Rainsburg and Snowsburg

I'm updating the blog a couple of days later than my usual Wednesday this week, as there's been a lot going on in the last few days.

Regensburg/Ratisbon (the disappointing English name)
Last weekend I visited Regensburg (Regen means rain in German, hence the stunningly witty blog title) for the first time in about six and a half years. I had been before with my German exchange partner, Anna, when I went to visit her at the age of about fourteen, but all I could remember from my previous visit was walking along the river lined with numerous cafes with their chairs and tables set out in the sun. There was also lots of ice cream. As it turns out, I remember the train station more vividly than any of the historic and beautiful town, despite spending what must have been only about half an hour there while we waited for the train.

This time around, I think my overwhelming memory of Regensburg will be its freezing temperatures. When we arrived on Friday evening, Ben and I walked the three quarters of an hour or so to our hostel which involved crossing the river. This was partly okay, because the river is the Danube and therefore really exciting (Blue Danube!!!), but mostly horrible because the wind blowing across the river was mindnumbingly cold. After finding the hotel we bravely faced the weather again, taking the bus into town this time to find a restaurant for dinner.

We went to a number of establishments over the course of the weekend, which meant that they could easily be compared with one another. According to a couple of real-life Bavarians, the restaurant we went to on the first night should be reacted to with grimaces and mutters about 'tourists'. However it was enjoyable nonetheless, and I tried my first ever Spanferkel, i.e. piglet. While this concept is somewhat distressing, it is a German speciality so I felt I had to, and it was delicious, albeit a dish I will not make a habit of ordering.

Spanferkel. I'm so sorry, pig babies

David and Goliath?

The Saturday was mostly spent wandering around the town, looking at the shops, markets, and beautiful buildings. There was a surprising French market, a shop with a lovely man who spent half an hour showing us his holiday pictures from when he visited Colombia to buy stock for his shop, and lots of cafes with hot chocolate to combat the biting cold which I may have mentioned once or twice before. We had lunch in a far more authentic Bavarian restaurant full of actual Bavarians including the judgemental ones referred to above. That time I had a forgettable meatball thing with boiled potato; the star of the show was the utterly delicious creamy cabbage and bacon. 

For such a small town, there are seemingly thousands of churches, some more attractive than others. We visited several, at least two of which looked so similar that I actually thought we had just made a mistake and gone to see the same one twice in a day.

One of the more horrible churches I've seen

This over-the-top church was the weekend's first brush with ostentatious Catholicism, unless you count the cathedral, which I do. The cathedral is absolutely enormous, with beautiful stained glass windows. That is the end of my compliments about the cathedral. The outside is completely covered with intricately ugly stonework that seems to be fairly typical of such massive religious establishments in Germany, judging by its similarity to the one in Cologne that I saw earlier this year. 

I got this from Google images because all my photos are terrible, SORRY

On the Sunday morning we attended a service there. Spending time gazing at the 'artwork' and other decorations, I was incontrovertibly reminded of another recent visit to a huge, historic cathedral: Madrid's Santa María la Real de La Almudena last summer. It was here that I had what I can only describe as a religious experience, albeit one with the polar opposite effect to that of most religious experiences, in that it convinced me of firstly my own atheism, and secondly my burning hatred for Catholicism. It then may come as a surprise that I chose to participate in the service on Sunday. However I am always one for new experiences and I was mildly interested to see if anything about it would change my mind. Also, who doesn't love sitting for an hour and a half in an enormous unheated building in February while men in fancy robes vociferously remind you of your unworthiness?

The highlight of the cathedral experience was the church choir, apparently one of the oldest in the world; it has a majestic history of over one thousand years of little boys praising the lord with their angelic voices. I also enjoyed watching the priest flinging the very large censor full of pungent incense around, great for the asthmatics out there, and the overly dramatic bowing/full curtsy in the general direction of the altar that nearly every member of the congregation did before sitting down. I declined to take part in this action, as I felt it would be hypocritical and unavoidably mocking if I did. As can be deduced, I was not converted to Catholicism over the course of the weekend.

The Blue-ish Danube

 On the Sunday afternoon we made the short bus journey to Walhalla, a monument to famous Germans that's in the hills just outside Regensburg. While I was less interested in the dozens of white marble busts arranged in lines in the temple-like structure, the view from the top was absolutely stunning.

The journey home from Regensburg was my first successful experience with a Mitfahrgelegenheit, a brilliant car-sharing scheme that is pleasingly common in Germany; drivers advertise their journeys on a website and fellow travellers pay a minimal sum (depending on the distance) for a seat in the car. Although it was a successful experience, it was also a terrifying one. Here is a tip for all you drivers out there: if you are speeding along at over 140km/h (over 90mph) do not text. Especially if you have a carful of passengers. But not at all. Ever. SO STUPID.

On Monday I spent the day with my tandem partner Katrin. I took the bus to her house, in a village about half an hour outside Chemnitz, where we chatted, looked at photo albums, made and ate Pfannkuchen (jam doughnuts; her husband ate seven!! Inspirational), played Scrabble in German (SO HARD), and criticised each other's language use (why am I SO BAD at German). It was a lovely day, and exactly what I needed on Monday!

I then returned to Chemnitz to gather together all the waifs and strays that were staying at my flat on Monday night in preparation for SKIING on Tuesday! Melanie left on Monday to go home for her university holidays, which are apparently ongoing until April. This is both bad and good; good because I can use her lovely room with its TV, but bad because I am now all alone in the flat...help.

I will add to this post next time I have a chance, to tell you all about skiing. For now though, I have an important date with the first Pirates of the Caribbean film, a white wine spritzer (why is the rum always gone?!!!! So funny. Although actually the rum is fine, we just have no coke left to mix it with, boo), and the impending excitement that is my journey home tomorrow evening!