The Römermauer, After Renovations

On December 5, 2013May 30, 2020 By StevenIn Life In Germany4 Comments

Back in January of 2012, I noticed the Römermauer for the first time. The Römermauer is a section of Roman wall from the original Castra Regina (“fortress by the river Regen”) which was built around 179 AD, during the reign of Marcus Aurelius. It’s right behind the McDonald’s on Maximilianstraße, whickh is kind of nifty.

Here’s what it looked like back in 2012:

Over the last few months, the fortress wall has been fenced off for some minor renovations, and now I know why. The city put a walkway up around the side and back, enhanced the walkways around the wall, and generally made it a bit more tourist-friendly.

Christmas Market Season Is Here!

On December 2, 2013May 30, 2020 By StevenIn Life In Germany6 Comments

Last week, the Christkindlmärkte opened all over Germany. It’s time for Glühwein (hot mulled wine), hot fresh festival food, gingerbread, and the warmth that comes from spending time with your friends. The markets will be open until just before Christmas.

I didn’t take this picture of the Regensburg market on Neupfarrplatz, but I wish I had- I’m pretty sure that this view was taken from the spire of the Dom, and I really want to go up there.

These next nine photos, on the other hand, are from the Marienplatz Christkindlmarkt in Munich. I took these yesterday, while I was hanging out with Cliff before Sarah’s concert.

Yup, they were singing.

Oh crepes, lovely lovely crepes…

The crepe under construction here was a Schafskäse (feta cheese), tomato, pesto, and balasmic crepe. It was incredibly delicious, and really piping hot.

There are a bajillion Glühwein stands in Munich. They’re easy to spot, too.

Have you ever been to a Christmas Market? What’s your favorite flavor of Glühwein?

The Best Schnitzel In Town

On November 21, 2013May 30, 2020 By StevenIn Life In Germany5 Comments

Living in Bavaria, there’s a lot of great opportunities to eat schnitzel. For the uninitiated, schnitzel is meat that’s been flattened with a mallet, breaded, and fried. Typically, it’s served with a slice of lemon and some form of potatoes. And it’s delicious.

Wiener Schnitzel is the Vienna version, and it’s traditionally made with veal. The majority of the schnitzel available around here, is usually made with pork though. To indicate pork, it would be called Wiener Schnitzel vom Schwein or Schnitzel Wiener Art. The naming conventions are all pretty confusing to me, actually.

Other meat is sometimes used- I’ve had turkey Schnitzel, for example, and I’ve seen soy and seitan variations for the vegetarian set. For the most part, though, veal and pork are the main types of Schnitzel to be had.

While I’ve had a lot of delicious Schnitzel here, two restaurants stand out.

The second best Schnitzel I’ve had in Regensburg was from Zum Steirer Eck, an Austrian restaurant on Ludwigstraße in the Altstadt. The restaurant is bigger than it looks from the outside, and they have a small open courtyard during warmer months. The Schnitzel in question was cut into strips, with pumpkin seeds on the crust, and served atop a very delicious salad.

The very best, most delicious Schnitzel I’ve had in Regensburg was at Kreuzschänke at Kreuzgasse 25, another local favorite with a large beer garden for warmer weather.

Not only is the Schnitzel at Kreuzschänke delicious, but the portions are huge! The plate in the photograph below is the small Schnitzel. The fork to the left of the plate is full sized, not miniature.

The next photo is the large Schnitzel at Kreuzschänke, seen here being consumed by Robert, a local connoisseur of all things Schnitzel. You have to be an extremely hungry person to demolish one of these, but it’s so, so worth it.

Do you have a favorite local Schnitzel restaurant?

The Grillhouse in Regensburg

On November 7, 2013May 30, 2020 By StevenIn Life In Germany1 Comment

I’m taking a page from the Sherbet and Sparkles playbook for this post. She sometimes writes small restaurant reviews for places she’s been to around Frankfurt and I think that’s kind of a nifty idea.

The weekend before I traveled to the US, I went with my partner-in-crime Jenny and her boyfriend Robert to The Grill House, in Regensburg. I hadn’t heard much about this place, but I was entertained by the fact that they chose purposely to use the English spelling of house in their name.

Inside, the walls have art that makes my ten-year-old brain giggle endlessly- the large wall painting is clearly a cow being mounted by a horse. The opposite wall is covered in smaller illustrations, many of which also show various forms of country western humping. This amuses me terribly.

The menu included some delicious sounding burgers and steaks, as well as chicken dishes. We each got a steak- mine was the smaller filet with grilled vegetables.

The steaks come with sauces to add flavor. We got one of each type. I can’t remember what they all were, but the green one was a chimichurri (heavy on the cilantro- yum!), and the bottom three were thyme, red wine, and honey-whiskey, which I thought was particularly delicious.

All three of us demolished our steaks- they were delicious. The Grill House has officially moved up to be the single best steak I’ve eaten in Europe. Anyone I’ve talked to about steak in Germany knows that this is a big deal- German steaks tend to be less delicious than steak in the US. This place was absolutely delicious.

The Grill House can be found at:

Prüfeninger Straße 98/
Ecke Lilienthalstresse
93049 Regensburg
Open 11am-Midnight.

For reservations, call 0941 / 38 38 6606

Historical “Foot”-note.

On October 24, 2013May 30, 2020 By StevenIn Life In Germany9 Comments

One of my favorite things about living in this city is all the strange little bits of history that surround me. I’ve written before about how Johannes Kepler lived here, and about how there’s a section of Roman fortress wall next to the McDonalds. The last Pope taught theology at the University here.

Napoleon Bonaparte also spent some time here after the Battle Of Regensburg which was fought between the Austrians and the invading French in 1809. Napoleon was wounded during the battle, shot in his left ankle. According to local legend, he recovered for a short while here before moving on to Vienna.

This sign is on the corner of my street, mounted on the front of the building. I pass it every day, as I leave my apartment. It says, “Hier ift Napoleon I am 23 April 1809 bei der Beschießung der Stadt verwundet worden.”

Translated it means, “Here Napoleon Bonaparte was wounded in the bombardment of the city on April 23, 1809.”

Yup, I live on the street where Napoleon was shot in the foot. History is amazing!

Does your city have any interesting historical significance?

Whimsy. Tacos. The DMV.

Tag: Regensburg