Trip to Germany - Day 12

Day 12 Dresden

We started out the day trying to get breakfast in the hotel cafe. There was so many people there for the holiday break that the cafe was very busy. Tristan didn't feel very well so him and Dana stayed at the hotel while the rest of us went to see the Our Lady Basilica. This church got a direct hit during the fire bombing during ww2. One wall was hit with a bomb, then there was big fire, which weakened the sand stone dome, which collapsed the next day. Most of Dresden was destroyed in the bombing. While the rest of it was cleared out and rebuilt, this church was left as a symbol of peace till the 90s. Then people from all around the world donated money to rebuild it. They tried using as much of the original building supplies as possible. You can see all the black parts are the original pieces, the rest is new. It reopened in 2005. The whole plaza around it is new. Nothing in downtown is over 15 years old. 

After we walked though the church we walked around a bit, met up with Dana, and tracked down a tour guide that gave us a bunch of information about the church and the plaza. While we were listening to the tour guide some street performers started blowing bubbles right in front of us. The girls loved it! They were running all over popping the bubbles. Then right behind us a brat worst stand opened us. It smelled yummy so we grabbed some lunch then ran and caught a bus for a tour around the city. The bus driver would say something over the intercom and we would listen through some headphones for a pre recorded translation. Of course, the bus driver was adding in his own tidbits of information that we couldn't understand. Half way through the tour we got to the stop in front of the hotel. Dan and Dana took the kids for a nap while Will and I finished the tour.  It really is a beautiful city with such a sad history. We saw places like synagogues, the opera house, a bunch of palaces, government buildings, and lots of historic sites. After the tour, Will and I checked out the museum gift shop and walked around for a bit. 

After we met back up with the girls, we had about an hour and a half to kill before dinner. So we told the girls it was thier turn to pick what we did. So we played a game of banana grams and played pretend in the hotel room. 

For dinner, Dan and Dana took us to Sophienkeller. It is a themed restaurant. We sat at the table that was a merry go round and our seats were swings. There was a strolling minstrual playing an accordian, and a lady dressed as the Queen.  She flirted with the guys and took pictures with Naomi. Alana was too shy. The girls even asked her what she had in her bag. (Keys to the car, and lipstick.) the food was so delicious and of course we had dessert! Naomi really loved the chocolate bunny that came on her plate. She made sure I took a picture so she could show the kids at school.