October 6 Saxony

Today we set out to see as much of Saxony as we could see with our guide, Jorg.  First we saw some Vineyards located on the hillside just out of the city, homes still all around them.  The hills were so steep that there was no way to get any equipment in to help harvest the grapes; it was all done by workers climbing the stairs that have been built into the hillside.  The vineyard we stopped at is about 300 years old and is now owned by the government who is trying to preserve it for heritage, but there are many small private vineyards in the area as well.  The other fellows tell me the wine was very good, Jorg even bought a couple bottles for tomorrow night, and Robert shipped three bottles home.

                                                                                 

From there we drove to see the castle at Meissen.  This is an amazing castle overlooking the Elbe River.  The original part was built in the 900's so it is nearly 1100 years old.  The castle sits high on a hill with a commanding view of the river; it is considered the birthplace of the Saxony region.  After first being used as a way of collecting a duty from shippers on the river, it was later converted into a palace for the royal family.  We ate lunch on the balcony of a restaurant just out side the castle with a great view of the river and the town below.  It was almost like a scene out of a fairy tale.  I have decided that even though the cobblestone streets are beautiful to look at, they are terrible on my bad ankles.

We then drove to another castle, this one located in the middle of a small lake.  It was built as a hunting retreat for the king and was never used as a permanent residence.  However, it was staffed by 700 people.  In recent years it has been used to film movies.

We finished up our day by visiting an art museum in Dresden.  While I did agree that the pictures were very beautiful, and recognized that they are hundreds, even a thousand years old, I am not sure I fully appreciated the opportunity.  Jorg took us back to our hotel at about 6:30 to give us time to prepare to leave here in the morning and take care of personal things.  Robert and I walked in the rain to a local restaurant to get dinner before turning in for the night.  

Internet access here has been very limited, and poor even when available, and there are no phones in our hotel.  So communication has been very limited.  I think Paul and I are ready to leave in hopes that we will get to talk to our families at the next hotel.  For all the talk about German engineering  I would have thought they could come up with working internet.  It seems to be a little more primitive in the eastern part of Germany; they are still trying to catch up after 40 years of communist rule.