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Bavaria

 

Grüß Gott aus Bayern! 

On this cloudy, gray day, after three days of below freezing, but sunny days, our German class went on a field trip to the local Bavarian History Museum. 

Germany has 16 states, one of which is Bavaria, where Regensburg is. Bavaria is the Germany most Americans are familiar with, with lederhosen and dirndls, beer festivals, and oom-pah bands. This go around, I'm not getting to go to other parts of Germany, so Bavaria is the one I'm most familiar with. Each of these states has at least one dialect of German which the population speaks. Bayrisch is what they speak here, and is pretty much not understandable to me and other non-Germans--but even to Germans from other states. I've heard people here say so-and-so is from Saxony, or Dusseldorf, etc., and that they can't understand a word they say. This is a crazy notion for us in the US, where we can understand people everywhere from Alaska to Maine to Florida to California. They have a 'standard' German everyone knows from school, and which they teach us foreigners. I suppose if I was going to get to live here permanently, I'd eventually pick up on the Bayrisch. It's all because of the history of the region.

So, to the Bavarian History Museum we went to learn more about this history. 

We'll start with Königin Tabitha I...

...or not! This museum is great with interactive displays such as this one. If anyone makes a trip to Regensburg, which I think is the perfect German destination, I would recommend this museum. It's only 7 Euros to enter (or 5, if you're a senior) and you can spend hours in there. 

A real monarch, of which the Bavarians are proud, is (König) King Ludwig II. He was suspected of being a little bit crazy near the end of his reign. He broke the treasury building fancy castles, including the world-renowned Newschwanstein in southern Bavaria. Unfortunately, it's too hard to get there, especially since I'm in class every day during the week. King Ludwig and his doctor died under mysterious circumstances the day after he was deposed, and no one knows to this day whether he was murdered or committed suicide. 


I love period costumes, and this is just one sample, from the 1800's if I remember correctly. 

Lederhosen und Dirndl...also known as "Tracht". There are several Tracht shops in the Altstadt, if you are prepared to spend not a few Euros. 
An American jeep from after WWII, with a photo of Nürnberg, which was almost totally destroyed in the war. Regensburg was spared this destruction, which is why it is so beautiful.


A picture window in the museum looks out on this piece of history, the ancient juxtaposed with the merely old, and the modern. The stony parts of this wall and building are all that's left of a Roman wall that encircled what we now call the Old City (Altstadt). I will probably go to the museum again, so take my time and read the displays, as this time I was with a sizeable group of two classes combined. 

After we were finished, I walked down the street and took another stroll on the Old Stone Bridge. 

Schöner Tag nach!


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  1. AnonymousJanuary 31, 2024 at 5:22 PM

    So much history. I love the costumes. You’re learning so much about Germany. It’s going to be hard returning home! This cold spell is lasting far too long!

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