MEISSEN AND DRESDEN

Sailed overnight and arrived in Meissen  in the morning.  Meissen is known for its beautiful porcelain since the early 1700’s.  We had a tour of the factory, the museum and the outlet store.  The tour was very interesting because we saw different stages in the production of the art work by different artisans doing their specialty.  It is very precise work, hence the expensive price.  As beautiful as it was I didn’t buy any because for me it would just be another knickknack gathering dust on my shelf.

After touring the factory we walked around the town square.  I bought a light weight scarf in a men’s store.  I’ll get more use out of that than I will a porcelain figurine.  We returned to the boat and sailed to Dresden.

We arrived in Dresden after lunch and had a fantastic tour of the city.  Dresden is a place that is definitely worth a return visit.  Dresden was 90% destroyed in the bombing raids of Feb. 1945.  The rebuilding effort is phenomenal.  We saw the cathedral, the museum, the opera house, the town square etc.  We met the mother of a friend of Ladee’s at a café in the town square across from the cathedral.  I had white asparagus with hollandaise sauce.  This area of Germany is famous for white asparagus and they are only in season for a very short time.  They were delicious.  Of course I also had liquid bread (local beer).  We then walked back to the ship and again had a wonderful dinner.     

 All the symbols over the years for Meissen Porcelain.

 A winery tucked away in a corner of the town square.

A colorful bush in the town square.

 Interesting buildings.

 Castle on the river.  Taken from the boat.

 The cathedral in Dresden.  To read and see pictures of it before the reconstruction click here  Note that in the picture of the destroyed cathedral, the statue of Martin Luther appears to be untouched.

 The main altar of the cathedral.

The Opera house

 Zwinger Palace.  These pictures are of the palace.  A beautiful place to sit and relax.

 A section of the palace not yet completely restored.

 To the right of the above picture.  Fully restored.

A communist mural on the Palace of Culture building in Dresden.  This was built by the GDR in 1969 and is used as a concert hall.

AN AFTERNOON IN TORGAU

After Wittenberg we went on to Torgau.  We walked around the city, saw the church where Martin Luther's wife Katharina von Bora is buried, walked through the castle-Schloss Hartenfels  and on to the memorial of where the American and Russian troops met at the end of World War ll.  Walked back to the boat for dinner.   

 Street scenes of Torgau.

                                       
This building still has the look it had during the East German era.

 I think this is Russian.  I don't know if it is a sign or graffiti.

 Street scene

 Luther's wife's grave.

 Photo op

 Entrance to the Castle.

 Coat of arms of the original owner of the castle click here to read more about Torgau and the castle

 Monument to the meeting of U.S. and Russian troops.

PHOTO OPS AROUND WITTENBERG

As we walked through the town to the church where Luther preached, here is some of the scenery along the way.

 From Martin Luther's courtyard.

 Main Street

 Interesting bycycle rack.

 On the town square

An interesting tree near Luther's church.

MARTIN LUTHER'S HOUSE WITTENBERG

This morning was another great breakfast, followed by a lecture by an expert on Luther. Very, very informative.

Our excursion this day was to Wittenberg and Torgau. I now have a new appreciation for Martin Luther. We toured his house which was the former monastery that he lived in when he first was assigned to Wittenberg. His house is now a museum and has an original Bible printed back in the 1500’s. We toured the cathedral where he preached which is still in use for religious services. We also saw the famous church where he nailed his 95 theses to the door. The door is now iron. It’s the most photographed door in the world. It’s a wonderful town that definitely needs more exploring.

After Wittenberg we took the bus to Torgau. This was the royal seat of the Saxon kings. It is also the place where the American army and the Russian army met at the end of WWll.

We walked back to the boat, had a wonderful dinner and went to bed.

Martin Luther's house.

 The original floor of the house dating back to the late 1400's.  Luther lived there first as a monk and then after he married and raised a family.

Luther's death portrait.  Shows that he didn't turn into the monster that rumors said he did.

Luther's Bible

Statue of Luther's wife Katharina von Bora in a courtyard outside the house.

MAGDEBURG EXCURSION

Started today with a great breakfast and a leisurely morning. We sailed to Magdeburg and docked around 1:30.

This is a medieval town university town that is over 1,000 years old. Its main claim to fame is the cathedral. The town was 90 per cent destroyed in the winter of 1945 because of its mechanical engineering industry. The rebuilding effort is tremendous. Nothing was really done under the GDR, so it has only been since reunification in 1989 that progress has been made.

After the tour we met the boat in Para , had a wonderful dinner and sailed throught he night to our next port of call Wittenberg.

Guess who enjoying cruising on the Elbe.

Friedensreich Hundertwasser is the architech of this building.  click here for more info on Friedensreich Hunderwasser  The bbiulding is designed to go with the flow of nature.  Very unusual with trees growing out of it.  The grounds around the building are uneven.  It has shops and a cafe on the ground floor, there are business offices in it and also apartments.  If I lived in Magdeburg I would live in this building.

Inside of the cathedral.  Completely rebuilt after WWll.

I like this roof.  It's saying "Here's looking at you".

THE POTSDAM CONFERENCE

The Potsdam conference was a meeting of Truman, Churchill and Stalin held in 1945. It determined the borders for post war Europe and decided the fate of Germany. It was held in Cecilienhof Palace in Potsdam. The palace and the grounds are beautiful.

Stalin's desk in the palace. He had a window on either side and a door near by. He was afraid of an assassination attempt.

You've heard of King Arthur's round table, well this is the Potsdam conference round table. Everyone is equal.

A picture of all the participants in the conference.

Allied office in the palace.

Allied office in the palace.

Allied office in the palace.

The Red Star garden. Potsdam was in Russian occupied territory. Hence the red star.

Explanation in four languages.

These next two photos are each a half of the palace as seen from the front. I couldn't get it into one picture.

Second half

Interesting foot note. Each ally had there own entrance and exit to the palace. This was done to maintain equality. God forbid two delagations show up at the front door at the same time. Who defers to whom?? That would have been the question.