Tag Archive

the in-laws conquer Europe

May 14th, 2008 by Cliff
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For those of you wondering: Po & Susie got here just fine, pretty much on schedule on Monday and they fought the jet lag like champs, staying up all day until dark. This set us up for a delightful Tuesday (see below) and what looks like a similar Wednesday (check back later).

Why not? Can you spot 'em? Catholics as seen by Protestants Now I know where she gets it.

the Regensburg Dump is cool!

April 30th, 2008 by Cliff
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We’ve been living here for four years now, so we finally decided it’s time to finalize the move from back in March 2004. That is to say, we’ve gotten rid of as much of the crap left over from the move as possible — mostly cardboard boxes. Our collection of big pieces of styrofoam has also grown over the years from purchases of items like lamps and television sets and printers and computers and all that stuff, and we decided this was the right time to get rid of it. And some big furniture items not elegible for street-level pickup.

So we

  1. rented a van from Europcar by reserving online a couple days ago
  2. got up shortly before six in the morning (on my day off!)
  3. got all our crap together
  4. took the bus out to Europcar to pick up our van — an Opel model with an Italian name
  5. brought the van back to the parking lot am Evangelischen Krankenhaus
  6. schlepped all our stuff down from the apartment to the ground level
  7. brought the van up closer to the apartment (pretty sure this was illegal, but what else am I going to do?)
  8. crammed our bigger items in first, then the smaller items in around them
  9. headed out to Regensburg’s Recyclinghof
    Recyclinghof Recyclinghof Recyclinghof

    I was a little nervous, not knowing much about town dumps and stuff like that in general, let alone in deepest Oberpfalz, but we took a co-worker’s advice, were super-polite to everyone we encountered, and we got along just fine, dumping all our stuff into quite precisely labeled dumpsters and compactor machines. Check out the pictures snapped by Sarah with her phone.

    If you’re good at sorting your trash at home, you’ll be fine here. It’s the same concept, but simultaneously more specific and more flexible:

    • separate styrofoam and plastic film (think grocery bags, cellophane, and all that) waste out from other kinds of plastic
    • bring your old computer or telephone or other electronic junk; you can pitch it here!
    • yard and construction waste are also acceptable
    • and of course the ability to get rid of desks, bedframes, full-length mirrors, and other stuff that the normal garbage collection doesn’t cover.

    It was, for both of us, oddly exhilarating. Probably for at least one of several reasons:

    • We expected much more hassle, knowing Germans and their systems like we think we do
    • We are agog at the implication of it going smoothly: we must have beaten the system over the past four years!


    Or maybe not. We still get worked up about stuff like this (below). Click the pictures for a bigger view and our comments on them.
    grocery store grocery store

Regensblog review of Fürstliches Brauhaus

April 20th, 2008 by Cliff
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Waffnergasse 6 - 8
93047 Regensburg

Telefon +49 (0)941 / 28 04 33 - 0
http://www.fuerstlichesbrauhaus.de

CliffWe’ve been eating here for years (see here, here, here and here) and yet have never posted a review of the place, oddly enough. It ranks up there in my opinion, though some say it was better back in the day, under the previous ownership. The Schnitzel Büffet days are a real trip. Fortunately, they don’t do those too often anymore. Their Strawberry-Mascarpone-Dampfnudel-Lasagne dessert was the motivation for me write this review. It’s awesome, but I’m not sure it really qualifies as a Dampfnudel, but hairsplitter though I may be, I’m willing to forgive the terminology for the sake of recommending the dessert. Maybe it’s one of those things that is better eaten without a meal beforehand — perhaps you’d make the trip extra for a cup of coffee (go fancy, get a cappuccino or something) and this dessert. It’s certainly lovely enough.

The venue is nice (see below), if a bit loud when crowded. It serves well for large gatherings and the veranda out back when the weather permits it is also a nice touch. Service is kind of hit-or-miss, but our Kellnerin today was quite good and friendly to boot.


SarahI like this place, but I’m not very hard to please and am often (too) willing to overlook lackluster service when the food is really good. That said, they’ve stopped doing the Schnitzel Büffet every Monday as in the past - it happens intermittently with an e-mail notification beforehand - and my favorite item, the Münchner Schnitzel, is no longer reliably on the menu. So my patience is getting a bit thin with them. But the beer here is always very tasty, the prices are low-to-middling and the surroundings are very attractive. It’s kind of a crapshoot, but when it’s good, it’s very, very good.

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Fürstliches Brauhaus

For the navigationally aware: Lat: 49.01542    Lon: 12.091327

Regensblog review of Orkan

January 2nd, 2008 by Cliff
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The Joint
Holzländestr. 1
D-93047 Regensburg
Germany
Phone: 49 941 54605 123

Been there twice now — both times amazed by the quality and the quantity of the food for the price.

This evening we took out Tammy and Matthias for dinner, with

  • an appetizer shared among us
  • 5 beers and a mineral water
  • 4 entrees (one from the daily specials board

All for less than €50! I’m so glad Natasha and Tommy took us here on Thanksgiving 2007 for dinner!

For the navigationally aware: Lat: 49.021749    Lon: 12.090304

Regensblog review of San Daniele

December 9th, 2006 by Cliff
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The Joint
Prüfeninger Schloß Str. 2
93051 Regensburg
Germany
phone: +49 941 / 30 75 999 fax: +49 941 / 30 75 997

http://www.sandaniele.de

Cliff

We’d gotten food (carry-out) from here once before, since good friends of ours live in this part of town. I was surprised at the quality of the food in comparison to the prices — it was a good ratio. I had the carbonara (same as when I’d had carry-out, back in the day) because I just can’t turn it out. I like to say it’s for consistent evaluation, but I’d be full of it. And I really was yesterday, because I didn’t realize that the Insalata Piccante I ordered was big enough to be a meal in and of itself. Oh yes. This was a nice evening…with the possible exception of the sommelier, who seemed like he had an attitude problem. Everything else was great.San Daniele


Sarah
Fabulous! Thanks for the rec, Matthias! In a town overcrowded with Italian restaurants, this place is a stand-out. I had the Mushroom Risotto and a glass of Lambrusco. It was wonderful - high praise, because risotto dishes are easy to mess up if the cook isn’t paying attention. After the meal, on Matthias suggestions, Cliff and I shared an order of profiteroles (chocolatey cream puffs). Again, Matthias knows best. YUM!

Part of the reason I think San Daniele can offer such great food at reasonable prices is that they are located a little ways outside of the Altstadt - about a 7 minute drive from our apartment. Therefore, they don’t have to pay the high rent for location. I don’t mind the trip to eat like this.

For the navigationally aware: Lat: 49.011205    Lon: 12.057381

Regensblog review of Lokanta

August 26th, 2006 by Cliff
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The Joint
Haaggasse 15
93047 Regensburg

phone: +49 941 200 7151

Cliff
Trying it out tonight for the first time with Steve and Doreen — should be comparable to Exil (we’ll just see about that).

Sarah
If by ‘comparable’ to Exil, Cliff means ’shares the exact same menu items with slightly different seasoning,’ then he was exactly right. It was ok, but if I want Kurdish cuisine, I’ll stay loyal and go to Exil.

For the navigationally aware: Lat: 49.020563    Lon: 12.087105

Regensblog review of Exil

July 2nd, 2006 by Cliff
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The Joint
Weißgerbergraben 14
93047 Regensburg
Germany
Phone: +49 941 5 86 58 16

Cliff
I think this is my #1 absolute favorite restaurant in Regensburg. Since we live in Regensburg, that’s saying an awful lot. This place is worth it.

We originally came to Exil in April or May 2004 to looking for the kind of Middle Eastern food we could get from La Shish. La Shish tends toward the Lebanese cuisine, whereas Exil is definitely Kurdish. Strong, rich flavors in interesting combinations make it a trip to remember for eaters of lamb (yum!), poultry (chicken and turkey), and fish and vegetarians too. Whenever we go, I try to get something with a side of their spinach, whether I’m craving tender skewers of lamb or not.

I still haven’t found my La Shish replacement, but now I get Exil cravings as well. Oh, by the way, if you go often enough, the staff notices and you might get the occasional surprise espresso or coffee after the meal. At least, we do.


Sarah
Cliff and I are in agreement - this place is our hands-down favorite restaurant in Regensburg. We take all of our visitors here and, to a man (and woman), they’ve all given it the thumbs up. We’ve each tried several different dishes and have yet to be disappointed.

The offerings are mostly variations on theme. They all have several of the same components, but they’re all prepared to varying effect. All entrées are served with salad, tzatziki and bulgur as accompaniments to the main event. I’ve tried to recreate the heavenly spinach and ended up with underwhelming results. Now that it’s summer and fresh veggies are abundant and inexpensive, it’s time to try again.

The atmosphere is relaxed and hip. Every month, there’s new art on the walls available for purchase by patrons. The music is usually interesting, often R&B, soul or unusual remakes of old favorites. And the service is outstanding.

And, yes, I would have said that without the free coffee drinks. But they sure don’t hurt!

Regensblog review of zum Steidlewirt

March 19th, 2006 by Cliff
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The Joint
Am Ölberg 13
93047 Regensburg
Germany
phone: +49 941- 560 820

http://www.steidlewirt.de/

Cliff
Can’t go wrong with their Schnitzel. I’m going to try the Obatzda next. Whatever that is. I trust Wolfi, though.

Sarah
We try to bring all of our visitors (and sometimes, local friends) here. They have the hands-down best Schnitzel and Bratkartoffeln and Schupfnudeln that I’ve had in Europe. The service is incredibly charming, as are the surroundings and the prices are great for food and atmosphere of this quality.

For the navigationally aware: Lat: 49.016911    Lon: 12.091157

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