Prag Pics
Prag ist sehr shön. The view of the castle and cathedral up on the hill is like a fairy-tale. Ben even found the room in the castle where the dwarf princess must have been held captive. (not really)

St. Vit's Cathedral was amazing. How can you beat flying buttresses holding up sky-high ribbed vaults and delicate, yet vibrant, stained glass?

Gothic rules!

To get to the castle and cathedral, Ben lead us from the Old town along the 'Royal Road.' We followed the old winding streets to the Charles Bridge, which was founded over 600 years ago. We trekked up the hill and finally climbed the stairs to the castle!

"Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered,

I have fought my way here to the castle..."

Here's the group in Prag, Prague or Praha, as you like it: Me and Ben, Marlis and Ken. Traveling with the couple from Colorado was a hoot. At the Charles Bridge, we even met some members of Ken's church (he is a retired minister) who just happened to be on an Ole alum trip.
UM YA YA!

They have lived in MN. They are high-school sweet hearts. They like to read Harry Potter and Bonhoeffer. Take a close look, because this is a time warp to Ben and Marie in forty years.

The Bebelplatz
in Berlin is where thousands of books by so-called 'enemies' of the Third Reich were burned in May of '33. Near this plaque, there is an underground monument. Looking down through a clear window on the ground, you can see a small room, entirely white. The walls are made of white bookshelves, but they are all empty.

Only seventy-three years ago. The Nazi students and SA were right here, making a bonfire of books. I have read history books, Anne Frank, Night, Number the Stars, Fahrenheit 451, Slaughterhouse 5, Catch 22, 1984...
but never before have they been so real to me.

The plaque reads:
"Where books are burned, in the end people will burn."

We made it to Pillnitz, the royal summer palace, just before we left Dresden. It now houses a craft museum, with things like porcelain collections, furniture and a bit of jewelry. One of the museum workers caught me yawning and commented, "Makes you tired, doesn't it?" Maybe I am just biased against crafts, being such an art snob.

Ben and I enjoyed the colorful grounds and gardens much more! And I always love geese. (Except Canadian geese and any other mean geese because they will hiss and bite your knee and not let go until you grab them by the neck and hurl them away from you! Truly.)