Regensburg, the holy grail of German sausage: Rowed Trip expedition update

Nearly four months into their epic, self-propelled journey from the northern tip of Scotland to Syria, adventurers Colin and Julie Angus share another exclusive Rowed Trip expedition dispatch about their travels by oar and pedal power.

“You have to endure the service if you want to sample top-notch bratwurst in Regensburg. The Historiche Wurstkuche restaurant is the world’s oldest bratwurst restaurant, beginning service in 1138.

“Many days in advance of our arrival in Regensburg we began hearing rumors of the holy grail of German sausage, and Colin and I salivated at the prospect of finally sampling them. We towed our boats into the center of the tourist city and took a seat at the open-air riverside bistro. The waiter handed us menus and we were intrigued to see the only dish (apart from potato soup) was bratwurst and sauerkraut. Perfect!

” ‘Two dishes of bratwurst, a beer, and a diet coke,’ ” I said to the waiter.

” ‘A diet coke?’ ” the waiter said, his casual demeanor quickly vanishing, ” ‘We don’t sell diet drinks here.’ ”

“It was Colin who wanted the soft drink. We had an afternoon of work ahead and beer quickly puts him to sleep.

” ‘I’ll just have a regular cola, then,’ ” Colin replied.

“His answer didn’t seem to satisfy the waiter and he disappeared without another word. I glanced around the crowded establishment and noticed everybody was drinking beer with their bratwurst.

“Finally the waiter arrived with my beer, but nothing for Colin.

” ‘Oh, I forgot your drink,’ ” he said unapologetically to Colin.

“Customers around us who arrived long after we had ordered were served their simple meals of bratwurst and sauerkraut while we sat with rumbling stomachs. Finally, perhaps feeling we had been sufficiently punished for Colin’s sacrilege, the waiter delivered our meals and Colin’s warm drink.

“We slathered the tender sausages, perfectly browned over a beechwood fire, in spiced honey mustard and dug in. Pure heaven. The reputation is well-deserved, but if you ever want to sample the bratwurst in Regensburg, just don’t order a soft drink.”

— Julie Angus, e-mailed 7/1/08

See the full slideshow here.

Happy Independence Day weekend,

— Andrew,
Senior producer, Los Angeles Times Travel

[Photos: Colin and Julie Angus / Rowed Trip Expedition]

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This entry was posted on Sunday, July 6, 2008 at 4:34 pm by Andrew and is filed under Eco-Travel, Europe, Germany, Outdoors & Adventure, Rowed Trip. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.