Last weekend was one of the uniquest here in Germany. We visited a German family in Falkenberg, which is a small city in Bavaria near the Czech border. We started our trip, as usual, early in the Friday morning. Nürnberg, the second largest city in Bavaria, was on the way to Falkenberg, so we decided to spend 5 hours there and see the city closely. We just walked around the city and climbed up to the castle. All in all, we came into conclusion that Nürnberg is a lovely city with interesting historical background.

View from Kaiserburg in Nürnberg

From Nürnberg we continued our journey and arrived Marktredwitz few minutes over five. We hopped out of the train and walked through the train station and saw a familiar face waiting for us. After 30 minutes of car driving, we could already saw the sign of Falkenberg. After leaving our bags, we did a little walking tour in the city. Hans, the host, showed us the most important places in Falkenberg, such as the river side, the brewery and the castle. We were privileged to see how the traditional, local beer was made. After revealing the secrets of beer making, we headed to dinner in the local pub Zoigl. The place was already full when we arrived but luckily we got seats and could enjoy the Bavarian food and, of course, the Falkenberger beer – yummy!

Falkenberg in Oberpfalz

Bavarian food; the closer one was Laura's plate

It was nice to wake up on sunshine and go to ready-prepared breakfast table on Saturday morning. After enjoying different delicacies, including Weisswurst, we visited a little pond before we headed to Cheb in Czech Republic. Cheb is small town about 30 kilometers away from Falkenberg just across the border. We saw beautiful buildings with different colors and the big Gothic-style church. On the way back, we went to Asian Dragon Bazar which is a fake market where they sell everything from bags to clothes. When we got back from Cheb, it was time to visit the local IT company in Falkenberg with guided tour. Special thanks to Michael! The sunny Saturday ended with Bavarian music and beer in a concert somewhere near the city called Weiden.

The city center of Cheb in Czech Republic

Sunday was also a sunny day. After fueling us with a delicious breakfast, we packed our things and started our journey towards Regensburg. The car ride lasted more or less one hour via Autobahn. Regensburg was also a very nice and beautiful city with narrow streets and the big river, Danube (in Finnish Tonava), flowing through it. After the day of exploring the city and enjoying warm weather, it was time to say goodbye to our host family and take a train back to Mannheim. Thank you again for everything, Bauers!

Steinerne Brücke across the Danube

A beer mat at Zoigl