Daytrip to Regensburg

I don't know about the specific cruise that you reference, but my wife and I were on a river cruise that stopped in Regensburg and ended in Nuremburg (where the boats don't dock in the city because the river does not run through the city). As the route approached Nuremburg it was the Main-Daunbe canal. We enjoyed the river cruise experience as a change of pace (and it was a good way to manage our different energy levels when traveling). I would make sure if you are looking for scenery, make sure the scenic part is on the route you would cover. We thought Regensburg was a very nice place to visit. It's not the sort of place with blockbuster sights but a pleasant city. It reminded me a lot of Passau which we also visited on this cruise (though it's quite a bit larger in population). Cruising one way could be a good plan, check the times though because on direction might be a lot faster than the other. Check bahn.de, it looks like a train back to Nuremburg would be easy and possibly cheap with a Laender ticket. These are especially steal in Bavaria because Bavaria is so large. I have visited Nuremburg twice and find it to be very underrated. I don't know what you have planned before or after, but I would consider dropping the car and either cruise/train or train both ways. You can get a lot of places in Bavaria for little on the train with Nuremburg as your base. The German cultural museum there is a must see, also the Documentation Center.

One of the appeals of Regensburg is that it was only lightly bombed in WWII. That is because it had less military significance. There are many sights from other ages: a Roman Gate ( Porta Praetoria), both a cathedral and bridge finished in the 1140's, the Thurn & Taxis Palace, St Emmeram's abbey church (12C), etc. It is my favorite of city in Germany and of great historical significance to the history of Holy Roman Empire. It was thankfully not a big player in the 3rd Reich or WWII.

There was a US Military presence there after WWII. We met an ex-patriot (living in Ireland) that was visiting after being station there in the post WWII era. Check with your Father in Law to learn more. Many US military facilities from the post WWII era have been replace to meet current needs. Places where I was stationed in the 70's and 80's are gone.

But Lubitsch, was there any great military or Third Reich significance to Regensburg? Augsburg and München might also be said to be far from the allied front, still they received substantial destruction. In any case, I would not go to Regensburg to see prime WWII sights.

I do understand your point. My other favorite German city is Würzburg, just about leveled by a firebombing attack. It likewise was more of cultural than military or industrial center. Similar cultural centers were bombed in England as well.

The great destruction in Germany was invited by the last stand mentality of megalomaniac in power who thought that his failure or success was more important than the survival of the country. These types of rulers happen in all countries?

Thank you for great information! The cruise will probably need to wait for our next visit, sounds like it will take too much time away from Regensburg. Regensburg has so much history we look forward to experiencing. Thank you VS for the tip regarding the Laender ticket, we will be a group of four so it sounds like a great savings on our daytrips. We do plan on visiting the Documentation Center when we are in Nuremberg. I will definitely look into visiting the German Cultural Museum.
Thank you also Gary Mc and Lubitsch for your WW2 information. Sadly my father in law passed away 10 years ago. When going through his things we found the letters he wrote to his parents during the war. He also had a map and book that was published about the 71st Infantry as well as personal pictures. We know after the war he was stationed in Austria (at a castle I wish we could identify) and also in a town called Ichenhausen, Bavaria. We will be visiting Austria and Bavaria to see some of the sights he talked about in his letters.
Thank you all again for the great info!

I've been reading about a cruise to Kloster Weltenburg boat through the Danube gorge. Has anyone done this?

Well »cruise« is a bit hyperbolic - it takes 40 min from Kelheim to Weltenburg (upstream) and 20 min back (downstream). Nontheless, it's absolutly worth it. Also, the Asam church of the Kloster is delightful and the beer in the beer garden is great. You would have to go by train and / or bus to Kelheim. You would have to go back by boat to Kelheim as well, there is no other public transport from the abbey. The trip takes half a day but you will like it.

What I like to do is hike from the Kielheim boat landing (park here) to a landing across from Kloster Weltenburg along the north side of the Danube and take the cruise/ferry boat back to Kielheim. When you get to the end of the trail across from Kloster Weltenburg there are small river boats that take you across the Danube for one euro (in high season). Visit the Kloster Weltenburg for a beer and lunch, then buy a ticket for the large cruise/ferry boat back to Kielheim. This does take at least half the day, but great on a warm sunny day. Lots of history in this area, Keltin site, Romans, Befreiungshalle etc. It's about a 45 min drive from Kielheim to Regensburg. It would be a long day, but you can probably do both if you keep the Regensburg itinerary to the Old City area, Dome etc.

http://alpregio.outdooractive.com/ar-kelheim/de/alpregio.jsp#i=1558174&tab=TourTab

https://www.kelheim.de/wege/weltenburger_wanderweg_i_donau-420/

What I like to do is hike from the Kielheim boat landing (park here) to a landing across from Kloster Weltenburg along the north side of the Danube and take the cruise/ferry boat back to Kielheim. When you get to the end of the trail across from Kloster Weltenburg there are small river boats that take you across the Danube

I agree wholeheartedly and I did that often. But then there is no guarantee for the small boats being there. So you hike ful of hope downstream to Stausacker to catch that lovely old fashioned cable ferry just to learn that it has a two hours noon break ...

Better take the boat from Kelheim to Weltenburg (the slower and more enjoyable trip) and look out if the small boats are there.