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Published: April 8th 2008
More Breakfast Pictures
For a small B&B this place had a great selection at breakfast. I could eat those hard rolls with cheese and meat every breakfast. On the walls are drawings of some of the prisoners interred at Colditz. I recognized most of the names.It got mighty cold last night but by staying under my fluffy down comforter I stayed warm. I just hope none of my appendages were sticking out as I slept. I don't need a repeat of last year's brain-numbing flu.
Once again Tyler was the last one ready for breakfast. When we finally were ready we headed downstairs to the totally quiet and deserted breakfast room. The smells of hot coffee let us know we were expected. As we walked into the Fruhstuckzimmer we could see Ralf had really laid out an impressive breakfast spread. Just like the breakfast at the much bigger Hotel Agon, this buffet table offered a variety of rolls, cheese, cold cuts, juices, hot and cold cereals and soft-boiled eggs. From time to time Ralf popped his head into the room to make sure we were ok. He even made a run to the bakery for more rolls. As usual I over-indulgenced and felt stuffed as well as sleepy as we left the table.
Ralf helped us bring our bags downstairs and out to the car. He made sure we enjoyed our stay and joked about the old POW camp up at the castle. As
And for Those on a Diet...
..there was also lots of cereal and lo-cal spreads for the rolls. Gail's mom was happy to have fresh orange juice. we climbed into our van to leave Ralf asked us to wait a minute, then ran inside. He came out wearing an old army greatcoat and East German helmet. He apologized for not posing in World War II garb but this was just as good.
We parked the van just a few hundred meters away in the town square, then climbed back up the hill to
Colditz Castle . We got there just after they unlocked the entrance gate. We bought our entrance tickets in the little souvenir shop situated just inside the castle's outer wall. The woman running the shop then led us up a further incline and through another gate into the first courtyard. This was the outer area of the one time POW camp and where the German guards were stationed. It was now a youth hostel and office area for the administrative district of Colditz. Then she took us further into the enclosure where we arrived at the second or inner courtyard. This was where the prisoners stayed. Our guide unlocked the doors of the museum and told us to look around the place at our leisure. Then she returned to the gift shop. Very trusting people
Our Host Ralf
This guy couldn't have been more accomodating. He was very concerned about ensuring we had a good time and a comfortable stay. He apparently also conducts guided tours of the area. here in Colditz. No wonder the prisoners of the castle felt they could find ways to escape.
The POW camp, or Oflag IVC, was where the Germans interred the most determined and notorious of Allied prisoners during World War II. The ticket to Colditz usually came about because the prisoner had attempted numerous escape attempts at other less secure German camps. The Nazis assumed that putting all the "bad boys" in one camp and making that camp much more secure and "escape-proof" would deter the prisoners' attempts. Instead the Germans simply put all the most innovative and daring minds together in the same spot where they conspired 24 hours a day on plans for getting back home. The self-guided tour of Colditz as well as the books and books of literature written about the place focus primarily on the British prisoners. They were probably the most relentless and determined, but the French and Dutch prisoners were more successful in making "home runs" back to the Allied lines. In addition Polish, Belgian and even an Indian soldier were kept here.
Another group the Nazis imprisoned here were the "Prominente" who were the relatives of important Allied bigwigs, like Churchill's
What Once Was
Ralf must've known we were a little disappointed that there were no longer any border formalities in Europe. Just before we started up the car to leave, he came running out of his place wearing this old East German guard uniform. I sincerely doubt that the old Commie guards wore as warm a smile as Ralf gave us. nephew and the nephew of George VI, news reporters and other VIPs.
Seeing the movie "The Great Escape" countless times as a kid piqued my interest in the subject of prison escapes. By the time I reached high school I must've read every single POW escape story written at least 3 times. Colditz remained the most mysterious and romantic. Pat Reid's story was the archetypal story of the escape genre in which the cultured, ultra-cool British officers constantly duped the proper and humorless Germans on a daily basis. When they weren't escaping the Brits were busy antagonizing and mocking the Krauts.
I had known that Colditz was a very tough place to escape from despite the many efforts made by all the Allied prisoners. I was surprised to learn just how many were successful. And it usually came to pass that the least elaborate plans proved much more successful than the carefully planned tunnels, impersonation of German guards, or picking of locks. In fact, the French prisoners were pretty good at simply running away from the guards when out on the exercise yards or simply hiding in the hedges.
Our first stop on the tour was a
Schloss Colditz
In the glorious sunshine of the day the castle (Schloss) looked much different than it head the night before. Far less imposing. It almost looked pleasant. walk through the prison museum. Inside were two floors of memorabilia used over the 5 years of prisoner internment. We spent almost an hour walking through. Even the girls were amazed by some of the tricks the POWs used: transforming British or French uniforms into German ones, hand printing visas and work papers to resemble typed print, making tools from bed springs, building clandestine radios and even constructing a glider up in the attic of the castle.
We were very early visitors so we had the whole museum to ourselves. When we finished there we walked into the innermost courtyard and explored some of the rooms where the prisoners were housed. It's still a work in progress. In fact, no one is really sure what the future of the castle holds: the British and other Allied tourists want to see the place restored to its World War II status as an Oflag; while the Germans want to restore the castle back to its heyday as a Medieval fortress.
Even though the temperature was above freezing the cold along with the dampness of the castle made us feel a little uncomfortable. Being the only people touring the castle it
Colditz Castle Church
After leaving Ralf's we parked in the town square then hiked back up the same road we used last night. This is the very same church that I photographed at night. was also a little creepy finding our way through some of the dimly lit rooms. Only a few rooms are preserved as WWII-era prisoner quarters. The other parts of this section of the castle house a porcelain factory and a theater company. As I mentioned before, the outer
courtyard features a youth hostel. That part of the castle is being refurbished and more and more hostel rooms will soon be available for use.
After we saw all we could in the inner courtyard we headed back to the bookstore passing a busload of tourists just entering the grounds. Try as I might I couldn't find a souvenir that I felt I had to have. From there we all rushed to the warm rest rooms to take care of all that coffee and hot chocolate we had consumed at Ralf’s.
As we descended the hilltop we saw that nothing was going on back in Colditz town. Being a Sunday morning all 5 of the town's little stores were shut. We were eager to hop into the van and warm up. As we headed for Dresden, Nuvi directed us through some very interesting terrain. Our route took us through the
backside of Colditz, away from the older riverside section. I was surprised at how big Colditz appeared to be. It was a drab Communist-
modern area, but it seemed to extend far off from the undulations of the river.
Our route then took us through a tree-lined thoroughfare that brought us past some huge homes. Nothing was labeled but the buildings looked like they must've been part of a college or maybe an old military base. A search on Google when I got home leads me to believe that it was actually some sort of psychiatric facility. Probably where Ralf goes at night!
From there we traveled on a very narrow, supposedly two-lane road, that a farm tractor could barely fit on. We passed through hills and valleys which were painted white by the early morning frost. Hardly anyone was on the road so we took a leisurely tour through the countryside. We were back in old East German territory so the roads were a bit narrow and poorly paved. The homes and farms we passed weren't cute and quaint like so many are in the West. There were few commercial buildings in the area. It wasn't until
The First Courtyard
This area was where the prison guards were housed. Now it is a youth hostel. Future plans involve renovating many more of the rooms and adding them to the hostel's inventory. we reached the Autobahn to Dresden that we felt like we were back in the 21st Century.
Nuvi took us effortlessly into
Downtown Dresden and toward the sights along the Elbe River. Thank God it was a Sunday - very little traffic in what looked to be a maze of one way and circuitous streets. Tyler awoke from his nap and expressed a very sincere interest in seeing the city of Dresden. He read through one of my tour books and picked-out what he thought we needed to see. We found an empty curbside parking spot across the street from the Zwinger. No one else had bothered to park along this side street and I was a bit concerned about special parking rules in the area, but we decided to risk it. Tyler led us along the half-frozen moat surrounding the
Zwinger and then into the complex. "Zwinger" means "between" and originates from its location between former city fortifications. It is comprised of a large courtyard with gardens and fountains surrounded by a bevy of museums and one-time residential buildings. It was originally commissioned by Augustus the Strong, elector of Saxony in the early 18th Century. Like so many other
A Much Different View Today
The view down into the town of Colditz today is much different than what the prisoners might have seen 65 years ago. However, that bridge in the distance is the same one American tanks took when they liberated the town. European aristocrats, he wanted something to rival Versailles. He fell a little short but the result is still a fascinating array of stone walls, pavilions and palaces. Standing in the sun on this still very cold day with nary a flower in sight, one could still get a feeling for just how picturesque the courtyard would be in the height of Summer.
We passed by the museums dedicated to art and armor and instead headed toward the river. Even though this section of Old Dresden had been leveled during the War the rebuilt structures still reeked of antiquity. All around us were immense stone buildings facing on to a huge open square. To one side was the Opera House, on another a huge church, before us was a river promenade and behind us was the Zwinger. This may have been one of the most impressive spots I've ever stood at in all my trips to Europe. It felt like being in another era. There was even a street car and a horse-drawn wagon passing through the square.
Tyler’s last minute research suggested we take a look inside the Katholische Hofkirche, the Catholic Church of Dresden. Although Dresden was
Pathway into Oflag IVc
Looking out of the second floor of the castle museum this was the passageway taken by prisoners heading into the prison. Any prisoner intending to get out this way had to first get through the gate out of the picture to the immediate left, then another locked gate inside that tunnel, beyond that were two other guardposts. the center of Lutheran Protestantism, Frederick Augustus II had to construct this church and convert to Catholicism to be eligible to wear the crown of Poland in addition to his duties as Elector of Saxony. I’d say that this is one of the most subdued and least ornate Catholic Churchs I’ve seen in any European major city. The exterior's size and ornamentation resembled a cathedral but the interior felt like an English or even New England Protestant church. There wasn’t a lot of gild or glitter and the statuaries were kept to a minimum.
We only spent a few minutes in the freezing cold church before heading back on to the riverside promenade. We opted to not visit the stunningly gorgeous Semperoper Building. This opera house like almost everything else in Dresden was destroyed by the fire bombings of the city in February of 1945. The ruins of this opera house were not restored until 1985. Many of the other buildings and churches in this old section of Dresden were similarly left in ruins until the reunification of Germany. The old Communist government simply never had the money or resources to restore the historical treasures of Dresden. Instead they
Innermost Courtyard
This was the section of the castle where the Allied prisoners were locked-up. This tower once housed a clock and bells. French prisoners built an elaborate tunnel using the supposedly sealed cylinders that housed the clock mechanism. They were caught before they completed the tunnel. spent their money building block apartments and upgrading the load capacities of their bridges just in case war with the West came.
As we climbed the steps of the river promenade we were surrounded by throngs of people strolling along the riverbank. A little further along we encountered the unmistakable fragrance of Gluhwein and roasting Wursts. Just below the elevated Promenade wall we spotted the Dresden Christkindlmarkt in full swing. It was wall to wall people. Realizing that no stores would be open on Sunday, we decided to comb the Christmas market for possible souvenirs and maybe grab a light lunch. We found a little sausage stand with brats and beer, then headed into a semi-heated tent to devour our snacks. Tyler and Gen were on the lookout for a Moravian-style Christmas star while Gail and I looked for a new bell for our collection. Instead I found a bargain bin filled with miniature beer trucks sporting ads for some of the local beer companies. I decided to add a couple to my fledgling collection. Tyler and Gen nearly bought an Advent star but decided to pass in hopes that we’d spot a nicer one in the Czech Republic.
Another Corner of the Courtyard
In this area the camp church was located. There was a British chaplain imprisoned along with the captured soldiers. Fighting our way through the crowds with one hand on our purses and wallets at all times and with our noses attuned to the many delicious smells wafting through the market we walked toward the Frauenkirche. This is probably Dresden’s most beautiful church. Like the Katholische Hofkirche, the Frauenkirche lay in ruins for decades after the firebombing of WWII. During those years it served as a memorial to the victims of the War. It wasn’t until reunification that serious plans to restore the church began. The Lutheran bishopric along with local citizens had the church rebuilt using the original stones. They set a goal of having the church rebuilt by the 800th anniversary of the city in 2006. Thanks to money earned by local musical concerts and tours of the ruins, high tech computer techniques allowed the restorers to catalogue each of the original stones for the reconstruction. Thanks to donations of over 600,000 British Pounds from the citizens of Coventry, England (also bombed to the ground in World War II), the church was reopened a full year ahead of schedule in 2005. It proved to be a rather unique church when we went inside. It felt more like
Opposite End of the Inner Courtyard
The entire courtyard was no more than 50-60 yards long and wide, yet it accomodated hundreds of prisoners many times a day when the Germans ordered an "appel" or roll call. Each day the prisoners hung out here suntanning, playing ball, jogging, reading and antagonizing the guards. an opera house than church because of the tiers of balconies looming over the nave. And the nice thing about this Lutheran church was the absence of an admission church to get inside.
There were other sights to see in this part of the Altstadt but with the sky turning toward dusk and having a few more hours of driving ahead we decided to go back to the car. I also feared we might have a parking ticket or boot so the sooner we got back to look, the less anxiety I might suffer. It just so happened that we were not ticketed and we had started a trend by being the first of about thirty cars now parked along this city street.
Before we were out of the city limits most of my crew were asleep. We were low on gas but kept driving hoping for a really cheap petrol station. Before very long we were not only out of Dresden but into the Czech Republic. Just three days before the borders between the Czech Republic and its European Community neighbors had come down. There were no longer any border crossing formalities. I was actually a bit
The Attics of Colditz Castle
The attics weren't open to visitors, but I could see just how much room they afforded the enterprising prisoners. The Germans thought they had this area sealed off also, but the prisoners somehow got up there and built false walls to hide their radio and the glider they almost completed. The attic roofs were also the scene for many of the more daring escape attempts. More than a few prisoners tried to inch their way across these slippery and steep tiles in the pitch dark of night. disappointed. I was expecting some hassles and a little aggravation when we crossed into another country. Now we simply sped through like we were passing from Pennsylvania into Maryland. No more passport stamps. What was really odd was that we drove mile after mile into the Czech Republic but saw no commercial enterprises or any kind of retail stores. The terrain changed and we drove through a forest high up in the mountains while a light snow fell, but there was nowhere to get off to look for gas or to buy the special vignette required to drive on the Czech highways. Finally about 20 miles into the country we came to a gas station/food mart. I made Gail come inside with me when I stopped for gas. We were able to communicate with the girls working inside using a little German, a little English and some hand signals. Fortunately we were able to use our Visa card to buy the gas. Even though diesel is the cheapest gas in Europe we still paid almost $80 to fill our tank.
I was starting to get very concerned about being stopped for not displaying the vignette, but as we left
One of the Cells
There is so very much more they could do in this place in order to capture the flavor of the old POW camp and this was the only room that was set up like a typical prisoner's cell. The British prisoners were proud to be an unkempt, ill-mannered lot so I suspect that the actual rooms were far less spartan and clean. I can imagine that the walls were decorated with graffiti and pictures while clothing was probably strewn around the room. the gas pumps Gail spotted a sign directing drivers to the other side of the parking lot. There we found two other cars parked in front of a little ticket booth. We watched these other drivers buy their vignettes then install them on their windshield. Instead of setting up toll booths the Czechs make you purchase one of these vignettes in order to use their highways. Once again we whipped out the credit card and paid 150 Koruny or about $10 for a ten day ticket. Then we spent about 15 minutes trying to figure out how to install it.
The remaining hour’s drive was interesting. We had come into the Czech Republic on a major 4 lane Autobahn and the highway proved easy sailing for the first half hour of the ride. Then as signs for “Praha" (Prague) began to appear, the main thoroughfare suddenly became a rinky-dink two lane road winding and turning alongside a barely visible river. In the dark it was a little difficult to see what kind of terrain we were driving through and the extremely dim streetlamps didn’t offer much illumination. The next thing we knew we were in the outskirts of Prague.
It wasn’t a gradual progression through increasingly more populated towns. We just suddenly popped-up in the middle of a big city.
As soon as we reached the city limits we were within a few blocks of our hotel. The
Hotel Tivoli was straight ahead of us on the very same street we entered the city. Soon the fun began - the road (Sokolska) was a one-way street. The first time up the road we didn’t see the dimly lit hotel sign only noticing it after we had passed by. To return we had to turn left at the next side street then turn left yet again onto a street parallel to Sokolska but heading in the opposite direction. When we finally got back on Sokolska we tried to find a place to park near the hotel. No spaces on the side of the road where the hotel stood, but three lanes over on the right side of the street we saw a space. I couldn't swing over that far because of the traffic. Once more we performed the lengthy circle which brought us back up Sokolska. We illegally parked in a loading zone across the street. Attempting to get to
Colditz Ceramics
The East Germans didn't want to hang on to this white elephant of a castle without getting something out of it. The portion of the castle not being used as a tourist site or youth hostel is still being utilized today as a ceramic factory. Since it was a Sunday any outlet store they may have operated was not open nor could we see anything inside the shop windows. the other side of the road the six of us and our rolling suitcases dodged the maniacal Prague drivers doing at least 50 mph up the city street. It was like watching a game of Frogger as we risked life and limb getting across the Three Lanes of Death. Inside the hotel a very pretty 20ish Czech chick speaking fluent English helped us check in. The place looked old but felt warm and cozy. Once we had our room keys we asked about parking our van. She gave us a little map and told us to go up the road apiece to another hotel’s parking garage. First we put our suitcases in the rooms, and then we went back out to park the van before heading to our reserved table at Pivovarsky Dum.
Up the road again, then back to the parallel street where this parking garage reportedly stood. We drove down the road three times (each time requiring us to do the one-way street loop) before we finally spotted an itty-bitty little garage. Gail got someone from this hotel to open the garage and to ostensibly direct me. In trying to make the turn from the main street
The Last Gate Leading from Colditz Castle
This would've been the last point an escaper would have to negotiate in getting through the main entrance of the Oflag. into the extremely small garage door I could easily see the van wasn’t going to fit. Yet Igor the Night Watchman continued to furiously wave me forward even though it was obvious that I’d be ripping off the roof rack and side mirrors if I continued. Meanwhile traffic on the street backed-up behind me. How this was happening on a three lane road is still a mystery. While their horns honked at me Igor furiously waved me forward toward a certain collision with the garage walls. I soon lost it. I yelled for Gail to get back in the van and we tore away from there. Then I tried some of the extremely narrow side streets looking for an empty spot. At one point I got stuck on a dead end street. The only way to get out was to back up our 20 foot long vehicle about 100 yards. Tyler and Gen got out to direct me. Then some idiot Czech came blasting up the road flashing his lights telling me to get out of his way. I flipped him the bird, we exchanged pleasantries then I continued to back up whether he liked it or not. By now
Lest There Be Any Doubt
Can you guess what was missing from all those previous photos of this old historic landmark? Scaffolding, of course. No visit to any old site in Europe is complete without seeing scaffolding somewhere on the building. This is the side of the front gatehouse at the main entrance of the Schloss. I was fuming. We drove around in circles for another 20 minutes anxiously searching for parking. There was absolutely nothing. We saw a parking garage, but as I turned the corner and prepared to enter, we saw that the overhead clearance was only 1.8 meters and I felt rather sure we needed much more than that. More circling around the block. It seemed like we were miles from the hotel when we passed by the railroad station. It advertised a parking lot. Once again we drove around a convoluted path of 90 and 180 degree turns, under and over bridges through the station complex until we came to the actual parking lot. The lot seemed to be in the middle of nowhere with only a handful of cars around. I considered the possibility of theft or vandalism but by now I was so angry that I didn’t care. When we all bundled out of the van and headed for the exit we noticed the rates for the lot - 30 Koruny per hour, or $48 per day. We decided to at least leave the van here for now and maybe after dinner we’d find another place to park. We were
A Reminder of the Season
The castle itself wasn't done up with Christmas decorations like most other spots in Germany. Colditz is still a rather isolated tiny village in what was the old East Germany. No doubt these folks still aren't profiting quite yet from the reunification with those rich West Germans. already a few minutes late for our dinner reservation.
Trying to get out of the train station and on to a main street was another ordeal. When we eventually made our way on to a main street, we found ourselves on a very busy highway with no pavement for us to walk on. In single file the six of us hiked uphill toward Sokolska Street. Once we were in a semi-safe area I consulted Nuvi which had the location of
Pivovarsky Dum programmed into it. Using pedestrian mode we walked 10 minutes without getting any closer to our destination. Finally we walked into a fancy hotel and asked for directions. We were heading in the opposite direction. As we followed the night clerk’s directions we passed nearby the Hotel Tivoli. From there it was only 5 minutes to the restaurant.
We arrived for dinner a half hour late. There was a line to get into the place. This brewpub was highly recommended by some of the locals on the Frommer’s travel website. At first a waitress said we were too late for our reservation, but Gen begged and cajoled her into giving us a table right in the middle
Young Goats
While we waited for the girls to take care of business in the Loo, we watched this little family roaming around in someone's backyard just below the castle entrance. of the place. This same waitress brought us our menus with a very sour look on her face. This was not looking good.
But from there everything that had been going wrong started to go much better. After we very eagerly ordered our locally brewed beers our waitress suddenly changed into another person. Maybe it was the fact that she finally realized we were Americans and not Russians like everyone else in the place. She couldn’t have been nicer after that. She helped us order our dinners and was all smiles the rest of the night. We had a wonderful meal (again) and a great time. A very friendly dog at the next table became our buddy for the night and almost got his owner kicked out of the place when he tried to climb up on our table. Throughout the night we occasionally eavesdropped on the tables of Russian tourists sitting all around us. All night long there was a line of people extending out the door waiting to get in.
By the time we left the Dum the crowd had dissipated. In fact, we closed the place. Total damage for our night of binging on the
Old Goat
I prepare to take us out of Colditz and on to Dresden. ultra-cheap Czech beer was 1297 Koruny or a little less than $70. Most amazing thing of all was the fact that none of us seemed to feel any effect from the alcohol.
It was a short but cold walk back to the Tivoli. Cassie roomed with me in room 301 and tried her best to fall asleep before I did. She said she couldn’t fall asleep if I started snoring first.
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