Dresden to Berlin

These are the last pictures I took in Germany. They're just of the apartment I was staying in at the time. I found it strange, but still cool, that they had a male and female bathroom. Apparently this was once a commercial space. You can't really see them well from this picture, but those two doors that are closed in the distance..those are the male and female bathrooms. :)



And this is the door to the room I was staying. So the last picture I took in Germany was of a British poster. :P

Dresden

This is the last day of my trip that I really took pictures, though I actually left on the 29th. The 28th I slept in very very late from having gone out until 5:30 or so in the morning the night before. Then of course I had to pack and bike to the train station and somehow end up in Berlin. When I arrived in Berlin it was already getting dark, so I biked to the hotel, dropped off bags, went back out to buy a few things and have dinner, and then the next morning I packed and headed straight for the airport.

So here is Dresden again..I didn't take as many pictures as I did the day before, but that's because I had a bike accident (nothing serious) and had to go out of my way to find a bike shop before exploring more. I also made it "home" relatively early because I wasn't that familiar with the area I was staying in and I feared I would get lost finding my way. I did get lost of course, but not nearly as bad as the many times I found myself lost in Berlin.

So now on with the photo part of the journal. :)

I first biked over the Elbe River (I had stayed on the other side the night before). I took pictures of Sächsische Staatskanzlei (Saxon State Office) and the Finanzministerium (Ministry of Finance) from across the river, as well as some buildings on the side of the river I was on.



Then I started to bike back to the place I was the night before.



Here is the Semperoper (Semper Opera House) near the Zwinger.



And then looking across the street toward the Hofkirche and Residenzschloss.



This is around the time I had the bike accident, but I still decided to take a look at the Zwinger since there was daylight now.





After this I walked/sorta biked around looking for a bike shop. I finally found a shop which wasn't a bike shop, but they happened to be able to help me (yay!).

I was near the Neues Rathaus (New Town Hall) now, so I took a picture of the statue out front.



And then biked back to the Neumarkt (New Market) which is where Frauenkirche is.



I took the same route, following the road past the Fürstenzug.



And ended up back at the Hofkirche. A pianist was playing out in the open..



After taking a picture of the buildings along the Elbe, I decided it was time to head back to where I was staying.



I'd been told about this place called Kunsthofpassage which was a courtyard with a fountain and a lot of neat shops. I stopped by one called "Feng Shui Haus" to buy a puzzle someone told me was called "vier gewinnt" (Connect Four). The box called it Tic Tac Toe, but it's not like the original Tic Tac Toe, it's more like 3D Connect Four. Anyway.. I took some pictures of the courtyard space after eating a sandwich I'd picked up at a cafe.



That's the end of the photo adventures of today. :)

Prague, Czech Republic and Dresden, Germany

This may be the longest post of all during my trip to Germany. It was a beautiful day and I visited two beautiful cities. The only pause from taking pictures was during the train ride from Prague to Dresden at some point in the afternoon.

This first picture was taken in the hotel I stayed at. As you can see the exit is down the stairs, so they have this little man running and an arrow for you to follow. I will state that I never once ran down those stairs. :(



Here's where the pictures from the day before seem to magically reappear as clearer images. :) I decided to take a similar route that I took the day before, since it had been a bad day to take pictures and this day was gorgeous.

Again...Here is the Prašná brána (Powder Tower) to the left of the Obecni dum II (Municipal House).



And the restaurant which is no longer viewable because I turned my camera up slightly higher. If you compare images you'll see what I mean!

First picture from yesterdays post, second of today.



And again as well, Old Town Square. The Jan Hus Monument is in the 4th picture.



And the Astronomical Clock..



Now it was time to cross the bride to Prague Castle again.

The Prague Metronome is in the center in the distance.



Two images of Prague Castle with slightly different lighting. :)



Straka Academy



A War Memorial



Steps up to the castle. I had my bike since I had to check out of my hotel, so I didn't climb up this way.



I followed a narrow road up instead.



Since it was a different way of going up, I found myelf slightly lost but continued going forward until I saw a gate. I guess I had found The Strahov Monastery.



And beside the Monastery, here is the Brewery and Restaurant St. Norbert, and the Muzeum Miniatur (Museum of Miniatures).



More views from the Monastery.



I started to walk towards Prague Castle now that I knew where I was.

Here is the Loreta (Loreto Palace).



Buildings along Loretánská.



The Former Hradcany Town Hall



The Svancenbersky palac (Schwarzenberg Palace)



The Šternberský Palác (National Gallery - Sternberg Palace)



Prague Castle



A view of the city.




I went back down the stairs..carefully since I had my bike. Here's an interesting bar/restaurant at the bottom.



More pictures of the area before I headed to Charles Bridge somewhat accidentally.



This is pretty much the entrance on the Prague Castle side to Charles Bridge. I hadn't come this way last time with the tour guide, we climbed some stairs nearby though. I'm glad I found this way so I didn't have to carry my bike up the stairs.



When I crossed the bridge I decided to get some pictures of Prague Castle from across the river.



A picture of the Charles IV Statue near the end of the Charles Bridge.



Týn (Church of Our Lady before Tyn)



I decided it would be a good idea to head to the train station at this point, so these next pictures were when I arrived in Dresden.

Upon arriving, I knew I had to find my way into the city to find an internet cafe so I knew where I was staying. I followed a road until I saw a festival to my left. After walking through that and checking out what people were selling, I continued forward. I was pretty close to some big buildings and what seemed like a town center, so I headed into them.

First I saw the Dresdner Rathausturm (Dresden Townhall Tower).



And then the Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) and the surrounding area. This church was destroyed in World War II and the exterior reconstruction wasn't complete until 2004, a year before the interior was finished. Interesting to note that they used a lot of the same materials and tried to rebuild with skilled workers so that they'd be as close to the originals as possible.





And The Academy of Arts which houses the College of Fine Arts.



Then I saw the Fürstenzug (Procession of Princes), and decided to follow it down the street.



I was in awe as I came to a square with more interesting buildings. I saw to the right the Elbe River.



The Hofkirche (Church of the Court)



And the Hofkirche with the Residenzschloss (Dresden Castle) to the right.



Here is a statue of King John of Saxony in the Theaterplatz.



And then I made my way to the Zwinger Palace (the outer ward of a concentric castle).



Here are some pictures of one of the entrances to Zwinger Palace and the stairs going up to the second level.



Though everything was beautiful every direction I turned, I knew I had to find a place to stay before it got completely dark, so I finished taking pictures for the evening.