Day 2 in Germany was just as crazy (good crazy, not bad crazy) as Day 1. I got up early to make my 8:30 am train to Straubing, the small town where my grandma grew up before marrying my grandpa and immigrating to the U.S. in the 1950s. I took two trains to get there and arrive around 10:30 in the morning. I headed first to the main square, which is made up of two adjacent plazas: Ludwigsplatz and Theresienplatz. The city clock tower is in Ludwigsplatz, while a few smaller monuments stand in Theresienplatz. Ludwigsplatz serves as Straubing's Viktualienmarkt as well. After wandering for a while I went in search of the Gäubodenmuseum, a museum of local history tucked away in a side street off Ludwigsplatz. I was not expecting much from a small local museum, but it's actually incredible. Admission is cheap, and the exhibits are really well-cared-for and well-organized. You can tell a lot of thought went into making that museum nice. They have artifacts ranging from the Neolithic period up through the Roman era and into the Renaissance, all from the Straubing area. I spent a good couple of hours in there. I highly recommend it.
After the Gäubodenmuseum I got lunch and discovered my new favorite food: erdbeerplunder. It's basically a large, flaky pastry covered in sweet cream cheese and strawberries. It is absolutely delightful. I enjoyed one in the outdoor seating area of one of Straubing's many cafes while watching elderly couples dance to the music of an accordion-wielding street performer (see the Videos page for more on that). After that I went on my real mission, the real reason I'd come to Straubing: finding my grandma's childhood home.
It was remarkably easy to find, so of course I had a remarkably difficult time finding it. The buildings had been painted and the street numbers had been changed since my aunt had been there several years ago, and it wasn't until she sent me a photo of the house that I realized I had been standing right in front of it -- while taking pictures of the building across the street. I was really excited to find it though. I went down to the Danube River to the park where my grandma used to swim and sat along the high stone wall reading a book and enjoying the fresh air to the tune of a local kid and his guitar.
After a little while I went for a walk in the Stadtpark, a popular destination for Nordic walking, which is apparently a thing that exists. It's basically walking with ski poles, which I find thoroughly confusing. The walking route is dotted with large concrete pools of cold water meant for walkers to soothe their calves in. I was hoping to go to the zoo, which is at the far end of the Stadtpark, but by the time I got there I realized it was not much of a zoo and that the Stadtpark was way prettier anyway, so I decided to just keep strolling for a while. It started to get a little dark and rainy, so I meandered back to the city center in the most roundabout way possible so I could see the historic St. Peter's Church. When it really started pouring I ducked in and out of shops in Ludwigsplatz to stay dry. I was really shocked to find an H&M in such a small town, and had to go in there just for kicks. I now own a t-shirt with a giant picture of a pug wearing glasses and the phrase, "Parlez-vous français?"
My train was scheduled to leave at 7:21, so it was just about time to going. I took one more trip to my grandma's house before heading back to the train station. My train was delayed about an hour in Neufarn, so I got back to Munich rather later (and hungrier) than I would have liked. I stopped for hot chocolate and a bratwurst to wrap up my very exciting trip to the land of my people.