Christmas (Weihnachten ) in Regensburg

Hello from Regensburg,
 
 We had a very enthralling Christmas Eve.  We went to the “Dom”
 Cathedral at 9:00 p.m. to hear the Regensburg Children’s Choir and to
 attend mass.  The Dom is a very old stone gothic style cathedral.
 There was no heating.  The  only concession to modernity were a few electric
 lights spread sparingly throughout.  About 1,000 people attended the
 event.
 
 There were enough pews for 500 so the rest of us stood and/or found
 little built in stone benches in the walls by the stations of the
 cross to sit on.  The cathedral was very long, and those of us on the
 sides could not see the choir very well.  They had two screens up that
 showed selected views of the choir.

 It was so cold in the church you didn’t even dare take off your
 gloves.  At least it wasn’t raining or windy inside though sometimes
 you could feel a slight draft on your face, as if brought by
 processions of people from times past.
 
 The choir sang Bethlehem and O Come all Ye Faithful, in German of
 course.  I was amazed that the musical instruments, even the
 trombones, were able to produce such perfect sound in such cold.  The
 mass was quite long and interspersed with music by the choir and or
 organ and by the chiming of the cathedral bells.  After it was over We
 felt as if I had walked on my knees from nave to asp on those stone
 floors.
 
 Christmas Day we lazed around, saving up our energy for our feast that
 evening.
 
 At 5 p.m. we arrived at La Patisserie, the French restaurant in the
 very old and historic Hotel Orphee. I believe Napoleon had been at the hotel.  The restaurant was near the
 Dom, which towered over the three and four story businesses.  The dome
 was framed by a  slate blue, purple early evening sky.
 
 Everyone was in the bar and all the tables were empty.
  We learned that although we had a reservation for 5 p.m., they did
 not start serving until 5:30 p.m.
 Still we ordered an excellent Riesling from the Saar Valley and some
 bread.  Fortunately there was an English menu as well as the German
 menu, though all the names of the dishes were in French, which my mom can
 read.  We ordered some appertifs:  Pate de champignons (mushroom
 pate), quiche, boeftec (very thin slices of beef), olives and
 gherkins.  I also ordered the small house salad which had very fresh
 lettuce, raddacchio, cress, basil leaves, shredded carrots, and
 tomatoes in a very light olive oil, vinegar dressing.
 
 Some time later, when we had finished the appertifs and the wine, the
 waiter appeared with our main courses.  I ordered couscous with
 lamb, Erin ordered roasted scampi on a bed of spinach, and my mom ordered
 Menage a trios, which in this case was three kinds of fish in a broth,
 like a bouillabaisse.

 There was scampi, scallops and monkfish as well as carrots, yellow potatoes,
 and spinach in a wonderful broth. I could eat only half of it.  How I wanted a to go box, but it would not
 have been practical to take that much liquid home. And we didn’t have
 a refrigerator yet, so storing it safely was problematic. 
 
 By this time it was 8 p.m. so we decided to order dessert.  My Mom had
 crème brulee, a custard with crystallized slightly burnt sugar on top,
 Erin ordered the house special—three kinds of ice cream—pistachio,
 almond and chocolate, on a cookie, and topped with whipped cream and
 berries.  I ordered a lemon tart.  They had coffee as well,
 while I had water.
 
 It was 9 p.m. when we left La Patisserie.  What a feast.  We noticed
 many groups of adult children with their elder parents, so we felt at
 home in the crowd.
 
 We walked through the narrow cobblestoned streets down to the Danube
 where I had parked the car.  The night was cold, but there was
 no fog like the night before, so the air was drier and felt better.
 
 We went home and played a card game, variously called Oh Hell, etc.
 and had a great time.  We had champagne and Brug, or Christmas spiced
 wine.  At 11 p.m. we went to bed.
 
 The Day after Christmas we walked along the Danube, and are planning
 to go to the hot baths for a good soak.