Meanwhile in Germany...

  Gruß Gott aus Regensburg! At nearly three in the afternoon the sun is peeking out from behind clouds that have been drizzling rain on and off all day. Temperatures are remaining moderate, in the high 50's, so that a light sweater is enough to go out in. Well, for an Alaskan, at any rate. The Germans I see on the street are wearing coats and caps, and sometimes gloves.  So, I ventured to the Apotheke today, known in English as a pharmacy. I think I explained in a previous post that they are separate from any other business, and are never found in stores like they are in the US. That's not where the differences end. All Apotheken are identified with the red letter 'A', and are about as ubiquitous as bakeries. Since I could see to the bottom of my prescription bottles, I thought it time to take the doctors scrip and head to the Apotheke nearest our apartment--maybe 500 feet away. I was served by a very friendly woman who I told that this was my first experience with gett...

Schönen Tag aus Bayern! This is what fall looks like in Bavaria at our favorite park, the Baggersee Park on a quiet Friday afternoon. I wore only a light jacket, that wasn't quite enough at first, but after warming up on the walk, I eventually took it off and tied it around my waist. The sun kept coming and going from behind the clouds, and literally moments after we got home after a 2+ mile walk, it started pouring. It was one of those spot storms, but if we had been 5 minutes later, we would have gotten good and wet. Ordinarily the lake hosts a multitude of waterfowl, but today only the coots were to be seen. They are the black duck-like birds with a bright white streak between their eyes and down their bills. Pretty distnictive. Since it's been raining on and off most of the week, we haven't been doing many excursions. Instead we've been doing the paperwork required of foreigners living in Germany. But the sun teased us out this afternoon. I went back to the doctor o...

  Gruß Gott! Yesterday was a gorgeous sunny day, but today it's raining in Regensburg, and is forecast to be rainy all week. It's time we used those umbrellas we rushed to purchase the first week we were here because we were told it rains a lot.  So, I have no photos for this post, as going to the doctor isn't particularly photo-worthy. I wasn't sick; I just had to renew my regular prescriptions. I had been putting it off and putting it off, but as the supply in my bottles started to dwindle, I knew I had to do it. I found an English-speaking doctor right on my bus route, just outside the Altstadt. But going to the doctor in Germany isn't quite the same as going in the US. For one, although the Herr Doktor speaks English, that doesn't mean his staff does. It seems most people around here don't speak English, or speak it less well than I speak German. I think it's in the big cities that you find Germans who are fluent in English. Of course, that's pro...

  Guten Abend! Today the temp got up to 60 and the sun came out, causing me to break out a summer top that I had just tucked away. I'm walking 2 or 3 miles a day now, and that's what's defined the last 3 or so days.  On a walk through the Old City (Altstadt), I ran across this landmark. The building is called the Goliathhaus, and was built in 1260. The painting was done in 1573. There's a certain atmosphere one feels when walking around such venerable old structures. I can't help but think that walking would not have been so pleasant back when the buildings were new. They didn't have modern plumbing, for one. Think about it. The streets would have been running sewers, with all the accompanying sights and smells. Now shops like the one seen here have modern plumbing and electricity, all nicely retrofitted. I visited several bookstores (one that had books in English as well, although not the sort I usually read), and an art store, as well as spotting places that I...

  Guten Tag on a crisp, autumn day! Yesterday was likewise crisp. We had to run to the language school to pick up our registration forms and had the idea to take off walking through the Altstadt and catch a bus home somewhere else. The school is right on the edge of the Altstadt. Having no idea where our path would lead, Pat and I wandered through alleys and narrow streets and made some fun discoveries.  Older than old, what you see in the photo are building stones left over from the Roman times. I had planned to find and visit this site some time, but we happened to stumble upon it unexpectedly. It's a UNESCO world heritage site, part of the "Frontiers of the Roman Empire". This and the archway in the other photo are all that's left of the Porta Praetoria , the northern gate of the Castra Regina Roman legionary camp, inaugurated in AD 179. "New", as in Middle Ages new, buildings were built around what was left of a once magnificent building. The next place...

  Gruß Gott aus Regensburg! Seems we went from near record high temps to near record lows overnight. I had to wear my middle-weight jacket for the first time going to church yesterday, and good thing it also sheds rain, because we got caught in a downpour while walking back to the bus after our first eating out in Germany experience. And since the forecast said only 10% chance of rain, we didn't have the umbrellas along. It poured like fury for 10 or so minutes, then the sun came out. When we got home we used that sunlight to dry out our coats on the balcony, and all was well. I have come to two conclusions about German cuisine. One, the food is mostly brown, and two, it's basically meat and potatoes and bread. There's a reason you find Mexican, Thai, Italian, French, Indian, Chinese, and other restaurants in abundance, but not many German. I would rate German cuisine above that of the UK, however (sorry, my British friends).  What is pictured here is my lunch. It's som...

  Schöner Tag! The fall colors are beginning to show and according to the weather forecast, the fall weather is going to begin tomorrow. I've been told it could snow by the end of the month, but probably not. We've been enjoying the late summer/early fall days when a light sweater might be all that's needed for a morning walk, but it might be time to break out the warmer jackets we brought along. I even brought my heaviest coat in anticipation of being here over the winter. It was a pain to deal with on the journey over, but I think I will be glad I have it very soon. This photo was taken from our balcony. Today we went back to the language school to register for classes starting at the end of November. If we decide to stay, we need to have a certain level of proficiency in German, proven by test. But what better place to learn more German than in Germany! I will understand more in church, besides, although it's usually half in English. I've been intoning some of t...

Guten Abend aus Deutschland! The trees are starting to take on fall colors, while others are busy dropping their leaves already. Many trees are still mostly green, such as the ones in the photo. It's been relatively warm (in the 70's) and mostly sunny this week, and getting dark earlier and earlier. At 49 N latitude, we're not nearly as extreme with the changes in daylight, but it's still noticeable.  My knee is finally recovered from the accidental long walk, and we went today in pursuit of a supposed thrift store. I say supposed, because the address was in the middle of an warehouse district, where there was a lot of new construction going on amidst what looked like old apartments for refugees, literally next to the train tracks. It wasn't the normal tourist attraction by a long shot. There was nothing resembling a thrift store in sight. I do miss Bishop's Attic! Speaking of tourism, I like to call what we're experiencing "slow tourism". I say sl...

  Gruß Gott am Sonntag Abend! I don't have any photos for this post, but I wanted to keep everyone current. Ever since I wound up walking farther than we planned--walking from the Altstadt home (which is a 10 minute bus ride), the long way, by accident, I've not been in shape to do any more park walks. I think I mentioned in a previous post that we were on the wrong island in the Danube, and a bridge we were planning to cross to get back to our bus stop in the Altstadt didn't reach there. My knee is still mad and hasn't forgiven me, yet.  We took a bus the other day to the Danube Park entrance (rather than walking) so I could at least so some birding. That's the park with the lake called the Baggersee. I spotted 4 new birds, one of which was a European robin. I saw two species of Tits (I'm not being bawdy ;)). One was a Blue Tit, and the other a Eurasian Tit. I'm one happy birder, but I still think that those Graylag Geese sound and look like ducks! And the ...

  Servus von Bayern! The trees here are big! This stately oak is a well-watered specimen, growing along the banks of a spur of the Danube. Walking isn't boring when there are so many trails in such beautiful settings. We walked a little farther than planned today. We took a bus and started out on the Old Stone Bridge, then got onto one of the islands in the middle of the Danube. We weren't on the island we thought we were on, and wound up walking far from the Altstadt. In the end, we ended up walking 2 1/2 miles from the Altstadt to home. However, it was a perfect weather day, and I got in my exercise. While I've been getting along with my German in most situations, I totally cannot understand the local dialect--Bayrish (Bavarian). It's based on German, but even Germans from other regions can't understand it. They also speak in different German dialects. However, everyone is taught Standard German in school (as was I), so everyone understands it and can speak it. Al...