On the pages of MyGermanCity.com you might have seen some pages discussing my love of beer and Bavaria. Well, my friends, you have no idea how serious the business of beer is until you’ve been to Nittenau.
I’m not talking about the “business” of beer — like growing the hops, making it the drink itself, bottling it, or even selling it. No, not even close.
I know you don’t have any clue yet about what I’m talking about. A trip to the haunted Stockenfels Castle ruins will explain it. Legend tells that at midnight the castle well opens and the devil forces sinners to carry bucket after bucket of water up from the bottom.
Who are these sinners? Shopkeepers, waitresses, and brewers who have watered down the most coveted of libations… beer. Each having to carry as much water as they put in their customer’s glasses.
Didn’t I say that beer was serious business?
Any other time of the day the Stockenfels Castle is beautiful. There are two walking paths to get to the castle — both are a bit of a workout, but oh so worth it.
To see a couple of other castles in Nittenau take a canoe ride on either the Naab or Regen Rivers. You can make it a couple day affair by camping on the riverbanks listening to ghost or Knights in shining armor stories from your guide.
Camping and haunted castles too scary for you? It’s all right, you’ve got the stunning Baroque Church of Our Lady to see. It was built in 1779 after a fire gutted the Gothic original.
The former Walderbach Monastery is now a museum; and then you’ve got the early 12th century Kloster Reichenbach am Regen to see.
Neither the Schloss Bodenstein and Castle Stefling is reportedly haunted, so that’s a good place to go; and there’s the Storchenturm (Stork Tower) which was part of the city’s original defense wall.
Of course, you can do nothing at all if that strikes your fancy. How many of you out there would love to just sit fishing along the river? Or, just sit at the municipal pool in the whirlpool or jumping from the diving board?
Just be careful… you don’t want any water to wind up in someone’s beer here. ;-)