Wandering the Streets: Kallmünz, Germany
Kallmünz' Old Stone Bridge
Kallmünz is a quaint little town about a half hour or less north of Regensburg. My first hostess, Petra (my nephews’ cousin), insisted a stop there at the beginning of my trip when I was driving from Regensburg to Amberg. So I did, but I was not impressed, so I drove on. Well, on my return south at the end of my trip, I decided to take another look. I hadn’t been impressed the first time, because I didn’t explore enough. A narrow bridge takes you from one part of the town over to a narrow street in the other part. And that is where the charm is. I just went the wrong way the first time!
From Wikipedia: Kallmünz is a municipality in the district of Regensburg in Bavaria, Germany. Situated at the river Naab, Kallmünz has conserved a beautiful medieval center. The main attractions are the ruins of the Kallmünz Castle above the town on a cliff and the old stone bridge over the Naab River. It was in Kallmünz that the Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky and the German expressionist painter Gabriele Münter met during the summer of 1903. Since then Kallmünz has been the constant home to a small art colony.
Kallmünz castle, the seat of the former Counts of Kallmünz, has been fortified since the bronze age. Kallmünz also has a medieval bridge, bearing masons’ marks, over the river Naab. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kallmünz)
Driving the street on the other side of the bridge was, indeed, a challenge, even though I had the tiny Fiat 500! I did, however, navigate through it and eventually stumbled on a municipal parking lot. I grabbed my camera and extra batteries and headed out to explore this little gem Petra raved about. There was literally no one about on the streets, which I found strange. It was past the normal noon hour for lunch and the few restaurants I found were closed up tight. I kept walking and capturing just simple street scenes. However, I was getting hungry. I saw three older ladies and approached them to ask if any place was open for lunch. WOW! Did they have dialect and accents!! Really put my German knowledge to the test, but I did understand - though there was funny dialog and disagreement among the three - that there was a place across the bridge and to the right.
So, off I went in search of this destination eating locale. I turned right, as directed, but saw nothing that resembled a restaurant and, again, saw only the occasional pedestrian. Apparently, Kallmünz is not very open or busy on Mondays. Just by accident - and on the left, NOT the right - I did find a place that appeared to be a restaurant. “Zum Bürstenbinder” was the name and they were open and still serving. Thank goodness!
This side trip for a second time was, indeed, worth it. I must go back on a future trip on a day when there is some activity in this little German gem!
