lorenz Kirche. This church gave me a new outlook on the city and WWII. For those who don't know, Nürnberg is known for the Nazi parties that used to gather in this city to listen to Adolf Hilter. Anyhow, here is a link for the church: http://germany.archiseek.com/bavaria/nuremberg/st_lorenz.html

As we walked around inside the church, we stopped to read posters that explained the story from the time the church was bombed in 1945 to the time it was rebuilt between 1952-1957. It's amazing how the church was restored to it's original condition (considering it is 700 years old). I admire all the surviving souls that had the courage to pick up the pieces and start a new life.

We walked through a few more churches that were similar to St. Lorenz Kirche. By the time we drove back to Regensburg, I had a new found respect for Nürnberg. At this point, I named it, "The City of Survival". I must say that it has become one of my favourite places to visit. I'm looking forward to the next time that Matthias and I go there to visit some of the other museums. For more information on Nuremberg, click on the following link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuremberg

Cheers!
Rosa

Passau

2007-02-07T10:18:00.000+01:00

On January 27th, we went to the city of Passau. That is, my MIL, my husband and me. We had a good time hiking up to the castle but when we got to the top, there wasn't much to see. Everything was closed for the winter and will reopen for the spring. Check out some of the photos we took:

From Passau

Here is my wonderful MIL who came to visit us for the weekend:

From Passau

Here I am making a goofie face (as usual):

From Passau

And here is Matthias trying to be funny sitting in the snow:

From Passau

On the way back down we found these ducks admiring the view across the river. The shot was taken by Matthias. He does have a keen eye.

From Passau

We walked around the city and then stopped at a local restaurant for dinner.
We had a great time but by the end of the day we were all tired.

Cheers!
Rosa

Kelheim and Altmuehltal

2007-01-21T14:15:00.000+01:00

Sunday we went to Kelheim and had a look at the Befreiungshalle (liberation hall). It's a magnificent building to honor the liberation from Napoleon.

And yes, my wife is not very tall at all...

You can actually climb to the top of the building - if your partner is not afraid to climb narrow stairs. Gives you an awesome view above Kelheim, the Danube valley and the Altmuehl valley.

Following the Altmuehl river we got to the little village of Essing with a castle ruin overlooking. Just absolutely gorgeous. Crossing the wooden bridge we got to the little "Gasthof" and had a small lunch.

And a few more miles downriver we got to the town of Riedenburg. We have to come back here for the "three castle hike" when the weather is better...

So long for now...Matthias

DAS BOOT - is sinking.

2007-01-17T00:01:00.000+01:00

Our car is a 10 year old Ford Scorpio - a huge boat.
I lovingly call it "Das Boot".
Anyway, today I encountered an iceberg...or shall we say that the iceberg encountered me?
Got rear ended with gusto - the air bags of my tailgater exploded too.
Luckily I didn't get hurt too bad.

That little episode reminded me of the "what are you sinking about" video clip of the German Coast Guard....if you haven't seen it yet...here it is

over and out, Matthias

Back in Canada...

2006-12-24T00:05:00.000+01:00

It's been raining day after day. It's grey, cold and miserable.

But it also feel good to be back in Canada.

Here's a few pictures from Windsor...just across from Detroit.

The black and grey squirrels are out in force - now that the trees have no leaves you can see how many there are.

Matthias

I'm outta here...

2006-12-20T23:29:00.000+01:00

...no more entries until the first week of January.
Am back in Canada, attending a wedding (mine).

Fotos and stories from the wedding will be published here in January.
By that time we'll also have a new author on this blog - a true Canadian.
I'm sure she'll have fun exploring Regensburg...

Have a great Christmas time, and don't drink too much Gluehwein, Matthias

Webcams in Regensburg

2006-12-03T16:02:00.001+01:00

Christmas Market
http://www.christkindlmarkt-regensburg.de/spass_webcam.php

Neupfarrplatz, Raiffeisenbank
http://www.raiffeisenbank-regensburg.de/zms/unserebank/webcam1.php

3 really slow cameras from R-Kom
Nibelungen-CAM http://www.r-kom.de/cms/front_content.php?idart=158
Dom-CAM http://www.r-kom.de/cms/front_content.php?idart=159
Neupfarrplatz http://www.r-kom.de/cms/front_content.php?idart=161

2 webcams at the university hospital
http://www.medicdat.de/snap.html

Koenigstrasse
http://cityoffers.de/rgb/webcam.html

Cinemaxx
http://www.nkk.de/webcam/webcam.jpg

Christmas Market!

2006-12-01T20:48:00.000+01:00

Today we went to the Christmas Market at the Thurn & Taxis residence.
It was absolutely marvellous.
Awesome food, some "glowing wine".
And all of this in the court yard of the castle...

Christmas Market

Matthias

The Mysterious Abandoned Villa Lauser

2006-11-19T18:08:00.000+01:00

For quite some time I was wondering about this mysterious villa located right next to the river, close to the Stone Bridge.

From Tour Regensburg!

It looks abandoned and in some state of disrepair.

From Tour Regensburg!

All doors are locked and I can't get inside.

From Tour Regensburg!

The backyard is all fenced in, all overgrown.

From Tour Regensburg!

But I find a hole in the fence now I can explore.

From Tour Regensburg!

Whoot! I made it to the backdoor. But, alas, I can't get inside.

From Tour Regensburg!

Through the door I can peek inside and see a marvellous hall with wide stairs.

From Tour Regensburg!

Now I'm even more curious about this place.
Let's see what the Internet can tell us...

Manfred Maronde give us more insights:
In 1795 Baron von Dittmer had a summer palais built in his 6,000 sq. mtr garden. Of his ten kids eight were already dead when he died - so his two remaining daughters (married to Thon and Mantey) inherited his wealth.

In 1903 the manufacturer family Lauser acquired the place - and then it went downhill.
The palace was used as a bordello, stables, restaurant.

The palais consists of a a row of salons with dance hall and dining hall in the first floor.
The ground floor is prone to flooding from the Danube and houses kitchen, stores, and servants rooms. Actually, the Lauser archives were heavily damaged by floods.
The staircase is styled in transition between baroque to classicism.

Baron von Poltenbach bought the palace in 1993 from the Lauser descendants.
But, he seems to have used up all his money...

This doesn't come as a surprise if you know anything about restoring historic buildings in Germany - and what restrictions you have to abide by.

This leads me to more questions though:
Who owns the place now?
How can I get a tour of it?
And will it be left to rot or is someone
doing something with this marvellous palace?

If you have any clues dop me a line...Matthias

The Harbour

2006-11-15T22:03:00.000+01:00

Sunday evening I took a walk through the harbour. Man, it's quite interesting there!
Old abandoned buildings, giant cranes, cool office buildings by the water, docked ships.

Anyway, check out the new pictures I took there at
http://picasaweb.google.com/mail.tour.regensburg/TourRegensburg

I also added the marker on the Regensburg map at
http://tour.regensburg.googlepages.com/

Matthias

Ending a long distance relationship on Google Maps

2006-11-13T19:07:00.000+01:00

Mike from Google Maps Mania posted an article on his popular blog,
pointing to my interactive map of Regensburg:

Matthias is a Canadian expat living in Regensburg, Germany.
To make his girlfriend (who still lives in Ontario, Canada) feel
better about moving to where he's living he has created
this Google mashup of the city she's coming to. I say Google
mashup since Maps is only one element. Google Pages, Blogger,
Google Video, Maps, Adsense, Analytics and Docs are all used.
It's a Google marketers dream! :)

He has this message he'd like me to pass on to her:
Dear Rosa - Regensburg is a great town, but without you
it's empty and boring. Can't wait for you to join me here!
Love ya, Matthias

And as you would expect - hits on my little page are jumping up quite a bit.
Just confirms how popular Google Maps Mania really is.

Thanks, Mike, much appreciated!
Matthias

I'm gonna regret this... (Spaghetteria)

2006-11-09T22:36:00.000+01:00

...but I will tell the truth and nothing but the truth.

The Canadian Mafia went to the Spaghetteria tonight. Haven't been to that place in over 6 years. I was wondering whether it's still as good as I remember.

Yes, as the name suggests, it is an italian restaurant.
You can pick from 23 different types of sauces and off you go. However, I was not in the mood for spaghetti - I was yearning for the lasagna.
And boy, was it ever good!!!!!Normally when I'm confronted with a huge portion of lasagna I have to say "non posso mangiare piu". However, tonight my response would have been "voglio mangiare piu lasagna".

And now to the truth, the bitter truth that I should keep to myself (but won't), the truth that I will regret not keeping to myself. Nine fateful words that will seal my fate:

This lasagna is better than the one Rosa makes.

I'm signing off now and will hide under a rock.... Matthias

Sleepless

2006-11-05T22:46:00.000+01:00

I am sleepless. Restless.
Walking through the dark and narrow streets.
Peeking through lit windows.
I can't go to sleep.

I'd like to leave town - this cruise ship is so inviting.
I don't want to sleep alone at home tonight.

How many other lonely souls are out there?

Matthias

Summer is over!

2006-11-04T23:03:00.000+01:00

Within days the temperatures dropped from 25 Celsius to below zero.
It is cold, wet and windy. The cold wind is getting at you.
On Thursday we even had some snowfall.

It looks like summer is over and winter is coming along.

It's time for some hot tea with rum...

Matthias

Photo Galleries!

2006-10-29T11:00:00.000+01:00

I recently found out that Google Picasa lets you post photos online, up to 250 MB.
Just another free Google service...

Regensburg

And here's the link to all my galleries.

Matthias

More wedding fun: speeches

2006-10-27T20:42:00.000+02:00

another one...

The sun is setting...

2006-10-22T21:57:00.000+02:00

Every night and every morn
Some to misery are born.
Every morn and every night
Some are born to sweet delight.
Some are born to sweet delight,
Some are born to endless night.

William Blake, Auguries of Innocence
(also quoted in the movie Dead Man, starring Johnny Depp)

The Royal Villa...

2006-10-22T21:10:00.000+02:00

The Royal Villa was built from 1854 to 1856 as a summer residence for King Maximilian II.
It's located right next by the Danube river.

The residence is surrounded by a beautiful park and adjacent to the Ostentor (Eastern Gate).

The Villa is now used by the city of Regensburg, and apparently there's also a family living on the premises. Lucky sods...

This entry was also posted to the interactive map on Tour Regensburg!

Matthias

Wonderful days...

2006-10-17T21:33:00.000+02:00

...I had with my friends Wayne and Sandy. They're fellow paragliding pilots, from Michigan, and we met again in Austria this summer.

One evening we went to an excellent restaurant by the Weissensee lake.

It's very quiet, rowing boats going by, the waves are quietly washing along the shore...

And then the sun set over the lake - can it be any more romantic?

I whish Rosa could have been there too...
Matthias

Fall Colours

2006-10-15T19:10:00.000+02:00

----
It's fall everywhere. Everywhere? Everywhere except Ontario. Ontario had a few inches of snow.
Okay, back to Regensburg.

Here we look at Regensburg from the tower at Herzogspark.

This tree down by the river caught my eye...

Close to the Scottish Church I saw these vines...the colours were just blinding.

The Herzogspark by the river...

Looks like I found me a nice golf course...

...Matthias

The Regensburg Cathedral...

2006-10-12T19:48:00.000+02:00

...is a magnificent building. Awe inspiring. All the intricate details. The gargoyles. The old sun dials.

Here's a little video clip I put together - showing the exterieur of the church.
You ask what's inside? I'll show you some other day...

This video clip is also posted to the map on Tour Regensburg!

Tour Regensburg - continued

2006-10-11T21:58:00.000+02:00

Okay, so over the last days I added a lot of functionality to my interactive map of Regensburg. Now you can even watch little video clips of Regensburg right on that page.

Head on over and check it out, let me know what you think!

Matthias

Farmers Market

2006-09-24T16:36:00.000+02:00

Each Saturday morning I am torn from my well deserved sleep.
How? Why? Who?

These darn farmers on the weekly farmers market - yelling how fresh and cheap their produce is. Live ducks, cheese, veggies, honey, eggs, sausages - they sell everything.
And yes, this stuff is the good stuff - can't get better than that.

So, I get out of bed, walk to the other side of the river and get me the ingredients for a tasty bruch. Yummy!

Matthias

Tour Regensburg!

2006-09-23T19:02:00.000+02:00

I played around with Google Maps - with a little coding you can create your own maps with information tidbits, images, videos.

So, here it is - the first try at "Tour Regensburg".
Have a look, let me know what you think...

When I find neat things here i'll add them to the map!

Matthias

What a beautiful day...

2006-09-20T20:20:00.000+02:00

Indian Summer in Regensburg?
Absolutely, yes, absolutely gorgeous!

After work I just took a stroll through town...

Walking through the narrow streets until I stumble over this old fellow, sitting in the middle of the road and painting. People stop and look over his shoulder.

All along the river you see couples sitting - drinking wine, enjoying the evening sunshine, just enjoying themselfes.

Matthias

Trip to Kallmuenz

2006-09-17T15:20:00.000+02:00

-----------
Today after breakfast we went to Kallmuenz - just 20 km from Regensburg. You drive through these little towns and villages - absolutely gorgeous.

Got this nice castle ruin overlooking the town.

I think I gotta buy this castle and build it up again - as my summer residence...

Best of all - there were a few paragliders launching from the ridge. They told me that yesterday they managed to fly above the castle. Awesome - why did I leave my wing at home?

Have a great Sunday - Matthias

Wind Dummy

2006-09-15T23:31:00.000+02:00

When you talk with paragliding pilots you'll often hear references to a "wind dummy". That's typically the first pilot launching - and everyone watches him closely to see whether he is getting thermals or not. Everyone else sits around, gets sunburnt (me) and when the wind dummy manages to stay up (or even gain altitude) everyone else launches and things get a little hectic.

Here you can see me waiting for perfect flying conditions.
Yes, it's a tough sport...

Matthias "Hun In The Sun"

Honey - I Shrunk The Car!

2006-09-15T23:25:00.000+02:00

This is what happens when you let Wayne play around. It started off as a Hummvee - and now it's a golf cart? Nooo, it's the Smart car...

Have you ever wondered why there is so little vegetation on the mountains?
Now you'll see why...

Matthias

Mamma Miracoli!

2006-09-15T14:44:00.000+02:00

Did I mention where the Dolomites are?
Yepper, same country my in-laws are from.
At least I could practise my italian....

That's Wayne an Sandy in the picture - good paragliding friends from Michigan.

Matthias

Drei Zinnen, Dolomiten!!

2006-09-15T14:33:00.000+02:00

Flying the Dolomites is a whole new game for me. I'm used to fly the Alps, with typical mountains around 2000 meters high (above sea level) and flying at altitudes of around 2500 meters.
But what I did this Tuesday was a little more intimidating - got up to 3300 meters altitude and could see the whole mountain range from above. Holy crap!

Here you can see Wayne flying high - a thousand meters above launch!

Another pilot managed to get up as well, all the others didn't get high.

Me after a safe landing ... still can't get that grin out of my face.

Matthias "Hun In The Sun"

The DOLOMITES!!!!!

2006-09-12T22:06:00.000+02:00

Just got home after flying my brains out in the Dolomites.
Can't get that grin off my face...
Check out this little video I took at breathtaking altitudes...

Or do you want to see some pictures of the area?
http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=%22drei+zinnen%22&s=int&z=t

Matthias "Hun In The Sun"

Video Conferences!!!

2006-09-02T21:59:00.000+02:00

Tonight we tried to do video calls with our little webcams, and it worked just perfectly. Rosa's PC is hooked up to a stereo, so we had some feedback noise, otherwise it worked just flawless. The sound and picture quality is not overwhelming, but we can't complain since it's free.

Here's a picture of us during the conference...

Ahoi, Matthias

Colour Coordination

2006-09-01T20:44:00.000+02:00

Cool Satellite Picture!!

2006-08-29T12:38:00.000+02:00

You want to see where we live now?
Then have a look at Regensburg From Above

In the picture you can see the docked cruise ships, with the old city centre south of the river. The historic Stone Bridge can easily be identified - it's the one with the many boat-shaped details.

Matthias

The Need For Speed...

2006-08-28T23:44:00.000+02:00

Nice shot of us driving through the tree-lined roads on the island of Ruegen.
Looks and feels like a green tunnel...

Matthias

Life Before and After

2006-08-28T23:19:00.000+02:00

My life before I met Rosa:

And After...

Matthias

Why Rosa needs to learn swimming...

2006-08-28T21:26:00.000+02:00

Check out the flood markers (HW stands for Hochwasser "high water") at the monastery Weltenburg! And our appartment is just a few kilometers downstream. Luckily we're not in the first floor!

Matthias

Flying Out...right over Pelee Island

2006-08-24T19:59:00.000+02:00

Luckily we had no issues at the airport - just a few days after the "bottle bomber" scare in England. Rosa even smuggled a bottle of water onto the plane...ts...ts...ts.

Right after departure we had a last glimpse at the southernmost part of Canada - Pelee Island. We spent a long weekend there not that long ago, enjoying the nice weather and the good wine.

It'll be some time before we make it to Pelee Island again...

Matthias

Post Canadian Depression

2006-08-15T20:33:00.000+02:00

I'm starting this little blog to keep friends and family updated on the adventures of Rosa and Matthias. Nothing fancy, just some pictures and impressions....

Matthias