Day 16 Tuesday 16th June 2009 In Regensburg

Day 16 Tuesday 16th June 2009 in Regensburg.
Today, twenty one keen and intrepid members caught the early 7:29am train and headed for Prague. Ahead of them lay a trip taking 10 hours and six minutes for the return journey for a four hour and twenty minute walking tour of the city. Fay and I were two of five that stayed behind to explore the lovely old City of Regensburg. I am pleased we did. The city has nice parks and gardens and the old medieval part is particularly wonderful. Firstly as I was three days behind with this story I spent time catching up as Fay took time out to recover from the rigors of travel. Another reason we stayed behind was that we had used all our cash so we had to find a bank to cash our travellers cheques; yesterday Fay needed a new pair of shoes; we were forced to pay €50.00 in cash, a purchase which took all our remaining cash; debit and credit cards are not readily accepted in this part of Germany and Austria; we found American Express travellers cheques also hard to cash; we tried three banks before being successful at a cost. Generally I find my new visa debit card is better. Having cash again enabled us to take a ¾ hour bus tour of the city which showed us just how many back streets with good shops and cafes there are in the city. In the old part the streets are cobbled which makes for rough riding. We took a boat ride on the Danube that was disappointing after which we visited the ancient St. Peters Cathedral. I asked several people who could speak English when it was built; not one person new. It is very old; down in the crypt I saw inscriptions which suggested it has been used since the year 720. I find it amazing that people of the day could build such magnificent structures. We then returned leisurely to our hotel and enjoyed a cup of tea and a cake on the way.
Photos. 1 The Mall where Fay bought her shoes. 2 an Old Ship Museum. 3 Inside the Cathedral. 4 Stained Glass windows.