It was nice to sleep in after all the walking and driving yesterday. We took our time getting ready and headed into the city center. There were countless museums and opportunities for sightseeing; however, much to our dismay there were surprisingly few museums actually open. Monday seems like such a random day to be closed, but luckily there was plenty to see outside and we spent our morning walking around the Dresdner Residenzschloss, Dresden Castle.
The Dresden Castle had been the home of kings and government officials since the mid 1500's; however, the castle currently houses a collection of museums ranging from artwork to armory to numismatic exhibits. We would have liked to visit to some of the museums, but those of particular interest were closed for the day. We were able to remedy the situation by viewing the outside of the castle instead. For the past two months I have been commenting on the grandiose castles scattered throughout Europe, but I can assure you, this castle is well deserving of the grandiose title. The massive castle walls engulfed a magnificent courtyard, carefully detailed and maintained. There was plenty to see as we walked through the courtyard and climbed balconies. In the distance we saw people entering the castle, so we assumed an exhibit was open. Upon further inspection we found a passageway to a beautiful fountain sculpture and farther up the stairs the top of the castle walls provided another breathtaking view of the castle.
Our wandering finally led us to lunch and later to one of the many towers popping above the Dresden skyline. We didn't actually enter the museum to walk around because we were so content with what was offered in the lobby. Primarily, the bathroom was a great attraction. We also found funny doors and cut-outs in the walls. I had a lot of built up, silly energy that was waiting to be released, so I wasn't ready to walk quietly through a museum. After the dense information load we received the day before, we were happy to continue on our way and get some fresh air. To add to the silly energy, we got some ice cream on our walk to the car. All I could think was, good luck sitting next to me in a car for the next few hours, mom.
It was mid-day and we decided to head out of town towards the Czech Republic. We had one last stop to make and that was a lookout point over the bridge and along a bike path. The directions were vague and we were unsure of the proper location. We crossed the river on our way out of town and parked near a hotel. We weren't sure how to pay the meter, if we had put enough money in the meter, and if we would come back to find our car towed or with a ticket. On a whim, we quickly went to the bike path, justifying our parking spot by the promise of a speedy visit. There was nothing speedy about our visit. It was a longer walk than expected through the hotel backyard, but once we saw the view it was all worthwhile. The view over the river was spectacular, especially on such a beautiful day. We were happy to find the car still in the parking spot with no ticket when we returned to continue on our journey.
It would have been nice to spend more time in Dresden and visit museums, but rather than stay an extra day and wait for everything to open, we decided to get an early start to the Czech Republic. It was a beautiful drive through the expansive green hills and the few towns we past were bursting with color. One of the main reasons I wanted to visit the Czech Republic was because of Terezín.
Before leaving Europe I wanted to visit a concentration camp to get a sense of what it was like. The more well known camps were far out of the way, but Terezín was just barely off our path to Prague. We had difficulty finding the concentration camp because I didn't do enough research beforehand. I printed out an address and information for the museum, but once I typed this information into the navigation system there was no location listed on the map. I typed Terezín into the navigation system which still did not produce any useful results. We drove in circles and circles, becoming frustrated with our surroundings. We finally found a sign we couldn't understand that looked like Terezín and decided we needed some fresh air to cool off. If I had done my research, I would have realized that Terezín was the town, not necessarily the ghetto and concentration camp. We should have instead been looking for Theresienstadt. Strange enough, we stopped at the right place; luckily "Theresienstadta" looks enough like "Terezín."
We walked along a lonely path to a graveyard with a building. There were no signs on the door or along the path. As we approached the building it was almost as though the air shifted and I knew there was sadness within the building. The doors and windows were boarded off; however, the back door had the slightest opening allowing a look inside. Unsure of what I was looking at, my mom suspected that it might have been a crematorium and the large metal containers were incinerators. Wary, I couldn't look anymore and was forced to take a step back. The entire setting left me perplexed and I was unsure how to feel. I was frustrated by my lack of directions, scared by the cemetery, confused by the history of Theresienstadt, and somber when reflecting back on the Holocaust.
I was still unsure if we were in the right place, so I began walking around the perimeter of the cemetery. I climbed through bushes and scaled walls to peek over with the hope of providing some clarity or visual representation into what prisoners of this ghetto experienced. Instead I found myself creeping into the backyard of farmland on one side and bushes along another. We left Terezín puzzled and still unsure where we were exactly. In retrospect, I think we were missing a big component of the history by not finding the museum; however, I experienced the feelings I was striving for by looking into the crematorium.
Rather than drive around Terezín all day looking for the Ghetto Museum, we decided to continue working our way towards Prague. We drove through beautiful cities of color, already a much different feel than driving through the cities in Germany. My mom became intrigued by a tall, beautiful church in a small town we passed. With no agenda, we decided to stop and search for this mysterious church. As soon as we entered the town, we went down a hill and into a maze of houses and buildings. The church disappeared from sight and we became focused on fitting our boat of a car through the narrow streets. At times I had to close my eyes in fear that we would run into the side of the buildings or walls when going around a turn. I'm still amazed that we made it out without a scratch, and thankful my mom had been driving. The church must have been a mirage because by the time we found a path out of the town, the church was nowhere to be seen. We were about to return to the main road when we saw the top of the church peaking out. We were ecstatic to finally have found our stopping place until pulling up to locked gates. I'm not convinced the church actually exists, I still think it must have been an optical illusion.
A fairly painless car ride and we made it to Prague. We checked into the hostel and found a nasty hairless dog sitting at the front desk. Don't get me wrong, I love dogs, but not so much little rat dogs. The dog had no relevance to our time in Prague except providing a distraction while checking in. The hostel was a short walking distance from Wenceslas Square, where we went to have dinner and a great central point for the majority of walking tours. We approached the square from the top and I was astonished by the view. The evening shade washed over the city streets and the majority of the buildings except for the monumental building at the bottom of the square. As the sun began to set you could see a glow veil the city, intensifying the already vibrant colors.
We found an interesting looking restaurant along the street, with men dressed in suits of armor ready to seat passersby. Captivated by their enthusiasm and choice of attire, we opted for sitting outside Café Svatého Václava. Looking through the menu was challenging because each plate was listed in several languages along side each other. Flipping through countless pages, all of the dishes looked very similar, a pile of meat and potato of sorts. We finally decided to share a Czech assorted platter of duck, pork shoulder, smoked meat, smoked sausage, red and white sauerkraut, and an assortment of dumplings, more than enough to share. While waiting to order we spotted another table with a pitcher of lemonade. Although unsure if we would be able to finish an entire pitcher, it sounded exceptionally refreshing and we decided to indulge. Freshly squeezed lemonade filled with lemons, limes, and mint was a perfect combination and precisely what my taste buds needed.
The menu offered a brief history of Saint Wenceslas, ruler of Bohemia during the early 900's AD, namesake of the beautiful square surrounding us, and model for our marvelously dressed host. Saint Wenceslas became known for his benevolence and virtue as a ruler. He now has churches, city squares, streets, and statues consecrated in his name.
After our scrumptious dinner we realized our bill was presented in Czech koruna, the new currency we completely forgot about and had none of. Luckily we were able to use euros, but with limited funds, we tipped using USD. It must have been a long, taxing day because this simple act sent us into a fit of laughter. Our waiter probably had no idea what to do with American dollars. Maybe he will burn them for lack of operational value. He definitely won't be as amused as we were, but we promised to withdraw Czech koruna first thing the next day.On the walk back to our room we stopped to get ice cream again. I couldn't help but wonder if it is acceptable to get ice cream twice in one day. It's certainly justifiable because we crossed country lines, and once in a different country, the acceptable ice cream count restarts from zero.
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