Dresden - Day 4

Well, after Days 1-3 what could we possibly need to do? Day 3 really wore me out so we decided to take a leisure trip up the Elbe on a steamboat. The river was lovely and during the 1 1/2 hour trip we saw castles, canoes, bicyclists, and birds. We also had a cup of tea and some apple cake with a side of french fries. We knew that we had hit the jackpot when the brought ketchup AND mayonaisse with the fries.

The destination of the trip was to the Palace at Pillnitz. A vacation/summer residence for Saxon royalty. It has several buildings, multiple gardens, several museums, and they even grow oranges there. For photos of the steamboat ride and the palace, you can visit our picture page. We did eat lunch at their restaurant, which was cafeteria style. The food was tasty and we sat on a patio with lots of little birds and big umbrellas. After a couple hours of wandering amongst the extravagance, we headed back with 15 minutes to spare in catching the steamboat. Of course, I realized I have misplaced my camera lens lid and we ran back to find it where we think we left it. After searching and then checking in at the pottery store, we found that a kind person has turned it in there and we ran with 4 minutes left to catch the steamboat. Nothing like a last minute rush to the finish!

As we boarded the steamboat, the guys punching tickets tried to explain that we had a stop in a town on the way back to Dresden. No one spoke English but we figured it was normal and didn't think anything of it. About half way back, one of the boat staff approached us (only us) and asked if we spoke only English. Then he proceeded to say "they have found a bomb in the water, this is no joke, yes?" Apparently we were making a stop for an undetermined amount of time in some tiny town until they figured out this bomb thing. Well, that is interesting isn't it? We get off with most of the other passengers and follow a group of interesting looking high school students to the tram so we can get back to Dresden. We found the tram stop and figured out the ticket machine (again, people here have no concept of a line). We hopped on and zipped back to Dresden. The tram was a great way to see the little spots along the way. It is also cool just to have access to quick transportation.

When we got back to the hotel we searched for news on the bomb and found nothing recent. We found a lot on the bombing from the war though. We still aren't sure what the bomb thing was all about. A nap and a quiet dinner at an Irish pub ended the day.

Day 5 will be our last full day in Dresden. We have a few more things to see and then we take a train to Berlin and a plane to Venice. Tschüss!