When in Berlin Week 6: Dresden Days

July 8

This week was our trip to Dresden. After we arrived, dropped our bags off at the hotel and got some lunch (at a Chinese restaurant with some delicious fried rice), we went on a walking tour of the old town, including this cathedral built by King August III.

Afterwards, we checked into our rooms. I shared a room with Emma and Seiler. This was a nice, spacious room, too. It had actual bedrooms. Here's a picture of mine.

That evening, we went on a cruise down the Elbe River. Here's the view as we sailed away.

And here's the picture of the party on board!

July 9

Saturday was full of activities! First, we climbed to the top of the tower in the Frauenkirche. Here's a picture of the view!

And, of course, I found our hotel.

Next, we went to the porcelain museum at Zwinger Palace. Here is an arrangement of Japanese Imari style porcelain.

For lunch, we went to the famous Dresden 1900 restaurant. I got the schnitzel and fries, and you bet I enjoyed it!

In the afternoon, we took a tour of the vault of the royal palace. Pictures weren't allowed inside, so enjoy this lovely picture of the outside.

However, the highlight of the day was in the evening when we went to see Aida at the Dresden Semperoper. I had a wonderful view of the stage.

Here's a picture of me and my rowmates in our nice clothes.

So we got through the first half of the opera, go to intermission, come back, and then...

June 10

Sunday was a rather uneventful day. The main thing that happened was taking the train back to Berlin. The special part about this train: it had compartments!

In other news, I went to dinner at Ali Baba Bistro again, and I'm beginning to think the stuff I called "white barbecue sauce" is actually mayonnaise.

July 11

Monday's afternoon activity was going to the Reichstag building. Here's a picture I got of the outside.

The tour included looking at some walls with graffiti left on them by Russian soldiers who took over Berlin in 1945.

We went to the upper level, where we got a chance to look in on the main hall. (That's not the parliament. Those are visitors. The real parliament was on vacation.)

We also got to sit in one of the visitors' balconies.

Last, we took a trip to the top of the dome.

June 12

Today's afternoon activity was going to be a trip to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp, but I missed the train, so instead I spent the afternoon getting things done such as laundry.

That evening, we went to dinner at Weihenstephan restaurant. This time, however, I had a sip of Slaten's Helles beer. It felt like a punch to the tongue.

June 13

Here's a picture of this week's newsletter with pictures from Dresden and the Charlottenburg palace.

The afternoon activity for today was going to be a BBQ at the Tiergarten, but it got cancelled, so I used that time to mail a present to my good friend, Benjamin Vau.

June 14

This afternoon, we went to the Topography of Terror. First, we checked out the outdoor exhibit, which was about the history of propaganda in Nazi and Communist Germany. This sign in front of the Berlin Wall calls it the "wall of shame."

Inside the building is a model of the government district in Berlin showing where the Nazi government buildings were.

On the way there and back, I passed this.

Once I got back, I got to reading my history textbook and found this.

Bonus stuff

This week, I got a question in my fanmail about how I like living in a big city. To be honest, I'm really enjoying it. I like the vibe of it, and it's easy to walk places, and when it's too long of a walk, I can figure out a way to get there by public transportation. For afternoon activities, we have Andre to guide us, but I've also been able to go places on my own. For example, when I went to Asiana Village with Merle, I found that it was close to Wittenau station. I could get there by taking the S3, 5, 7, or 9 to Friedrichstrasse and then taking the S1 all the way out to Wittenau. However, the Hackescher Markt S-bahn station is closed for construction until the after the end of our trip, so that's not really useful anymore. The 100 bus line and Unter den Linden station have been my friends as of late.

There's only a week left of my trip. Stay tuned to see how it turns out!