We began the day with another panoramic bus tour of beautiful Dresden, but I could not stay awake. I started dozing off in the first 10 minutes of a three-hour tour. Leroy feared I would begin to snore so we bailed on the rest of the tour. (I only remember the tour guide telling us that milk chocolate was created first in Dresen in 1838 and contained donkey’s milk.) So when we made our first stop in the city center, we told our tour director we were leaving and set off on our own with Curtis and Linda. We only missed a museum tour that houses an extensive jewelry collection.
There is a magnificent church in the city center called Die Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) in the center of the square. The call to worship bells rang as we approached, and we realized that Mass was beginning. It has been difficult to find Catholic Masses since we left Poland. We found one scheduled in Polish at a different location, but it seemed our timing couldn’t have been better to be in the right place at the right time. We walked in, and we were blown away by the beauty inside. We waited patiently for the service to begin and even lit a candle for our (and your) prayer intentions. We were counting our blessings that the Holy Spirit had inspired us to get off the bus at that time and at that location. A trumpet accompanied the organ for the opening hymn, and I got chills. It was awesome.
The Holy Spirit has a tremendous sense of humor because it didn’t take long to realize some significant differences once Mass started. Everyone looked at us funny when we genuflected as we entered the pew. There was no sign of the cross, no kneelers, and the “priest” was not wearing vestments. And once we started paying attention, we realized there was no crucifix. Yes, you guessed it. The Church of Our Lady in Dresden, Germany, is now a Lutheran Church. (I thought it was ironic there was a giant statue of Martin Luther nearby, but I guess the joke was on me.) Come on, how many Lutheran churches in the US are called The Church of Our Lady? It seems odd to go from the most religious country in Europe (Poland) to the least religious country (Czech Republic) to the primarily Lutheran country (Germany) thanks to Martin Luther.
It is hard to believe that this city was flattened in World War II. They have done an exceptional job reconstructing the landmarks in their architectural form. They’ve even aged the stone to look like it’s ancient. I genuinely admire the commitment to rebuild instead of replace. It seems at home, we would build another Starbucks. Since Dresden was considered Europe’s capital of art and culture before World War II, many luxury homes surround the city. It is very green, with lush parks, beautiful bike paths, and gardens. Curtis took an e-bike excursion this afternoon and loved it.
After lunch, Leroy went for a walk while I napped. Later, we joined Stuart and Deb in the lounge for more stories and laughter. We’ve become quite popular, with many singles asking to sit with us. We’re the fun table, to be sure.
I have been receiving lots of kind feedback on these posts and emails. Thank you all for following along. It made the trip memorable. It’s easy to keep writing when you know someone is enjoying the content. Trying to gather, process and write my thoughts each night has become a cathartic practice.
I have had a few questions come up along the way.
- What’s the weather? BEAUTIFUL! I mean, really beautiful. It is unseasonably warm here after a mild winter, so everything is blooming too. I’ve never seen more beautiful daffodils, tulips, lilacs (more about those later) and cherry blossoms. The only rain we encountered was during the transfer from Warsaw to Krakow, and we were safe, warm and dry on the bus.
- What are the people like? We have been fortunate to be surrounded by great people. Our travel group is mainly made up of Americans. (Actually, I’ve only met Americans and one British couple.) Everyone has been great besides the irritating couple I told you about yesterday.
- The guides and staff at Viking have been extraordinary! It’s incredible how knowledgeable they are about the area and its history. Well, most of them. I have disagreed with them a few times, but no one is surprised by this revelation.
- The locals are unique in each location we visit. I thought the Polish in Warsaw were a little shy and even avoiding. They rarely made eye contact and seemed intimidated. But the Poles in Krakow were different. They didn’t pay much attention to us at all. They were much more relaxed and engaging. Prague was too full of tourists to evaluate. The staff of the hotel and restaurants were kind, but I guess they have to be. We just got to Germany, so I don’t have an opinion yet, but I will tell you that I found the Frankfurt Airport staff incredibly intimidating. I’m unsure if I told the story, but the police officer berated a young (early teen) child for taking a photo. Of course, the harshness of their language doesn’t help.
- How is the food? We haven’t had a bad meal, but there are some we’ve enjoyed more than others. We’ve only been in Germany for one day, and I can already tell you this is my least favorite. But there is always something to eat, and the food at the hotels and on the ship has been excellent. I am finding it extremely difficult to find cookies. There are many bakeries and sweet shops in each country, but no cookies. (And everyone knows how much I like my cookies!)
