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Published: November 12th 2008
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THURSDAY!!!
After an incredible night's sleep, Beth and I woke up mid-morningish ready for our day of exploration! Beth was studied up on the walking "tourist route" that would take us to all the fabulous site of the city. (Actually we found out once you're pointed in the right direction you can just follow the tall steeples of all the old buildings!)
It was a fresh feeling day, chilly enough to be crisp, but not unbearably cold. (These poor Michigander girls are just wimps, huh?) Just after leaving the hostel we picked up some apples, grapes and crackers at a little grocer and then sat outside a mini cafe to eat our breakfast, and so Beth could get her morning "fix" of coffee. 😊
We walked back the way we had come last night, but turning at the "square" rather than continuing on to the train station. It was about a 30 minute walk to the river where we had our breath taken away by the sight of the old churches, oprea house, etc. lining the river. Amazingly Gorgeous! and we immediately knew all the recommendations we had heard for the city wouldn't disappoint
us!
I was going to write a bit of the history of the city, but what I know is what I found on-line, and all I could really do is say verbatim what I read. So if you're interested in a snipet of history you can look at these two sites. They're barely even 2 paragraphs a piece and do a painless job of summing up where the city came from and what's happened to it. So click and let the learning begin! (Like I said, it's practically painless!)
History of Dresden Wikipedia Dresden So Beth and I spent the next several hours navigating the magnificent structures of the old city. All around us seemed to be layers of art, sculptures, towers and steeples. We walked through one cathedral, wandered the "perfect place to have a wedding", climbed to the steeple of another church, and walked and walked and walked. 😊
For me, the old buildings of Dresden have a Russian look to them. I kind of felt like I was getting a little taste of what St. Petersburg might be like. The large, open, stone "squares" also reminded me of Poland or Russia (OK, so I've never been
to either of those two countries ... but I'm using my imagination). Looking down from the top of the church I could picture what it may be like during the winter: cold, snow blowing, people bundled up, furry hats ... I guess I could always stick around for a couple more months to see for myself how it is. Since Dresden is so close to the boarders of Poland and the Czech Republic, I wouldn't doubt there's a bit of the same flavor. Hmmm ... anyone up for some more traveling?
OK, back to today ...
I also had the excitement of ordering us two fresh-baked pretzels! (The guy didn't understand me, but that's OK!) And the two of us sipped hot chocolate and cappuccino and nibbled on cake at an outside cafe. We LOVE sitting outside, and Germany makes it so comfortable even in chilly November. Just add heaters and blankets and you're all set! It was at the cafe that we also got lots of little birdie visitors! Beth discouraged me from being friendly with the "disease carrying rodents of the sky" ... but they got SO close to us I just couldn't help myself! I
put a few crumbs in my palm and on bird actually hopped onto my finger!! It was great! I felt like one of the princesses in a Disney movie that befriends all the woodland creatures!!! Of course Beth was disgusted with me and said I better wash my hand. She's probably right, who knows what those little things are carrying. But ignorance is bliss ... so that was definitely a highlight of my day! 😱
It was getting late, getting chillier, and we still had about a 45 minute walk back to our hostel. So we headed back across the bridge over the Elbe. We ended up taking a glorious nap before going out for ... PIZZA! Hey, that's German too! 😊 We found a cute little Italian place, the waitress had Asian heritage, Beth and I were both American's and we were all in Germany, so it seemed a great multi-cultural experience! The pizzas were fabulous!
With happy tummies and tired feet we went back to Lollis to settle in for the night, not really having a plan for tomorrow, but knowing the day would be fabulous no matter what happened!
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Rilla
April Nesbitt
Thanks! She can change the setting so it only picks up one color. Fun. =)