 |
| my red, white and blue yogurt |
 |
| my fries |
 |
| everyone digging in at the 4th of July party |
The next day was Thursday... FIeld Trip! This week the trip was to Freiburg! The first thing we did in Freiburg was walk about a half hour to a silver mine. They warned me that it would be tight and if you get claustrophobic you shouldn't go down. I wasn't about to skip out on the opportunity of going in a silver mine though. It was very tight in some places, and I felt like crap for the majority of the time we were down there. However, it was a great experience, and even though I felt sick, it was one of my favorite parts of the trip so far!
 |
| me in my mining gear |
 |
| 6 of us in the small elevator |
 |
| the silver mine |
After lunch we walked around the original city walls of the medieval town of Freiberg.
Then we visited the town square...
And got ready for our tour of the cathedral. Unfortunately, we could not take pictures in the cathedral, but it was stunning! It housed 2 of Silbermann's famous organs, and we got to hear one of the most elaborate organs in the world play. After the cathedral tour we went to a little Cafe along a lake. We were served coffee (delicious) and cake (pretty good). After a few bites of the cake, I gave it to Sammi, who gladly accepted the second piece of cake!
 |
| original fortress |
 |
| outside of the cathedral in Freiberg |
 |
| coffee and cake |
When we got back to Dresden, we got caught in a torrential downpour! Most of us were unprepared (no rain coat or umbrella) I was soaked all the awl through. It literally looked like I jumped into a lake with all my clothes on!
 |
| Me and Becca after getting caught in the storm! |
After drying off, Me, Sammi and Elaina went to a GDR style bar and listened to one of the German's sister's school band project. Basically, there were five groups of music majors that were put in a band and given a certain type of music to play. There was reggae, rock, etc. Most of the songs were in English (Thunderstruck, Total Eclipse of the Heart, Rolling in the deep, etc.) and there was even a Japanese song and a few German songs thrown in. It was a fun, but hot and smoky time. (I do miss American air conditioning!)
 |
| band in bar |
The next morning we didn't have class because we all went on a trip to the Altmeister gallery. This gallery houses some old, famous painting. Such as the Sistine Madonna (famous angels).
 |
| the sistine Madonna angels |
After that, a group of us went to Pillnitz. We stopped for lunch at a Biergarten. Afterlunch we were waiting for our bus. It said 8 minutes until the bus came, so we all decided to look around a few shops. I told Sammi I was going around the corner real quick to purchase some postcards. When I got bad not even 5 minutes later everybody was gone. I figured they were in the shop across the street. Surely they wouldn't have left me? A few minutes later I see Sammi and JEremy running down the street. Immediately after I left to get the postcards, the bus had come, and they all got on and forgot that I wasn't there until the bus started moving. Sammi and Jeremy ran back after the next stop- probably a good mile down the street. It was a funny situation... at least they came back for me!
We spent the afternoon in Pillnitz, a place for the royal court. There were beautiful gardens and buildings.
 |
| Gondola at Pillnitz |
 |
| 800 year old tree that has a movable greenhouse to protect it in the winter... |
After we got back from Pillnitz, I called it a night. We were going hiking the next day in Saxon Switzerland.
No, it's not Switzerland. Germany has a habit of calling beautiful, hilly places after Switzerland (even though it is nowhere hilly as Switzerland really is). I have to say that some of the hills were intense... but it was some of the most gorgeous views I have ever seen!
The famous bridge that it is know for was a bit of a disappointment. After we hiked 2+ hours to get there, there was old ladies in high heels and white pants who took a tour bus up. It was a major tourist trap... but it was beautiful. The best part of the trip was walking down (thank god) rocky steps between rock walls and small waterfalls. That is pretty close to what heaven must look like.
We decided to walk to Köningstein, which Jeremy tracked later at 17 Km from where we were. That doesn't include the curvy trails we took and the altitude changes. To make a long story short... we walked a lot! But it was fun. In Köningstein we stopped at a cafe. I got Röte Grütze (a traditional dessert with cream, ice-cream, berries, and more cream.) It was delicious.
 |
| Köningstein Fortress |
 |
| Röte Grütze |
After a successful day of hiking, we got back and I got ready to go to the Volkwagon factory picnic because the famous Saxony Orchestra was playing their las concert for the summer. They are world renown, and it was my last chance to see them, so why not? Unfortunately, the tickets were sold out, but we could still see and hear perfectly outside the gate!
The next day was pretty relaxing. We went to the Hygeine museum (which is basically a science museum) and then relaxed for the rest of the day. Even though it may sound like I relax a lot, I really don't. I hardly sleep at all here. I'll sleep when I get back to America!
Monday and Tuesday were pretty boring with classes and homework dictating most of the day.
On Wednesday after our first test, a few of us went to an art exhibit that has artists from both Dresden and Columbus featured. The gallery is actually going to be in Columbus this fall, so potentially I have the opportunity to see the same art show in two different cities! After that we went to Neustadt and explored. We found a cool market and got some Dresden cake. I though it was delicious... others did not like it so much. Then we went back to the dorm for a while.
 |
| sign that explains how the art exhibit is going to be in the Urban Arts space in Cbus this fall! |
 |
| Golden Statue of August the Strong in Neustadt |
That night the entire group (minus one person) went to a bar with Kai to watch the all start baseball game. I ordered a Piña Colado (good, but not as good as the one I had in Ecuador last year!)
When the game was over a few of us went to a bar and played pool. I watched, but it was still fun!
 |
| walking over a bridge to get back to our dorm |
We got back at 1:30 in the morning... and we had to leave the dorm by 8 the next morning to get on the bus to go to Moritzburg!
The Moritzburg castle was built as a hunting palace for the stony court. On the grounds there is a lake with a lighthouse to reenact sea battles, and plenty of land to release animals and "club a tree and shoot at shit" -Dr. Spencer.
Inside the palace (no pictures unfortunately) there were hundreds of metal animal heads with real antlers displayed. The creepiest part about the castle was the leather wallpaper!
After the palace tour, we visited a small art museum at the old house of artist Kathe Kollwitz. Then we went to the railroad and rode on a steam train. I have no idea why riding the steam train was as fun as it was, but we all had a blast!
Next we toured an old winery and saw some typical romantic style architecture. Then we climbed the Jahresteppe (year step). THis is a staircase that goes up the side of the vineyard's hill to a beautiful view overlooking Dresden. It had 365 steps.
 |
| the winery |
 |
| romantic style celling |
 |
| the Jahresteppe |
The view was beautiful!
On our way back we got caught in the rain (storms every afternoon like clockwork!) We went bak to the dorm and worked on homework for the next day.
Friday we had a role pay where we had to ask for directions in German. I can hardly understand directions in English... how am I supposed to remember German directions? After we wee finished with class for the weekend, a group of us went to visit the romanticism museum. It was a small museum on the top floor of another shop, and it took us a good 45 minutes to find it.
Later that night a few of us went to a music festival in the park. We stopped at the store grabbed some beer (or in my case wine) and snacks and just hung out in the park for a few hours.
The next morning we went to see about getting tickets for Beauty and the Beast at the Semper Opera. The tickets, however, where 71 Euros! We decided we will just take a tour of the building. We stopped at a few souvenir shops and I got some souvenirs for people :)
That night we went to some sort of circus-like art show. We were too cheap to pay for a show, so we went to a biergarten and drank and talked with a few Germans. I had a gin with cranberry juice (delicious!)
After we downed our drinks a few of us went to KFC (JEremy needed his chicken) and then we met back in Sammi and Elaina's room and played German Apples to Apples. I guess that is one way to learn German vocabulary. It was a fun night!
 |
| the adjective was American... funny that the German won this round |
Sunday was homework and laundry day! We also now officially have our bus booked for Prague in 2 weeks!
Today, monday, we had both the language class and Dr. Spencer's class. Planning on going to the store tonight (have been living on bread for the past 2 days). Should be an opportunity to catch up on some much needed sleep!
This Thursday we are going to Berlin for 4 days! THis week also marks the halfway mark of the trip. Where has the time been going?
No comments:
Post a Comment