With twelve days to travel before our flight from Munich to California, we began with a stop in Gottingen, where Henry was scheduled to give a talk at the University's Dynamics Days Conference. Along the way, we lunched at the Hotel Am Markt Restaurant (Michelin Red recommended) in the 900-year old town of Greding (see photo)). With several different offerings of pfifferlingen (a type of wild mushroom (see photo at the end of blog entry "Flurry to the Finish")) at this restaurant and a number of others on the following days, we figured out that, as with asparagus a few months earlier (see blog entry "More of Munich"), restaurants go on pfifferlingen overload during pfifferlingen season. This time, however, I sought out the seasonal specials!
We arrived prior to the start of the conference so we could spend a day with Ulli (a friend and colleague of Henry's) and his wife, Marina, and son, Julian (see photo). They drove us to Bad Pyrmont, where Ulli grew up. The town is known for its "waters", which supposedly have curative elements. 
We declined a taste and an accompanying mud bath, but had a pleasant walk through the "Kurpark", which was rather like a botanical garden (see photos). 
A favorite spot for many visitors was the grove of palm trees. Though no big deal for Southern Californians like Henry and me, the city prides itself on maintaining the trees in such a variable climate. The secret, however, is that the city keeps the trees in large planter boxes so they can be taken inside in the winter (see photo)! Regardless that the palm trees were not exotic for us, the entire garden, including the palm trees, was very attractive and inviting. Whether or not the waters are curative, we saw a large number of older and disabled men and women around the park. If nothing else, the fresh air and sunshine are guaranteed to improve one's disposition. Bad Pyrmont has another claim to fame beyond the waters. Max Born, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1954, retired to Bad Pyrmont (we drove by his house). According to Henry, Max was married to an Abarbanel and thus related to Henry's family, because all Abarbanels are obviously related!While Henry was concentrating on the conference, I wandered around Gottingen and took the train to the nearby city of Goslar.
In Goslar, the Old Town, with its half-timbered houses (see photo), is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Some of the houses date back to the 1500's. 
The main square has it glockenspiel (see photo), which rings in the hour with its figurines and musical accompaniment. I don't know what the song was, but the attentive crowd (except for me and few others) was singing along with the music in a reverent tone. It sounded rather like a ballad--I don't think it was a salute to the Fatherland! 
The much more impressive draw in the main square is in the Rathaus. The Huldigungssaal was the Municipal Council Chamber for a period of time in the 1500's. Painted wood panels cover the entire room--from floor to ceiling as well as the ceiling, window recesses, and doors. The paintings depict both religious and imperial figures, though, almost needless to say, the theme was religious. The room was well-preserved because the Council soon outgrew the room and moved its meetings elsewhere. As a result, the room was used solely for storage for hundreds of years, and thus did not suffer from the humid air of heated debate! (See photo of replica of painted room; sorry, no good photos of the original.) 
The Kaiserpfalz (Imperial Palace originally built in the 11th century, but rebuilt 800 years later) had none of the flair or gaudiness of a King Ludwig II castle (see photos). I've definitely been spoiled by the former Bavarian king!
Gottingen has its own half-timbered houses, Rathaus,and remains of its medieval wall (see photos). What few cities can claim, however, is a big name in science and possession of an original Gutenberg Bible. The Bible is kept under wraps much of the time, but on one of his prior visits, Henry was able to view it. Today, the University is at Gottingen's core. 
The city's landmark, a fountain statue of a young girl holding a goose (see photo), also has a long-standing connection the University. New doctoral graduates have an old tradition of kissing the girl's bronze cheek upon passing their final examination.I also spent a couple of hours on a very pleasant hike in the hilly countryside with Ulli's wife, Marina (see photo). Ulli, Marina, and Julian live in an almost entirely residential village a few kilometers from Gottingen (sorry, I can't remember its name!).
Because of the farms immediately surrounding Gottingen and their village (see photo), it would be inaccurate to call the village a suburb in a huge city sense of the word. Nevertheless, Ulli and Marina live in "the country" and work in two different nearby cities, a nice combination.We had one more new discovery in Gottingen, and it was not still another excellent meal at a Michelin Red Guide recommended restaurant (on prior trips to Gottingen, Henry had already been to the fine restaurant, Am Gauss, so it was not "new"). We discovered a drink called "diesel". Although we had seen "radler" (beer usually mixed with a lemon drink) on the drink menu in a number of cafes, pubs, and restaurants in Germany, we had not previously seen "diesel" offered. Thank you very much, but I'll pass on the combination of beer and Coca Cola!
Our next destination was along the Elbe River in the former East Germany (DDR).
We spent four nights in Stadt Wehlen, a small, quiet, riverside resort village (see photos) about 30 kilometers southeast of Dresden. Unless one resides along the river near Stadt Wehlen, and thus has a special dispensation to drive a car along the walking/bike riding path hugging the river bank, the only way to drive in and out of town is to head up into the hills to the "main" (only relatively speaking) road. Stadt Wehlen offers visitors just two or three hotels, but also offers numerous pensions and rooms in residents' homes. The only internet access available at the hotel was a land line connected at the hotel reception desk. The wait staff in the hotel's restaurant was kind enough to allow us a few minutes on the reception desk computer so we could stay at least minimally "connected". I surprised myself by how "disconnected" I felt as I was awaiting two important email messages (one pertaining to arrangements at our next destination (Prague)).
Another way in which Stadt Wehlen gets "connected" is via a small pedestrian and bicycle ferry (see photo) that goes back and forth across the Elbe, upon request, from early morning until late at night. The nearest vehicular bridge is about 11 kilometers up into the hills and then down again to the Elbe at Pirna. Nevertheless, the S-Bahn into Dresden stops just a five-minute walk from the ferry station across the river from us. Twenty-five minutes later, we are at the main train station in Dresden. It took Henry and me a wee bit longer, however, because I needed a rest stop shortly before the train arrived at the Hauptbahnhof. Before we were able to alight from the train, it closed and locked its doors and moved on to the next station. Luckily, the S-Bahn in the opposite direction picked us up after only a two-minute wait. As a result, we could both enjoy the humor in this incident.We did our respective "things" in Dresden for only one day. Henry treated himself to coffee and took trams to the ends of several tram lines, while I visited my selection of museum exhibits. Although my first stop when we arrived in Stadt Wehlen was the ubiquitous "i" (where an extremely helpful employee shared the "secret" of buying a single all day, all transportation included (ferry, S-Bahn, trams, and buses), ticket which was valid for the two of us; recommended the "better" of two days (it ended up raining more on the day after we went) and the "better" boat line (more comfortable boat) for our "cruise" on the Elbe (see photos below), and recommended a wonderful loop hike (see below)), I never made it to the Dresden "i". Those of you who know me well (I.e., my family) are probably shocked by this huge omission. I will admit, however, to making my museum choices from our tour books and recommendations of friends who had been to Dresden, and to obtaining a Dresden tram and bus map from a transportation employee at the tram stop outside the main train station. For our respective agendas, that was all either Henry or I needed.
Given the devastating beating Dresden took from Allied bombing at the end of World War II, it is phenomenal how much of the city has been rebuilt, much of it in the manner of its former architecture (see photos). 
(Not all is fixed, as abandoned ruins remain (see photo)).Until the Dresden Castle restoration was finally completed in 2006, the world-famous Green Vault Collections (royal treasury) were housed in the Albertinum Museum. Now returned to their original spot in the Dresden Castle, the display of porcelain (a lot from nearby Meissen), precious stones, jewelry, and statuary are a sight to behold (sorry, photographs were not permitted). The collections get their name from one of the rooms specially designed to display Augustus II's (Augustus the Strong) treasures. Although the treasures are divided in the "Old" Green Vault and the "new" Green Vault (in order to charge two separate admissions??), I was equally impressed with both. Look out Wittelsbachs (Ludwig II and family), you have met your match!
After meeting Henry for lunch at Italienisches Dorfchen along the Elbe (yes, another Michelin Red choice), I went to the Zwinger Palace (see photo above, with fountains) for more of August the Strong's Japanese and Chinese porcelain collection. The large vases were the highlight of the collection, while the life-size porcelain animals from Meissen, though recommended, were not my cup of tea. No matter, our visit to Dresden was a success in all ways. We even managed to get off the S-Bahn on its first pass through the Stadt Wehlen train station!
Aware that we could be ferried across the river at almost any hour, we dined al fresco at Gasthaus Bauernhaus'l (no, not from Michelin Red!), with a view toward our hotel (see photo). The local grilled trout was delicious. It must be customary in Germany to serve it whole, but having watched one of the Il Grappolo servers de-bone trout, I had no trouble with this one. We enjoyed two more dinners on restaurant terraces overlooking the Elbe. At one of the restaurants, the only other customers on the terrace left shortly after we arrived. 
With the terrace across the street from the restaurant, so it could provide a riverside view (see photo), we felt like we had a little piece of the Elbe all to ourselves. We didn't waltz by the Danube, but we found romance by the Elbe!Our Elbe cruise took us from Stadt Wehlen to Bad Schandau (about 35 kilometers to the southeast) and back. The river moves rapidly enough that the two-hour ride to Bad Schandau took just a little over one hour back.
The cruise boats share the river with pleasure boats (e.g., motor boats, kayaks, and rafts) as well as barges (see photos). We were surprised to see how much freight is transported via barge, even with freight trains also running along the river. 
Several small towns dot the riverside, with Bad Schandau (see photo) the largest of the group (but, in my opinion, not the prettiest--we were quite pleased with our choice of Stadt Wehlen).
Along the river, there are also views toward the Sachsische Schweiz (Saxon Switzerland) National Park, part of which includes some very interesting rock formations popping from the ridge above (see photos). The Bastei are the rock formations bordering the Elbe and rise over 600 feet above the level of the river. 
From the cruise boat, we could see just a small portion of the Basteibrucke, the 250-foot long stone bridge across several of the formations to spots overlooking the river and other formations (see photo). 
The following day we went directly to the Bastei and walked through the formations via the Basteibrucke (see photo). 
Despite the height of the bridge, it was wide enough and "stone" enough for me to amble along it and even to look down to the river (see photos)! 
From the Bastei, we also had a better view of the Festung Konigstein, a huge fortress built between the 13th and 16th centuries, and enlarged in the 17th and 18th centuries. 
What was not visible from the cruise boat was that the fortress sat atop a mesa, rendering the fortress all the more formidable (see photos).
The hour-long hike I took up to the Bastei (Henry took the bus) was in almost complete solitude. Except for a few hikers at the beginning and end of the trail, I was totally by myself in the middle of the forest (see photo). My imagination took me back to the Middle Ages (or thereabouts); I thought of myself as a peddler carrying my wares (at least I was carrying a backpack) from village to village. I moved on to whistling and humming songs from movies and musicals (e.g., Fiddler on the Roof, White Christmas, First Wives Club and Sister Act (see blog entry "Playing for the Ashes"). Upon reading this, daughter Sara will undoubtedly roll her eyes and thank her lucky stars she didn't have to hear me. Then again, if I was not the only hiker (any forest animals who heard me had no comment), I would not have been whistling for the world to hear--just Sara.
Most of the hike from the Bastei toward the village of Kurort Rathen was actually many, many stone steps heading more or less directly down (see photo). I was astounded by the number of people parking their cars or getting off the S-Bahn, ferrying across the river to Rathen, then walking up the steps to the Bastei. 
Why not take the far more gradual hike from Stadt Wehlen, then either walk back the same way or take the completely flat riverside walk to Stadt Wehlen? After a very nice lunch in Rathen (Rosegarten Restaurant (not a Michelin Red pick, but good), Henry joined me for the walk back to Stadt Wehlen via the riverside path (see photos).By the time we left the Elbe somewhere in the northwest corner of the Czech Republic (where the Elbe is called the Labe), we had views of the Elbe by ferry, cruise boat, train, car, and foot, and from above and at river level. I could have added bicycle, kayak and raft, but it was time to move on. First, however, a few observations:
1. International tourists tended to stay in Dresden rather than venture out to the smaller towns and villages along the Elbe in Saxon Switzerland. Outside of Dresden, we heard mostly German speakers among the hotel, restaurant, cruise, and Bastei clientele.
2. The Stadt Wehleners are very proud of the National Park and had a fund raiser to benefit the Park scheduled for the day after we left. They also liked to maintain a clean town--so much so that a recorded voice thanks whomever places trash in to the garbage can on the main square! The recording appeared to be triggered by one's hand reaching inside the circumference of the can.
3. I cannot quite explain this, but I felt a difference between these former DDR (and also Czech Republic) towns and towns in the former West Germany (GDR). Perhaps it was the weather; perhaps it was my imagination. Nevertheless, I felt that the towns in the "East" had a slightly drabber patina than in the "West". As we drove back to Munich from the Czech Republic into Bavaria (former GDR), I noticed a change in the colors of the houses. 
Perhaps the Bavarian houses seemed brighter because many more were painted in whites, off-whites and light pastels. In the former DDR and Czech Republic, I saw more oranges, a darker overall hue (see photos--former DDR and Czech Republic on the right; former GDR on the left).4. All along the Elbe/Labe, Danube, and other Central European rivers, the villages, towns, and cities we saw that were flooded by the torrential rains of 2002 have bounced back very well.
In a number of places, we saw markers of how high the rivers rose. In Stadt Wehlen, for example, the marker in the town square displayed high water marks from floods over the past couple of hundred years (see photo). Not only is the square well above the normal level of the Elbe and the river bed very wide, but in 2002, as shown in the photo, the river level still rose higher than the ground floor of buildings on the far side of the square.
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