Dresden to Meissen, 6/10/09

[an aside (and I loves me some asides!) : now writing quite a bit later, so it will take me a bit to get back up to speed on this blog; likewise, though, there is less chance of anyone on the trip reading it, so I can say what I want!]

As we were leaving Dresden we moved through the old city by way of little streets; it's amazing how Radec, the Czech bus driver, can get the huge tour bus through these tiny alleys. Parts of the city were really hammered and neglected, parts were beautifully restored. Typical (former) East Germany. Once we got out of the city, and it seemed to take forever, it was a beautiful drive along the river, past many vineyards and big old villas up on the steep hills.

So the stop this night was in Meissen, that's right, the same place as the famous porcelain comes from. It's right on the Elbe and very beautiful. Since the Elbe flows north, we are on the left bank (river left, natch!) and on the other bank is a huge old castle and the old city. The Hotel Ross was a very nice small family hotel, nice rooms and a restaurant. There was some confusion at the check-in because the office is tiny and there are a couple of different buildings, and we always want to make sure some of the adults are in the same building as the kids, so they don't go ape and rouse the town; but that got straightened out and we had a very nice room. Even though it's a noisy group of American kids, I'm sure this much business was something the owner was glad to have.

After a yummy dinner of bratwurst and beer (for me, anyway!) we left the restaurant and set off to see something of the city of Meissen. We hadn't really realized that there was an altstadt or Old City--even though of course there would be, duh!--and even less that there was a very impressive schloss and a cathedral overlooking the river. As we walked along and came around a curve, there was the huge castle and Dom, or cathedral, in the sunset, looking very picturesque. We had to cross a bridge to get over to the old part of the city, and as we are crossing here come a couple of Mormon missionaries. You can tell them from a mile (or should I say a kilometer) away, with their dark suits and little name tags, so the girls saw them and yelled, and amazingly enough it turned out they were from Salt Lake City. So naturally everyone got all excited and talked at once and called their parents (because the missionaries aren't supposed to do that), but I was thinking hey, I can see Mormon missionaries anytime, I'm here to see this city. So after a minute or two we (Becci and I) just kept walking. The rest eventually tore themselves away from the two boys and caught up with us as we got into the old city. It was all you could expect, tiny cobblestone streets, pretty little squares, little shops and cafes, very nice. The only thing open that late was the ubiquitous gelato shop, so we all got an ice cream and kept walking. There were some houses that had a roof with windows that looked exactly like eyes; don't know if they were going for that effect or what, but it was kind of eerie. At this point we ran into one of the Biddies, who said that she was "uncomfortable" with the city, as some drunks had approached her and put the moves on her! They must have been pretty drunk, I'm just sayin'. So she and the other biddy were on their way back to the hotel; their loss.

The Meissen Cathedral at sunset

So I was all for just schstrollink around and going back to the hotel, as it was getting dark, but Becci took the bit in her teeth and declared that no, we were going to climb all the way up the hill to look at the Dom and the Schloss. Allrighty then! Both were on a towering height overlooking the river and the city, just as you would suppose they would be; as it turned out this was the seat of the Wettin dynasty until they moved to Dresden, so it was a pretty important place. So we hiked up the cobblestone streets until we came to some steps that led up and up and up, so we followed them (despite a sign that said they were closed. They led up past houses perched on the hillside; we saw a girl sweeping out a wine bar and asked her where they led, and she pointed up the hill, probably thinking "stupid tourists!" Finally we arrived at the top and there was the old residence and the cathedral, draped in the inevitable scaffolding, and both, of course, closed. But they were still very impressive and the view from there, in the gathering gloom (and what write doesn't long to use expressions like that, eh?) was spectacular; the dark river, the lights of the old city, the hills. Too bad we didn't have time to stay there for longer. From there we took a different route back down to the old city, ending up in the Markdtplatz, or market square, where there was a church, the Frauenkirche, that dated from 1205. Even as late as it was, there seemed to be a concert going on--the doors were locked but we could see lights and even better, hear someone singing, rather incongruously, "Amazing Grace." Incongruous or not, it was very beautiful, even magical, to be standing in that ancient square and hearing those beautiful tones. Thence back to the hotel for a literal wake-up: no hot water.