Blogs from Dresden, Saxony, Germany, Europe - page 4

After another late night, we were up earlyish again, had the usual breakfast, and then piled into Dieter's Volkswagen and headed off towards Festung Königstein (King's Stone Fortress), which is quite a ways southeast of Dresden, towards the Czech Republic, and affords awesome views of Sächsische Schweiz, and the Elbe River, plus a distant hazy view of both the Czech Republic and of Dresden. The fortress itself is up high, huge, built into a giant rock, and as far as I can tell, completely unassailable except by a single road with several very defensible gates. According to Dieter, the fortress has never been captured, although, in 2014, the idea of capturing a fortress is a bit quaint; I think you'd just ignore it and go around. Nevertheless, it is p... read more

My third trip to visit Dieter und Gudrun here in spectacular Dresden. It's high on my list of favorite destinations in all of Europe, and since I've never been here without Dieter und Gudrun, it's impossible to say whether it's them, the city, or both. Here's hoping I never have to find out. :) Greg was adorably nervous about meeting them and desperately wanted to make sure they would like him, so he practiced some polite greetings auf deutsch during our brief train ride from Leipzig. I remember doing the same in 2005 and 2008. On the platform, Dieter greeted us so exuberantly that it took a minute for Greg to get his greeting in edgewise; Dieter exclaimed, "Ah! Without accent!" Highest possible praise, and put Greg instantly at ease. Well played, all of you. And, ... read more

After a short train ride, we arrived in Dresden, and were met on the platform by Dieter and Gudrun, dear friends of Arnold and Doris, Andrea's parents, and also dear friends of Cheryl, who had stayed with them in 2005 with Andrea, and again in 2008 with Laura. I was nervous about meeting them because I had been told by numerous people that they were excited to meet me, and frankly, that's a lot of pressure. But, as I shook Dieter's hand, I said "Ich bin glücklich, Sie kennenzulernen.", and he broke out into a great big grin and said "Ah! Without accent!" So, that happened. Gudrun was a ways down the platform, and after Cheryl got a big hug from her, I shook her hand, too, and decided to mix it up, saying "Freut mich, ... read more

Today in Dresden was a bit slower but worth it. A stroll in the Zwinger Palace was cool, they have four different exhibits, a math and science, porcellon and something else I cannot remember, I checked out the arts one based on suggestion from a travel book and it was definitly worth it. They had a lot of works from Druerer and I even saw an original from Rapheal that was really cool. The architecture here is amazing not only in the design, but also the symetry of the buildings. The art of the time was interesting and there were a few paintings of saints that stook out in my mind, sadly pictures were not allowed and I could not remember the names of them. One was a temptation of a saint in a cave, there ... read more

Ines picks a great breakfast spot just a short walk from her flat. I love all the outdoor dining in Germany and the weather has been beautiful! Then a nice drive through the country side where the kids get to see some typical German villages. One of our main destinations today is the Konigstein Fortress. According to their brochure, The Konigstein Fortress is on a surface the size of 13 football fields and it is one of the largest hilltop fortresses in Europe. Embedded into the bizarre, rocky landscape of the Elbe Sandstone Mountains, visible from afar, the fortress is enthroned on a table mountain. High above the River Elbe, the always-unconquerable fort offers stunnig views or Saxon-Bohemian Switzerland, the foothills of eastern Ore Mountains, and Dresden. We spend a good part of the day exploring ... read more