We had a great anniversary yesterday and today is David's birthday. We are leaving for Dresden today, taking a train this morning. Looking out on the countryside I see a lot of wind powered generators, small German towns with steeples pointing skyward, it's really nice to see green countryside and something that resembles America or at least something that reminds me of home. It was a beautiful sunny day outside, so far the weather has been fantastic. The area we are traveling through was all part of East Germany, that was more than twenty years ago and I do not see too many signs of East Germany but I am not sure what it would look like. Wind powered generators and farm land all around us. The forests seem to be young, small diameter trees, not too tall. They bailed hay in big blocks, 8x6x3 feet rectangles, probably the same amount of hay we have in a round bale just a different shape. The terrain is very flat, fields of hay, sunflowers and corn all around. Every few kilometers, there were small wind farms of about 15 to 20 turbines, overall a lot of wind powered generators. I also saw a lot of solar collectors on the roofs of houses and spread out in large fields.
Our train seats were in a small compartment which seated 6 people, I was surprised by this layout. The lights were off and it was hard to see where to sit and where to put the luggage. We got situated and it was OK. The train was so quiet, the people sitting near us were very quiet, several were dozing. Our seats were across from each other and we each had our iPads and were doing our journal entries, I bet other people thought us to be odd. The houses along the way were somewhat different, there were some with rounded roofs kind of like barns but they were houses. Most have steep roofs because they get a fair amount of snow here. There were several small communities where the houses were very small, maybe 10x20 each with a small yard maybe 20x20 total space for house and yard. All had fences or shrubs dividing them, it was very nice looking just so small and cluttered. Just before we arrived in Dresden, the terrain got to be rolling hills, very pretty. I really enjoyed the train trip today, it would have been nicer if we could have interacted a little more or had a little more privacy but it was quick, quiet and relaxing. Additionally, I got a lot written in my iPad journal.
When we arrived in Dresden , we stowed our luggage at the train station and got something to eat. We both had small pizzas and we sat outside the train station and ate and did a little people watching. We got on a tour bus and took a two hour tour of the city. There are a lot of impressive structures but there was a lot of East German/Soviet style buildings which were run down and unimpressive. There were a lot of grand looking buildings, churches, castles and government buildings, a long way from the destruction of WWII. Most of the city was destroyed in a two day “fire-bombing” raid in WWII, there is a lot of controversy about whether the raid was warranted that late in the war. We stayed in the Dresden Hilton, it sits on the edge of the main square where the big church's and the Castle sit. We were a three minute walk from the main sights. We walked around the square several times buying postcards and looking at the sights and shops. They had the most beautiful things, so simplistic but so beautiful.
We took some time and went into several churches and I am glad we did. One was big and very pretty, the other was big and incredibly beautiful it was the Dresden Frauenkirche . It was so beautiful but so simple, it its own way, it rivaled anything I have seen before...even the Vatican. When we visit churches I try to light a few candles in memory of people dear to me and I was able to do that many times on this trip. We only stayed one night in Dresden and had to catch a mid-day train to Prague. At the train station, we had a brat & potato lunch standing at the counter, it was good. We had to rush to get the train, I was trying to exchange money and the train arrived while I was gone, Elizabeth had to carry all the stuff to the train car. When we got to the cabin, there were two guys laid out in the seats we reserved. I asked them to move which they did, but it was very rushed and was not a good start to the trip to Prague. The train trip was two and a half hours, not as nice as the last one but it went quick.
TJ & EA
Our train seats were in a small compartment which seated 6 people, I was surprised by this layout. The lights were off and it was hard to see where to sit and where to put the luggage. We got situated and it was OK. The train was so quiet, the people sitting near us were very quiet, several were dozing. Our seats were across from each other and we each had our iPads and were doing our journal entries, I bet other people thought us to be odd. The houses along the way were somewhat different, there were some with rounded roofs kind of like barns but they were houses. Most have steep roofs because they get a fair amount of snow here. There were several small communities where the houses were very small, maybe 10x20 each with a small yard maybe 20x20 total space for house and yard. All had fences or shrubs dividing them, it was very nice looking just so small and cluttered. Just before we arrived in Dresden, the terrain got to be rolling hills, very pretty. I really enjoyed the train trip today, it would have been nicer if we could have interacted a little more or had a little more privacy but it was quick, quiet and relaxing. Additionally, I got a lot written in my iPad journal.
When we arrived in Dresden , we stowed our luggage at the train station and got something to eat. We both had small pizzas and we sat outside the train station and ate and did a little people watching. We got on a tour bus and took a two hour tour of the city. There are a lot of impressive structures but there was a lot of East German/Soviet style buildings which were run down and unimpressive. There were a lot of grand looking buildings, churches, castles and government buildings, a long way from the destruction of WWII. Most of the city was destroyed in a two day “fire-bombing” raid in WWII, there is a lot of controversy about whether the raid was warranted that late in the war. We stayed in the Dresden Hilton, it sits on the edge of the main square where the big church's and the Castle sit. We were a three minute walk from the main sights. We walked around the square several times buying postcards and looking at the sights and shops. They had the most beautiful things, so simplistic but so beautiful.
We took some time and went into several churches and I am glad we did. One was big and very pretty, the other was big and incredibly beautiful it was the Dresden Frauenkirche . It was so beautiful but so simple, it its own way, it rivaled anything I have seen before...even the Vatican. When we visit churches I try to light a few candles in memory of people dear to me and I was able to do that many times on this trip. We only stayed one night in Dresden and had to catch a mid-day train to Prague. At the train station, we had a brat & potato lunch standing at the counter, it was good. We had to rush to get the train, I was trying to exchange money and the train arrived while I was gone, Elizabeth had to carry all the stuff to the train car. When we got to the cabin, there were two guys laid out in the seats we reserved. I asked them to move which they did, but it was very rushed and was not a good start to the trip to Prague. The train trip was two and a half hours, not as nice as the last one but it went quick.
TJ & EA
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