Dresden, Germany: Day 1

Today was a long day!! Woke up and grabbed a bite to eat at the hotels buffet. I forgot how fresh and DELICIOUS the bread is in Europe... how can I ever eat bread again when I go back home?! Haha. Got ready for the day and headed down to Starbucks in the airport to meet Inka and her daughter who she was dropping off for a flight to England. I will be staying with Inka and her husband Thomas and family in Mainz next week before I fly home. Very nice family! And now at least I will know who to look for when I get off the train!

Packed up and headed to the train station for the 5 hour ride to Dresden. I don't remember much from the ride since I slept most of it (sooo tired from jet lag), but at least I was able to fit in a cappuccino when I woke up!

Checked into the hotel and decided to go explore the town!! Much of the city has been rebuilt since World War II in the 1940's. Dresden was completely bombed and demolished as a result of the war. Speaking of war, I was just joking as I got off the train about how many Americans pretend to be Canadians when travelling abroad, and when we got in the taxi our cab driver asked where we were from, and we told him USA only to find out he is from Iraq and was just visiting his home 10 days ago and when we asked if things were getting better he said no- that they were getting worse and then he went on a rant about President Bush. And THIS ladies and gentlemen is why you lie and say you're canadian!!!

Anyway, the old town of Dresden is absolutely gorgeous!! Like many parts of Europe, the city center is closed to automobile traffic, and the streets were beautiful cobblestone. I had sächsischer sauerbrauten for dinner, as recommended to me by the guy I sat next to on the plane. It was yummy!! Tender beef and dumplings with a cabbage sauerkraut. Yum!!

Of course, no good meal is complete without dessert, so I tried the wachauer marillenknödel. It was basically apricot dumplings with fresh cream and vanilla ice cream. YUM!! I love how the desserts over here are not as sugary as the US. It hit the spot.

Oh, and we also had the most beautiful view during dinner of Frauenkirche- a Lutheran church right in the heart of the city. It was originally Catholic and built in 1745, however was mostly demolished during the war in 1945. They rebuilt the church from 1992-2005. It is gorgeous! I plan on making the journey to the top tomorrow!! It is bizarre to think my great-grandpa walked these very same streets more than 100 years ago. He was born in Dresden in 1887 and moved to America in 1911. Who knows- he may have attended this exact church.

To walk off the meal, we took a stroll down to the river. We walked down a beautiful street with lots of cafe's and restaurants. It was like off a movie! I think I might have to have some dinner down there tomorrow. I am on the hunt for some good spaetzle! I just loved the feel of this street... it was beautiful and made me not want to leave.

Right past this street was the river, which I couldn't get a great picture off on my phone because the sun was setting quickly. But there was all kinds of bridges and boat cruises, and we could see the museum across the river! I took a picture of yet another church at sunset, but this picture just does not give justice to its beauty and grandness!!

As we stood along the river we had about 7 or so police vans approaching the center of town. We could see people marching with signs and lots of unified chants. We had noticed at the train station a LOT of police officers, and the cab driver mentioned there was a soccer game tonight, so that's what we figured all the cops were there for. But as they got closer we realized it was a political protest. It was a little scary at first, and we made sure to avoid the protesters who were marching to the town center, but as we got closer they were using microphones and thankfully I had Tim with me who speaks fluent German and could translate. Basically, the election in Germany is tomorrow, and this group was voicing their opinion about the countries current politics. Tim made it sound like they have a more Marxist view. It was very interesting to see, and Tim explained the peoples right to demonstrate and other aspects of German rights.

Making our way back to the hotel, we couldn't help but notice the Canadian Steakhouse down the street. Had to take a picture for Tim's wife- Dawn, who is from Toronto.

Finished off the night at Starbucks, wrote in a few postcards,  and got ready for bed. Another great day in Germany is in the books! One more day in Dresden for me, then I am off to Austria. Tim is staying in Dresden for his conference, so soon I will be all on my own! Good thing he has been teaching me my German basics!