Home

We are home. The flights were good but there were 3 of them. When all was said and done, we were up 27 hours! I don't care how much sugar coating you can put on that statement -- it's a long time and today we are paying for it. Needless to say we awoke early but we did not start anything for about an hour. Then we started on the laundry. I sorted stuff by color and there were 7 loads, so I combined loads ending up with 4. The laundry is done now. We are unpacked. Now we need to tackle jet-lag and the day to day process of living on our own. No one is cooking gourmet meals for us nor is there anyone making up our room or cleaning the shower. It's time to get back to reality.

Castle Church

The huge church at the castle in Prague was built over a period of centuries, like many of these great old churches. This church is an example of classic gothic and French design, so you see hints of Notre Dame in Paris. The details are wonderful with ferocious gargoyles, colorful glass, and shiny mosaics. Churches like these are never going to built again. I happen to love these grand edifices so I take lots of pictures of them.

Currency

In Germany you use the Euro (€) but in the Czech Republic you use the Koruna or Crown. There are about 19 Crown in a US dollar. Czech paper money is pretty. We only saw 100, 200 and 500 notes as we were here a short time. The coins were strange but alas I spent every last one of them getting on the tram so no pictures.

Prague

Czech is an impossible language. Some words have no vowels while others have vowels in the wrong places. Given that, we used the public tram system today and we got it to work. We had to read the signs, get the ticket kiosk to work, and board the tram at the right locations. We needed help and the friendly folks were willing to help two vacationers out. Grand Circle calls this a "Learning and Discovery" moment...and that explains it well. Now that I've done it I can do it again.

Dresden at Night

We sailed into Dresden about 10 PM. The old city was ablaze with light. We could not make out the individual structures or the exact detail, but we did see the wedding cake outlines if old Baroque-type buildings. The night was dark, the water was relatively calm and the reflections upon it were wonderful.

Dresden

I was under the impression that Dresden was completely destroyed in World War II. I was wrong! A lot of Dresden was destroyed, but quite a bit survived.

We had a tour of the city and saw the old Opera House, as well as many museums and churches standing with the scars of the war proudly showing.

We learned of the "rubble women" who had the job of sorting out the broken stones into piles so they could be reused. We also learned a bit of what life was like during the Soviet era of the DDR.

I'm unclear as to when the rebuilding took place, but it did happen. Dresden is filled with treasures of the past, such as a Meissin tile wall that depicts the Saxon Princes who ruled the area from 1200 to 1876. You can also see an over the top museum/music complex and an old Lutheran Church that clearly shows the results of the firestorm that swept thru the city in 1945.

BTW, a semi-final soccer game was played last night. Soccer is huge in Europe, but when your team is in the semi-final, soccer is "huger." Germany beat Greece 4 to 2 last night! What excitement. People were watching the game in a huge outdoor stadium as well as in local pubs and cafes. When Germany scored the whole city screamed with joy--when Greece scored there were an equal number of boos. When the game ended there was one heck of a party!

Meissin

We went to the Meissin Factory where the fabulous porcelain is made. What a place! We saw a potter at his wheel as well as 2 types of artists then we were lucky enough to spend some time in their shop. We just spent time as no one had money for these works of art. Since everything is hand made, it's possible to spend several hundred € on a plate or cup. It was still fun to see everything.

From there we walked to the Square, looked at store fronts and window shopped.

A trip to the Dom (aka, big old church) was necessary. The Dom is built on the top of the hill and the view into the city was fantastic.

A good day.