May 19, 2013 - Dresden, Germany

May 19, 2013 - Dresden, Germany

Started out with a little walk around town.  We bought a self guided tour book of the city and visited the main sights.

We also took a tour of the opera house. Oh and they were having a Jazz festival in town.  So all weekend we got to enjoy jazz tunes along the river and throughout town.

That night we visited the "alternative" district and joined the locals in drinking beer along the streets and having one last tasty doner! On our way back to the hotel it poured rain and we had to take cover while waiting for the tram.  Fun night.

May 18, 2013 - Leipzig and Dresden, Germany

May 18, 2013 - Leipzig and Dresden, Germany

The next day we drove out to Leipzig.  We had heard that there was a Gothic festival going on, so while taking in the sights on the town we also took in the sights of all the unusual people in town.

Had a nice lunch at a famous restaurant that has been around forever and is mentioned by the writer of Faust. 

Arent they cute!?

  

  More food, Yum!

We finished up the day by driving into Dresden and finding a beer garden to have dinner and a drink by the river.  Have you noticed the theme of my German trip yet?  Beer and fooooood! :-)

May 17, 2013 - Brocken and Wernigerode, Germany

May 17, 2013 - Brocken and Wernigerode ( i think), Germany

 Woke the next morning and found that Steffen's dad had purchased and were flying the American flag on the flag pole just for me!  Now that's hospitality.

We road tripped from Hannover to the Brocken mountain.  There we took the old steam train to the top.  A beautiful ride.  The forest is covered in rocks and huge pine trees and fantastic views of the landscape all around. Steffen's dad joined us for the day too.

At the top we had the local and typical German Pea soup.  Of course, it came with a giant brat as well.  :-)

From the mountain we visited the "mini" museum, a collection of miniature replicas of famous buildings in the area.  They were VERY detailed!  Some took thousands of hours to build.

 This is is cool because the mini is in the forground and the actual is in the background!!

We then wandered through town taking in the sights and the castle.

  
The Castle!

We had a real German meal and a beer tasting that evening.  Then met up with more friends for the night.