An impromptu trip is always fun, but an impromptu trip to another country is just fantastic. Having a friend from the UMSI network here in Prague, I was asked if I would like to travel with her on her one free weekend in the country. Our destination? Dresden, Germany. I had never been to Germany, it was a 1100czk round-trip ticket, and it was only about 2 hours away, so I really couldn’t pass up the opportunity. My mentor did her doctoral work in Germany, so she sketched out a quick guide about some of the key places, but we went without a plan to just enjoy the city.
The train ride along the Elbe was beautiful, as was catching up with my colleague. The train takes you through
Czech and German villages lined with beautiful forests and rock formations. Some places hold great churches and old castles. Upon arrival, we just dove into the city. We essentially took up the idea of finding cool looking tops to buildings and attempting to find them. This actually led us to finding most of the suggested locations made by my mentor.
Once we got to Bruhl Terrace and had taken pictures of the Royal Palace, the Hofkirche, and the Opera House, we crossed the Augustus Bridge to look on the Dresden skyline from across the Elbe. We found a biergarten, grabbed a German brew, and just enjoyed some of our time. We then continued our journey, where we happenstanced upon Christopher Street Day celebrations (or Pride).
I am not normally a person who would go to Pride, just because these types of celebrations are not my cup of tea,
but this was a pretty cool experience. It didn’t seem to be too over the top, which is how I think of many American celebrations of the even, and it was just a peaceful time of celebration. There were no open protesters and everyone genuinely just took in the good time. We joined the procession and followed the parade back to Bruhl Terrace, where it ended. People on the terrace just took in the celebration with everyone else. It was truly a unique experience that I am glad I got to be a part of.
We finished our day in the city just taking in some of the modern. We grabbed food (and more German beer) before heading back toward the train station. Closer to the station, we checked out a mall and a local bookstore. Having not prepared an actual tour or looking into the city before we left, I picked up an English guide on the city for the train ride back. It was cool to learn about the places we had been while we sat on the train and to read about some the locations we didn’t make it to.
I spent most of Sunday being lazy, as I feel the day called for. After being woken up by a running event early in the
morning, I dragged myself out of bed to go on a walk. I found the Lookout Tower (which I may come back to) and decided to spend my afternoon in the monastic beer garden. There I met an American military family who was visiting, which led to some great conversation. I then returned to the dorms for a call home and a nap before returning to the city for dinner. I pretty much spent most of the day eating, drinking beer, and reading, which, in my opinion, isn’t a half bad way to spend the day.
Raven K 