DRESDEN

MOONRISE ON THE ELBE

The hostel is in a part of Dresden called Neuestadt. It has a very hip young vibe. When I get to Lolli’s, I drop my stuff in the room and walk for three hours through this part and the old section of town.

I get to see the super full moon rising over the Elbe River from the Dresden bridge. The historic buildings are lit up. In the piazza across the bridge, a grand piano is rolled in and the public is treated to an outdoor concert.

MEISSEN

One of my Dresden day trips is a bike ride to Meissen and then to Moritzburg. Meissen is famous for its porcelain. It’s a nice 25 kilometer leisurely ride along the Elbe. This is a wine growing area with grapes grow up the mountain on the sunny side. Meissen is also a charming tourist town. The Meissen Porcelain Manufactory is well organized with a tour showing all the stages of the porcelain production. There are lots of over-the-top intricate porcelain pieces to see in the museum.

I have a bigger motive for coming here. The last time my sisters and I visited our aunt in Germany, she gave us the family Meissen porcelain. It is an adorable tea and coffee set with a violet flower motif. Little did we know it would be the last time we would see our aunt, and I wanted to find out how old our porcelain is. A woman at the factory looks at the photos I brought showing the Meissen mark on the underside of the tableware and establishes this set was made between 1815 and 1924!

More fun day trips ahead…