The Running of the Americans... and Two Czechs

          After being in the Czech Republic for a few weeks we finally went on a day trip to Dresden, Germany. Dresden is relatively new because of the bombing that took out nearly all of the city. The only thing that was left standing was the church, and even that had to be taken down because they feared it was no longer stable. You can see the darkened old stones of the church mixed with the newer brighter ones and the one tower that was strong enough to be left standing. We weren't able to go inside the church itself but we were allowed to climb to the top. These people over here have a mad obsession with stairs. Of course the work out to get to the top was great and the view was absolutely amazing. I also have to mention that earlier in the day I had the wonderful opportunity to enjoy a delicious and traditional apple strudel with ice cream. Be jealous.

The greatest story that I can tell you from my experience in Dresden can only be referred to as “The Running of the Americans (And Two Czechs).” Jan and Martin somehow mixed up the departure times for our train back to Prague, so instead of our ride home leaving at 4:20 as the expected, it was actually leaving at 4:06. Now the time that we found out about this little tidbit was around 3:58. We were on the other side of the city. At first we started off at a brisk walk, Martin and Jan walk crazy fast anyways so we thought at the speed we were going it would be just fine. After a block or two we saw them pick up the pace and finally break out into a run. When you see these guys run you know things have gone from bad to worse and quickly escalates to a level you don’t ever really want to reach. So of course we all take off like mad men. Running through street lights (which is a big no-no in Germany), barging into a break dancing battle, jumping over benches and small dogs alike. I might add that I was wearing a dress and combat boots that day so I am sure I was an entertaining sight to behold. At the moment I am still waiting for a video to be uploaded that shows the crazy American’s running through the streets of Dresden like the hounds of hell have been set on our tails. And for all of our hard work we missed our train by one minute. BY ONE MINUTE! So now we had an extra two hours to sit around, drink a German beer and eat food. Needless to say I was pretty okay with the change of plans J.

Here is one of the side streets that is just off the main square where the church is. You can see the top of it just over the buildings. P.S I climbed to the top of that tower!

I don't really know what this building was because a few of us got a little lost on our tour but I thought it was cool so I took a picture in front of it. Yup, me being a total tourist.

And here it is again! Why don't we build things like this back home? I would be waaay more proud to have this in my country rather than those ugly things they call skyscrapers. 

This was the art museum that a few of us went to. It used to be a "Chateau". In other words, it had more room than I would know what to do with. It was nice to just wander around and admire the art work though. I was in my happy place that afternoon :)

Now this ladies and gentlemen was my "lunch." That delicious German Apple Strudel with ice cream. I have said that I love the food in Europe yet? Because I do. I really, really, really do. Yummm.

Since the city was bombed to near nothingness the people who survived or moved here decided to rebuild on top of the rubble and what was left. Most of the time construction is started there is a chance of finding remainders of the old city like in this picture. When Dresden was rebuilt they tried to reconstruct it as it was before the war using whatever photographs they can find. So although the city itself is new, the architectural styles date back far longer than the reconstruction period.

I thought this was adorable and had to post it! They take traffic and pedestrian laws very seriously in Germany and yet they have these adorable people as their stop and go cross walk signs. How cute!

Ok so they have these "bubble people" all over! And yes I am 22 years old and I still like to play with giant bubbles. You wish you were as cool as me.

                                            

And here is the church! Notice the sliver of dark stones on the far left of the structure. That is the only part of the church they left standing. All of the dark spots along the walls are stones that the builders reused from the old church when they rebuilt it.

This is a view of the choir room in the upper part of the church. The whole in the middle allows the sound to travel down into the church proper and believe me when I say it is a very long way down. At this point we were about 13 floors up. I would absolutely love to have heard a choir sing in this place, the sound must be incredible.

Kait and I on top of the church!

There were some parts of the walls on our way up to the top that were exposed to the bricks underneath. For some reason I thought this was cool and I don't know if it was just a way for them to show their work or some symbolism. In my mind I took it as a reminder and a symbol of strength. That even though the church and city were destroyed, the people here are resilient and will not just disappear. Ok, fortune cookie moment over.

The church from the square with the one and only Martin Luther looking on.