Sep 28, 2012 - First full day

I am now taking some time for me, and today off on a longer train journey. before heading to Hauptbahnhof, i drop the flowrs off at DB tower for carolin to say Thank You for previous 2 days Jeff at work has a great passion for Dresden, so that's my first point of call, the train I am on is Loco Hauled formed for Austrian stock ona Hamburg Villach service via Prague. I settle into a compartment, but soon joined by a Thai couple, as always very polite, even asking if I made that they eat as they had just got a plane, we had a chat en route,...

Sep 22, 2012 - Dresden GERMANY

On the Friday we made our way by train (again..... ask me anything about the German rail network and I can probably tell you!) to Dresden to visit my cousin Jürgen and his wife Kerstin. I was blown away by Dresden. It's such a beautiful city and has a wonderful vibe to it. I felt immediately at home here. Dresden is on the Elbe river which starts in Czech and finishes in Hamburg in the far north (in fact we went with a ferry on the Elbe while we were in Hamburg). On our first night Jürgen and Kerstin took us for a walk along the Elbe, over...

Jul 27, 2012 - Dresden

Friday 27/7/12 Dresden 20ks riding It was an easy ride on cycle paths down hill to the city centre. We were the only ones for the English speaking tour with Susann. She is a history and art graduate and apart from telling us the “history” of the architecture, she gave a really great impression of how everyday life for the common person was like through the ages, and especially in the communist years. Susann was 9yrs old when the wall came down and how her life changed with reunification. From photos we could see how Dresden was obliterated...

Jul 26, 2012 - Dresden

Thursday 26/7/12 Dresden Felt lazy with the heat, but it was too hot to stay in the tent for a lie in. Peter talked with the cyclists ( a couple in their 60’s) in the tent next door, about their Ortlieb panniers. The guy couldn’t fault them, (he had Ortlieb everthing) and told us there was a big outdoors/equipment store ”Globe trotters” in the city. We rode the bus into the city and walked through the new shopping centre. Lots of familiar brand names and sales galore, very tempting. Globetrotters is a huge 4 level store, and would have just...

Jul 25, 2012 - Nebocady to Dresden

Wednesday 25/7/ 12 Nebocady to Dresden 78ks While waiting for the tent to dry we tried to “stuff” ourselves with breakfast buns and coffee as breakfast was supplied by the camp….we enjoyed talking more with the German family we met last night who had cycled from Hamburg and were going the opposite direction to us..to Prague. Very scenic along the Elbe, quick easy riding. Had to stop at a little café close to the border to use up our Czech money , enough for an icecream each and some rocker fuel Fanta. We took our photos at the “totem...

Jul 2, 2012 - Dresden

After Berlin, we headed south toward Munich where we would depart from Germany. On the way, we had two more stops, Dresden and Nurnberg. Dresden is one of Germany’s most beautiful cities. The town blossomed during the 18th century when it became a cultural center and built many beautiful buildings. Almost all of these were completely destroyed during the night of February 14, 1945 when British and American air forces mounted a vast carpet-bombing raid on the city. Today, meticulous restoration work is in progress to return the historic city...

Jun 4, 2012 - Day 18 A day in Dresden

Up early, showered, breakfasted and ready for family to call on FaceTime. It was good to see Pete, Kylie, Scott and kids and to have a bit of a chat. Sounds as though all is going well on the Perth end. We then set off to find the main train station so we could start our journey to Dresden. We have found the Berlin train station very challenging and even though I thought EU countries are supposed to display signs in the home language and English (and make announcements the same way), there is a distinct lack of that here. They appear to...

Mar 27, 2012 - From Prague to Berlin and Every Disco I was in... lalalala

This morning we packed our bags and loaded onto the Topdeck bus for a stunning drive to Berlin Via Dresden... A shorter entry for today as it mostly involved leaving Prague, driving into Dresden, short but sweet walking tour through Dresden, leaving Dresden, driving to Berlin, arriving in Berlin, Dinner at awesome Hostel, me heading to room at 7:30 for some reason and then falling asleep on my bed facedown and waking up on the morning same position, scarf, leather jacket and shoes still on... with a very sore neck might I add. Jump to full entry

Feb 7, 2012 - And the beat goes on...

Crazy last couple days. Travel is a great way to evaluate one's sanity, that's for sure. And mine is on life support. Took a 5 AM train Monday morning from Munich to Crailsheim, Germany. This town of 1400 or so is home to the Voith corporation, a worldwide produce of fluid couplings. They allowed me to tour their plant because I helped install a prototype unit in Wyoming, then had me share knowledge about natural gas operations. Even fed me lunch! Stefan with Voith recommended I go to Rothenburg next...he didn't mention there's two of them,...

Oct 23, 2011 - Dresden

@@@@@@@ BACKGROUND Dresden was once known as the ‘Venice of the North’ because of its fame as an artistic centre during the 18th century. The worldly Augustus the Strong and his son Augustus III were the driving force behind the creation of the most striking buildings lining this bend on the Elbe River. Despite the fact that the entire world admired the artistry of these fine buildings, the Allies unleashed a devastating series of bombing raids between February 13th and 15th that laid waste to much of the city. It’s a miracle that any of...

May 17, 2011 - Dresden and Berlin

Dresden Okay so a little bit about Dresden. I dont know much as I will only be here for about a day and a half. The town was virtually flattened during a two day bombing offensive during WWII. Much of the old town has been rebuilt to look old, even though nothing is more than 65 years old. About 20,000 people were killed during the bombings. It seems a cool place, my hostel is really cheap and is on a street where there are a lot of Turkish restaurants, and African shop that also does braids and dreads and a place called Soul Sisters. Not...

May 16, 2011 - Dresden

Arrived in Dresden today safely. I had a bit of drama this morning as I could not find the bus pickup point and missed the scheduled Busabout bus. I had to go to the bus station and pay again to get a bus to Dresden. I was very mad at myself. I am staying at Louise 20 hostel for 2 nights. In other news, my mom is okay and doing well. Thanks everybody.