Ratskeller, Rathouse, Passau, Germany

Our Viking Danube cruise left the lovely medieval town of Regensburg and moved on to Passau, a lovely city set on a peninsula at the confluence of three rivers, and overlooked by a fortress with a new (1499) addition.

We started the day with a very informative and entertaining tour led by a local history and German language teacher. He noted that a late 17th century flood helped push the city from a Gothic to a more Baroque style of architecture that reached its peak in the local cathedral.

The transition also is reflected in, among other buildings, the City Hall, or Rathouse.

The term “rathouse” for a building with elected officials does have a certain appeal, doesn’t it? Even then, government disputes were contentious, and the good burghers of Passau arranged that the bottom floor of the rathouse would be a restaurant to which the councilors could repair to repair strained feelings over liters of beer. It seems like a good idea.

Getting back to Passau, the city used to be chock-a-block with breweries, but now there is only one, and we could taste its product at the Rathouse, or rather the Ratskeller in the Rathouse, also known as the Loewen Brauhaus. That piqued my interest, especially as it would be the last beer hall in Germany on our trip.

We closed the tour in front of the cathedral, just as parishioners were exiting. Parishioners with banners formed a corridor for the congregation, many dressed in traditional costumes. I couldn’t get a shot, others having crowded in, but it was a bit of serendipity. After the tour it was back to the boat of lunch –stay tuned for an overview of the food on the cruise (I did one on our Rhone cruise as well (see here)). After lunch, Nancy and I walked all around the compact town, enjoying the buildings and the views, then back to our cabin for a rest.

Well, Nancy rested, I went back to the Ratskeller to try the local beer. It’s a fine setting for a beer or two,

with the arched ceiling and the very old murals on the walls. I thought it would be polite to order food with a beer, and I passed over a tempting array of sausages and chose a Brotzeit, a selection of cheeses with good brown bread.

For the beer, I ordered a small unfiltered zwiki, in part because I had no idea what a zwiki was, and because it had a low alcohol content. The zwiki turned out to be a golden beer with a mild, pleasant flavor. I followed it with a small dunkel, a dark beer with more of a malt flavor. I was surprised how light the dunkel was.

My snack included, along with some radish, carrot, bell pepper, and onion, three cheeses — a herbed cream cheese that reminded me of Boursin and that I enjoyed a lot; a delicious “German cheese spread”; and a “potato cheese” per the English menu, which was potato salad. I enjoyed them all, and the onion, radish, and carrots livened the cheeses nicely.

I end up eating at places a lot because I like to see how other people live, and restaurants offer one important window. The Rathskeller, or Loewen Bauhaus, was a pleasant place, with parallels to a. pub or bar of the sort at which friends and colleagues gather to drop facades and enjoy themselves. I wished that I spoke German so that I could understand and join in their conversations. You get some wonderful experiences that way, as I did recently at Abell’s Diner in rural Maryland.

I’m glad I dropped into the Rathskeller. Coffees and cafes offer similar opportunities, as do many other situations. I hope you’ll seize them when you travel. Drop in for a snack at the Loewen Brauhaus Passau.

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