Luebbenau and Meissen

On Saturday afternoon, we decided at the last minute to drive up to the Spreewald (Spree forest) a little over an hour north and outside of Saxony.  The Spree is an area inhabited by the Sorbs, and is basically a big, woody marshland.  So, over time the Sorbs built canals and polders, as a means of making the land livable and farm-able.  They still live and farm using their old manual tools, maintaining a unique way of life.

Unfortunately, we got lost a long the way, and arrived as the light was waning, so it wasn't great for taking pictures.  But it was fun to see and a nice drive.  I would recommend it for anyone visiting the area in the summer, as it looked like it would be very beautiful!

We ate at the cutest little guest-house...

On Sunday we decided to drive up along the Elbe on our way out to Leipzig.  On the way we stopped in Meissen, most known for their incomparable (ridiculously expensive) porcelain.  We opted out on the porcelain factory tour, and decided to visit their local castle instead.  It had lots of turrets and wings, and sat quite dramatically on a precipice overlooking the river.  One thing that I think which makes it unique is that it has cathedral towers mixed in with its castle towers.  We told Luna it was Belle's castle from Beauty and the Beast...

View from the old town center, down below...

Passage down to the city...

View from the castle across the river...

And up inside the complex...

The cathedral in the castle complex has the interesting distinction of being one of the smallest in Germany.  It was great to walk aroun din though, because it was very open and many areas which are frequently closed off were accessible, including balconies and 2nd story chapels, which made for great picture taking!

Interesting carved figure on the side of a sarcophagus.

If you look closely at this sculpted frieze ( can't remember if that is what you would call this?) it is alternating castle and church tops.

Painting attributed to Lucas Cranach the Elder...

Some figures on either side of the alter...

had curious expressions...

Really a treat to be able to get shots like these...

Another fun expression!

The castle part of the complex...  The windows are amazing!

And this circular stairwell...

Mosaic of St. George and the dragon on the gate tower.

Gate tower...

Hinged wooden shutter above the gate... "Who goes there?"

View down from the fortress walls.

Back inside the walls.

What a fun stop on our way to Leipzig!

Dresden

The Frauenkirche was almost completely destroyed during the February 13th 1945 allied air raid which destroyed Dresden and approximately 25,000 of its inhabitants.  The Soviets left it as a pile of rubble to serve as a reminder of the horrors of war.  They re-built it after reunification, finishing in I believe 2005.  It really is unique and amazing.  Only 15% is original stonework,  the dark spots that you can see peppered all over the place, and the back section which you can see just to the left.

Part of the old residence palace - the wall was decorated with painted tiles, something I've never really seen before - illustrating the Saxon rulers through the ages.

The Catholic Court Church - and part of the residence.  This skyline might give you an idea of why they used to call it the "Florence on the Elbe."

Pulpit in the Court Church - 

Wow.

An 18th century organ...

View of the Court Church and the Residence from the Semper Opera house...

Soviet built "Kultupalast" or performing arts venue, had this very Soviet looking mural on the side.  Glad that it hasn't been removed or destroyed.

Luna went over-board with the restaurant supplied pens.  We were wondering why she was so quiet.  The other patrons thought it was funny.  We told them she was a tiger...

One of the great museums in Dresden - the Albertinum.  Very cool space, has artists from the Impressionists through to present.  Was stopped from taking pictures after I snapped off some Impressionists, but I will say that I was more impressed with their collection of German artists and contemporary work.

Another view of the covered courtyard / lobby / common area...

These shots are from the city museum.  I was hoping to find a good exhibit on the bombing, and it did have a good exhibit on the war in general, with some details on the bombing, but not quite as extensive as I had hoped.

Wissen ist Macht  (Knowledge is Power)

Painting showing what Dresden looked like before the air raid.

Example of the types of signs "Aryans" used to put in their shop and business windows.

The gold star sewn on the clothing of Jews to make them stand out.

Signs which say "A Jew lives here" or "No Jews live here.

Brass knuckles used by the Dresden police.

What Dresden looked like after the bombing.  The pile of rubble in the top right is the Frauenkirche.  It has just about the same perspective as the painting (again below.)  The large square in the foreground was the altmarkt (old market.)  It was originally surrounded by the traditional old town building, which you can clearly see are just completely gone.  This photo is about 1/ 16 of a panorama, which looked exactly the same, and stretched on as far as the eye could see in some areas.  

On to a lighter note!  They also had some good examples of what life was like under the Soviets...  I couldn't resist this...  apparently raincoats were hard to come by, as this one was made out of milk bags. 

Great shot showing how whole section of old town are still to be re-built, and how they are maintaining the "baroque" feel to the buildings, even though they are completely new.

Inside the Frauenkirche.  The light was amazing, can't say I've ever experienced anything like it in a Cathedral before.  And it was a beautiful reconstruction.  Amazing that they were able to replicate as much of the sculpture and frescoes as they did, considering that those skills are being lost, and it must have cost a fortune!  Is this what the 5% reunification tax pays for? (Just kidding!)

The Semper Opera.

Due to a sleeping Luna we couldn't do the tour, but here's what it looks like inside...

And this is the Zwinger...  another world class museum, with a very good collection of Old Masters.  The place itself is amazing though - it was modelled after Versaille and is HUGE!  This shot is taken from the courtyard, and is about 1 / 10th of the panorama!