Oldest Hot Dog (A.K.A. Bratwurst) in Bavaria
Regensburg along the Danube was a former Roman settlement and capital of Bavaria back in the 11th century. Lonely Planet characterizes the many ancient landmarks as entering the “. . . misty ages between Roman and Carolingian rulers [peaking with the reign of Charlemagne].” My visit was an occasion to meet Dutch friends biking down the Danube.
We met at the renowned Stone Bridge (Steinerne Brücke), the oldest bridge in Germany and home of Regensburg Bratwurst—a recipe dating back some 900 years when the Sausage Kitchen was opened catering to bridge builders and now tourists.
On a previous visit, I was immersed in a week-long language school along with a group of immigrants in a desperate attempt to recall some German. I loved the atmosphere of an ancient town with young people arriving from far off lands for a new beginning, but it didn’t help my language-challenged brain.
William Alexander wrote, “I used to joke that I spoke French like a 3-year-old. Until I met a French 3-year-old and couldn’t hold up my end of the conversation.”
A friend passed on an amusing note to make me feel better:
The European Commission has just announced an agreement whereby English will be the official language of the EU, rather than German, which was the other possibility. As part of the negotiations, Her Majesty’s government conceded that English spelling had some room for improvement and has accepted a five-year phase in plan that would be known as “EuroEnglish.”
In the first year, “s“ will replace the soft “c.” Sertainly, this will make the sivil servants jump for joy. The hard “c” will be dropped in favour of the “k.” This should klear up konfusion and keyboards kan have 1 less letter.
There will be growing publik enthusiasm in the sekond year, when the troublesome “ph” will be replaced with “f.” This will make words like, “fotograf” 20% shorter.
I am still language challenged, the hot dogs were so-so, the bridge was cloaked for restoration, but meeting friends was well worth the visit.
