9/13 After sleeping in until 9am, I was ready to start my day. I had slept all the way through the night with no challenges. (I sometimes have a hard time falling asleep/staying asleep in new places, but that wasn't the case this night, or at any point of my trip which I am grateful for.) Phil and his wife, Anna set a bowl of assorted breads with assorted jams/spreads, and Phil made white breakfast sausages which he encouraged me to dip in sweet mustard, and I enjoyed it. Anna also made me a coffee. Phil was in between jobs so he had time to show me around during the day which I was grateful for. Anna had been home Monday and Tuesday recovering from a cold and taught from home that day (Wednesday). She works as an art teacher. After breakfast I got my stuff I needed ready for the day. Our first stop would be Dresden's Old Town, which had Dresden's fanciest/most historical buildings including the women's church, and Dresden Castle.
I kept finding it amazing how one of the biggest cities in Germany could be so quiet and peaceful. You would never find that in America's biggest cities. People would be talking louder, you would hear cars driving past and beeping their horns, as well as emergency vehicle sirens, but not here. Europe has less need for cars in general, and emergency vehicles are able to get places quickly without using their sirens for the most part. I suspect crime is more easily contained in cities with buildings not so spaced out, and maybe that's what keeps the crime rates lower as well.
We took the public transit bus to the historical part of town. We first stopped at the Dresden Castle which was a former royal palace that held royal families for hundreds of years. There's a whole timeline painted as a mural of all the people who had been royalty there. There was also another palace-looking building that I later found out was called "The Zwinger" It would be cool to know the stories behind these buildings, but it was nice enough just looking at them. There was so much to look at. We did end up coming upon an English speaking tour that we would later find out was free that we could have joined. The tour guide also had seemed entertaining.
After looking around the palaces we went into a cathedral called Dresden Frauenkirche. It was filled with gold detailing and just so many more intricate details. Luckily we had come right before they had a mini organ concert so we came back to hear it. The organ being played had been saved during a World War II bombing. A lot of the historical buildings are blackened. This is due to the Dresden bombing during World War II. Parts of the buildings were reconstructed, but they left the blackened parts. There was a Memorial to commemorate the bombing in Dresden as well. Phil ended up falling asleep for a bit of the organ concert. It's crazy how loud/boisterous music can feel so calming. During parts of the trip Phil would comment on the tiredness he was feeling, and for the most part I surprisingly felt pretty good. Must have gotten hit with some secondhand jetlag.
We stopped at a tiny vendor after the concert for icecream which tasted like Culver's custard, and then were hoping to go up to the viewing tower on top of the ladies church, but it was closed that particular day for construction. The viewing tower let's you look out at all of Dresden from above. While walking to the next destination we came upon a tiny soup restaurant and took it outside to eat for lunch. Phil had to translate the menu of the three different soups and I had a curry soup with cauliflower rice, and Phil had a red lentil soup. The soup was delicious. It was nice over the few days giving each other updates on our lives and on Living Light in general and the people there and how they were doing, and just learning even more about each other.
After lunch we sat by the river and watched the geese nearby. Phil said how he never wants to live in a place without some sort of body of water to enjoy. (I know I'm am very grateful to live by Lake Michigan). After enjoying the weather and the calmness of the water we walked over a bridge to where the rich part of Dresden is. It gave off Los Angeles vibes. The rich part of Dresden has houses on bluffs overlooking the city. There is also a restaurant at the top of the bluffs where you can look down at Dresden while you eat. We took a tram to the top of the bluffs near the restaurant, where we looked out onto the city. On the way up to the top I asked the most important question "Why haven't I seen a German Shepherd yet?". Phil said that since most people in Dresden live in apartments that German Shepherds were more common in the countryside. I ended up seeing one later that day while we were walking down the street and excitedly pointed it out.
The view at the top of the bluffs was breathtaking as you could probably imagine. In the bluffs there was a park with trails which we walked on for a little bit. You could hear a stream running through which was also very calming. One thing that surprised me was the lack of wildlife I saw, even when I was hiking in Germany. I saw a squirrel, some fish, and geese but that was the extent. Phil thought that maybe because we were in a major city that the animals might be scared off, but in the US wildlife is prevalent even in the more touristy areas like Rocky Mountain National Park. After the walk we took the tram back down the bluffs, and got on the public transit back towards Phil's apartment. Before getting back to the apartment we stopped at the grocery store for stuff for dinner that night before heading back. Anna had been done with work by that time.
Once back at the apartment I helped make German meatballs from Phil's grandmas recipe, while Phil made rice. We ate outside on the balcony again, all three of us while eating. The dish turned out really delicious and was filling.
After dinner was cleaned up we ended the night by watching "The Greatest Showman". Phil and Anna had never seen it before. They used a projector to project it onto their wall and we all sat on the couch together. Since Phil's sister lives in the same neighborhood as Phil as was out of town, Phil and Anna had asked her if I could stay in her room during the nights I was in Germany with her roommate so I could have more privacy and more room for my stuff. Also they wouldn't have to worry about waking me up too early when Anna got ready for work etc. Phil's sister agreed, and her roommate was really sweet as well. After finishing the movie Phil and I hauled my stuff over there for the night, and so ended my first full day of being in Germany.
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