The bus trip was shorter today - thank God! Only about 300km all up.
It's been a cold and wintry day today. It was freezing when we got off the bus. We stopped for a rest stop about 50 kms out of Dresden in Germany, and sad but true there no toilet tales to tell. The only thing I'm going to do at some stage thought is add up how much a weak bladder is costing me....!!! At 50c a pee, it all adds up!
Dresden was an interesting town, but it was so cold, that it was hard to get too enthused. (They are predicting snow in this area in the next little while!)
Catholic Cathedral DresdenAs I'm sure many of you know, Dresden is famous because the Allies bombed it to the ground, not long before the end of the war. In fact, because there was a great deal of wood in the town, they actually used inciendiary bombs to make sure it all burnt down.
Our guide had an interesting perspective on the morality or not of such a decision. He is of Austrian descent, so you would think he would be against any needless destruction. But he is very well versed in history, and he explained that the Russian army were pressing from the Eastern front and the Germans were retreating. Their place of retreat would have been Dresden, and by removing this from the Germans, it actually helped the Russians to continue their charge and ultimately "liberate" Germany a lot quicker.
Martin Luther StatueThe whole "old town" was almost totally razed, and as at Berlin and Warsaw it has been reconstructed. Phoenix rising from the ashes. The building have remarkabke character. Many of the bricks look black, and I was under the illusion this was left over from the bombing (because they used many of the bricks again - like a giant jigsaw puzzle, they put the buildings together again!) But apparently it was only from the= sandstone ageing. But on a freezing cold day, with a dark wintry sky, it certainly gave the city a bleak look.
Arrived in Prague and I'm going on a "Romantic Cruise " to see Prague by night.
More to come later. :)
Hope your 'Romantic Cruise' went well!!!!! Don't you reckon those guided tours are good value. I am presuming they are part of your whole tour.We loved them as they gave us a basic intro to the town/city we were in then we had a few hours to go and explore the highlights we had identified from the tour. Be grateful the toilets are 50c - they are the equivalent of $1.00 in Turkey!! How terrific you went to the site of the Berlin Wall - I reckon it is just awesome to go an experience the places you have seen on the news. Having said that new York is actually much like walking around in a sitcom!
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