After pausing to listen for a moment, he added, “This particulartype of performance, if I’m not mistaken, is Dutch ‘old-style jazz,’ whichevolved in the Low Countries about the same time that the earliest Americanjazz was taking shape. Such American jazz greats as Cab Calloway and Duke Ellingtongave some of their finest concerts in the Netherlands.”
Tilting his head judgmentally, Emil added, “Call me a snob if youlike, but I prefer traditional New Orleans style to this European offshoot.Still, this is better than no jazz at all.”
I shouldn’t be surprised, London told herself. Althoughthe ship’s historian sometimes seemed a bit stuffy, he had already provenhimself a man of wide and eclectic tastes. She felt her admiration for Emilbuilding up again. She missed the friendship they had shared, and wondered whyhe was being so touchy lately.
When the tune came to an end, Emil continued his little lectureas the instrumentalists readied for their next number.
“Although Regensburg is a long way from the Low Countries—andeven farther away from America—it is quite an important European jazz center.My guess is that this ensemble is in town preparing for the upcoming annualBavarian Jazz Weekend, when about a hundred bands from all over the world willcongregate here in Regensburg. I understand the city can get especially livelythen.”
Emil nodded with approval as the band launched into anothersprightly tune.
“Ah, the celebrated ‘Tiger Rag.’ An excellent selection. Alas, wedo not have time to stay and listen. As you know, our ship is scheduled to moveon this afternoon. Our time in Regensburg is short, and right now we must makea rendezvous with history.”
Two more of their group waved goodbye and stayed right there,listening to the music. But London felt a tingle of excitement about their nextstop on the tour—a literal descent into Regensburg’s past.
At the southern end of the square, she and Emil led the groupdown a staircase and into a concrete tunnel with bare light bulbs hangingoverhead.
Taking her turn at lecturing, she told the group, “We are walkingthrough an air raid bunker used by the Nazis during World War Two,” she said.Pointing to a row of stenciled letters along the wall, she added, “The word yousee repeated here is Neupfarrplatzgruppe, the name of a resistance groupthat fought against the Nazis. The name has been written over and over again intheir honor.”
For a few moments they walked in silence, then London resumedspeaking as they emerged from the tunnel into a maze of stairs and suspendedwalkways that overlooked an array of excavated sites.
“This subterranean museum is called the Document Neupfarrplatz,”London told them. “It’s an archaeological site where excavation began in 1995.”As they wended amid fascinating underground ruins, she pointed out somespecific ones. “Here you see the foundation of a Gothic synagogue.”
Emil now spoke up.
“According to tradition, the presence of Jewish people here inRegensburg dates back before Christ. Starting around the eleventh century, thisarea was Regensburg’s Jewish quarter, making this the oldest Jewish settlementin Bavaria.”
Emil looked around the ruins thoughtfully before he spoke again.
“For several centuries, Regensburg didn’t wreak the samepersecution and intolerance upon its Jewish population that was so horriblywidespread elsewhere in Christian Europe. Jews were relegated to a lower socialstatus, but by decree they were also protected and defended from harm.”
Emil sighed bitterly.
“Alas, this tolerance came to an end in 1519, when Regensburgexpelled its entire Jewish population. The citizens razed the beautifulsynagogue that stood in this spot.”
London let the silence that followed hang in the air for a fewmoments before she led the group under a stone arch and farther into the maze.
“Now we’re stepping even further back into history,” she toldthem, “to when this site was home to the Roman military camp Castra Regina. Yousaw that old gate when we came into the town. These ruins give you a differentlook at Roman legion life.”
Pointing to some wall foundations and the remains of an ornatetile floor, she continued, “We are standing where a high-ranking Roman officerlived back in the second century.”
The group murmured with interest.
Emil added, “Further excavations may delve yet deeper intoRegensburg’s past. Long before the Romans came, the Celts settled here andcalled this place Radasbona. And before even that …”
Emil shrugged and smiled.
“Well, I’ll leave it to your imaginations. Suffice it to say thatthis ground has been inhabited for many thousands of years, all the way back toStone Age times.”
When the group was ready to leave these remnants of ancientcultures, London and Emil led them back up onto the sunlit Neupfarrplatzsquare. The jazz ensemble was still playing—an even more startling contrastthan before.
Emil smiled and nodded in time to the music.
“Excellent!” he said. “‘Basin Street Blues,’ immortalized by thegreat Louis Armstrong.”
He chuckled and added, “If I’m not mistaken, it was composedquite a few years after medieval times and the ages of the Celts and Romans—andyet those early inhabitants surely sang and played music of their own, centuryafter century, millennium after millennium. Imagine what kind of music theymade!”
The passengers who had stayed to listen to the performancerejoined the group.
“Great music,” one of them commented.
“When do we eat?” another asked.
It was about noon now. London certainly felt ready for lunchherself, and she knew exactly where she wanted to go for it. She told the groupthey were now free to explore on their own, and reminded them to get back tothe ship in no more than three hours.
She added, “Those who’d like a hearty German lunch can follow us.”
She and Emil led the group back toward the Stone Bridge. As theyneared the river, a familiar rich aroma filled the air.
“There it is—that delicious smell again!” one tourist commented.
“I’m really hungry now,” another said.
London laughed and said, “Don’t worry, you won’t be hungry forlong.”
They turned a corner near the end of the Stone Bridge and arrivedat a charming little building. It was shaped oddly, like a trapezoid, and ithad a red-tiled roof and a large outdoor area full of picnic tables and benchesoverlooking the river.
This was obviously the source
