Meissen and Bastie

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4 June 2009

A very busy but excellent day on another major river, the Elbe, despite the weather which has turned very cold for June.

We went into Meissen and had a look at the local castle and Dom. They have a spectacular position on top of a hill by the river. The Dom was beautiful but the castle disappointing.

This was followed by a visit to the porcelain factory and museum which we really enjoyed. In addition to the many amazing pieces to view, there was a very informative tour through four small studios where craftsmen and women demonstrated the various stages of the manufacturing process.

The original reason for coming to this area was to visit Dresden but we have been told that President Obama is passing through for the next couple of days. Consequently we have delayed this and instead moved to an area of jagged sandstone cliffs, pillars and table top hills just east of the city called Saxon Switzerland. It is the only national park in Saxony. Our first stop was at Bastie the site of an ancient fort on the Elbe with amazing scenery, the photos don’t really do it justice.

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