One of my friends mentioned that they wanted to see pictures from around my new town, so I just needed to wait for a rare sunny day, and I was off and strolling with my trusty dSLR.

I’ll start with a carved tree near the bus station.  I haven’t the slightest idea what this is all about.

You can tell it’s a real city because we even have graffiti.

I had no idea this was nearby until I took a slightly different route-  an Important European Golf Museum!  I’m not sure they have the same definition for “Important” that I do.

The street musicians in Germany are a different calibre than those I’ve seen in the US.  For example, here’s a guy with an accordion.

All paths lead to the Dom, the big cathedral.  It’s just an amazing piece of architecture.

Dude needs to mow his roof.

Another view of the Dom from across the Donau (Danube) river.

Doors all over town have this marking on them in white chalk- it’s left over from last Friday’s holiday, Epiphany.  It is customary for the faithful to bless their houses at the Epiphany with blessed chalk. They write over their front door: 20 + C + M + B + 12. The digits, which appear at the beginning and end of the line, designate the new year. ‘CMB’ stands for the traditional names of the Magi (Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar) and also signifies the Latin prayer Christus Mansionem Benedicat or ‘May Christ bless this dwelling.’

Despite the sun, it was quite cold today.  To prove this, I have taken a photograph of a frozen puddle near the curb.

Cool little statue on the Stone Bridge.  I need to find out if there’s a reference to the history of all these little statues.

Charming couple on the stone bridge.

Some buildings along the north bank of the Donau.

The rushing waters of the Donau.

There are a lot of buildings with paintings on their sides in various places around town.  This is on Goliathstrasse.

The next few pictures are fascinating to me.  There’s a pedestrian bridge a little bit upstream from the Stone Bridge, which has a metal latticework covered in padlocks.

The tradition, which is apparently very common in Germany, is for lovers to inscribe their names on the metal locks, sometimes with a personal message but sometimes not, and then attach the padlock to the bridge while declaring their undying love for each over.  Then they kiss and throw the key of the padlock into the river below as a romantic gesture.

Here’s a good article about it:  http://www.pgtraveltips.co.uk/blog/regensburg-germany-sweethearts-cross-the-danube-to-lock-into-love/2827

I’m really curious about the stories behind the locks.  Especially when there’s nothing but a date.  I spent quite a while looking at these padlocks today.

I swear I was not stalking this couple, but the city just isn’t that large.  We crossed paths going in opposite directions at two different points.  I even crossed the Donau twice before running into them again from the other direction.

When my vegetarian friends visit, I’ve got them covered.

The Garbo, one of several movie theatres in town that sometimes plays movies in English.

The bar in the center of this picture, Orkan, has great beer and tasty Schnitzel.  (Although to be fair, I have yet to have a bad beer in this town.

More buildings near the Donau.

This view is actually from the bridge with all the padlocks, but I find it to be pretty spectacularly picturesque.  I can’t wait to see what this place looks like in the Spring and Summertime, when everything is green again.

Ah, Maximilianstrasse.  I tend to think of this as the central corridor of the city, even though its nowhere near the center.

A cop and kebap.  Doner Kebab is a very tasty hand-held food, similar to a gyro.

This statue is near the Dom.  The inscription on the pedestal says, in German, “Ludwig I – King of Bavaria.”

Most of the pictures I’ve posted of the Dom don’t really give you a sense of the size of the thing  Here’s some pictures where you can see just how large it is.

Albert Einstein as a Marionette?  Check.

Someone’s nick-name is “Hempy?!”  I want to meet this individual.

Another high quality street musician.

That sign in the shadowed portion of the picture?  I’ve seen them all over town, pointing in different directions.  I couldn’t figure out what they were pointing to, so I finally asked someone.  It turns out they just say “one way street.”  Oops!

Haidplatz, a triangular plaza with several delicious restaurants, including one of the Thai places I haven’t had a chance to try yet.