Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Playing in a Creek, Talking to Birds, and a Last Minute Stop in Regensburg


From our hotel in Enderndorf -- the beautiful building overlooking the Grosse Brombachsee (a man-made lake)-- we ventured about two hours to a waterwheel electricity station. Standing in hip-boots, we inched our way through the creek to get a feel for the strength of the water passing through the waterwheel.


Later, we travelled to a bird sanctuary where we met some very friendly feathery friends. The owner, a man with a shaman-like ability to communicate with the birds, showed us some of the neat tricks they can do. One exotic creature flips his head back when there is an audience. He enjoyed entertaining us. Meanwhile a hawk was very giddy for the owner's affection.


In the last minute, we took an impromptu tour of Regensburg. A walking bridge was built in 1146. It still stands today. It is the first stone-bridge found in Northern Europe. At that time, a toll was collected three times across the bridge. I bet they weren't very happy when they got to the end... This bridge was the only way to get across the Danube River at that time. Regensburg was an important trade center as a result of this bridge. The Rhine-Main-Danube channel join in Regensburg. The earliest record of Regensburg dates back to 179 A.D. Today, the city has a population of about 150,000 with an unemployment rate of 1.5%! In the 13th and 15th Centuries, very strong earthquakes destroyed two-thirds of the city. By the 19th Century, the city had been completely reconstructed. - Kev

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