Elegant Elbe: Day 10
Day 10: Tuesday, November 07, 2023 - Dresden, Germany
The day's statistics:
- Weather: upper 50s, sunny
- Steps: 3,005 Linda; 12,651 Steve
- Miles traveled (approximately): 26
Breakfast was egg benedict with mushrooms and tomato on the side (for Linda) and full buffet (for me) on the ship.
We sat with Loriette and Randall, and Karen and Bob.
Today's excursion was an all-day outing, including lunch (a relative rarity) called "Dresden & the Elbe Valley".
We boarded the bus and it took us not that far into town. Our guide was Cosina, and our driver was Mike.
On the way to our drop-off, we learned of the numerous things that were invented in Dresden, such as the paddleboat steamer
with the largest fleet in the world in Dresden, the first SLR camera, tubed toothpaste, and more. Dresden also hosts the largest
Dixieland - yes, Dixieland - festival in Europe.
We then began our lengthy walking tour, walking around the first building, down a street, past a park, to the riverfront, and along the riverfront.
We passed a number of building that included churches, government buildings, and the like. The sun was in a good spot
to highlight the building architecture and, more impressively, the goldwork.
Along the riverfront, on what is called the Brühlsche Terrasse, there is a sculpture called the Planetendenkmal. It is a globular sphere
with square spikes - representing the boom of industry - coming out of it with ten markers - representing the known spheres orbiting the planet -
surrounding it, in the ground (though I missed three close-ups as the group was moving on before I could get them all).
And continuing along the riverfront.
We walked the entire length of the Brühlsche Terrasse, and were heading down the steps.
And then it happened...
Taken from the bottom, these are the stairs that transition from the Terrasse to the Schlossplatz.
Thanks to Google® Maps with Satellite, this is where we were (in the first image). In the second image, the magenta line
is the general path we took (the breaks in the line are because we were under the trees as seen in the picture above), and the
light red box on the left end of line is where the incident started.
I was Linda's handrail for the first three-quarters of the staircase. When we got to the landing - the light red box area in the
second image above - Linda let go. But kept walking. I yelled "step!", but it was too late. Linda ran down the steps - not on purpose -
but nailed the landing at the bottom. And by nailed the landing, I mean landed front-down. All Linda's prayers and volunteer work at
church must have paid off because she sustained no - NO - visible injuries, such as scratches, of any kind, and no significant internal
injuries either. None of her clothes were even torn or otherwise damaged. The QuietVoice® suffered a minor injury in that the cover
popped off and the batteries fell out - and even that was easily reassembled. That's it.
Linda's right calf was hyper-extended somehow, and that made walking nearly impossible. But again, nothing broken. Cosina called Mike
and based on what we heard, it sounded like she was insistant that he drive to a spot he really wasn't supposed to be driving, but he
got the bus as close to our group as possible. Cosina also asked a vendor sitting on a stool if Linda could borrow it for a few minutes,
and he obliged. A fellow traveler, Mike, provided some assistance to Linda and I as we got her on the bus. The bus then took us all back
to the ship. Linda got off the bus to an awaiting wheelchair that one of the ship's staff brought out. Linda got into the wheelchair, and
was brought to the room. Before she was wheeled away, we agreed that I would continue the excursion because otherwise, all I would have
done was just sit in the cabin with her anyway.
Because we were on the cruise, and the ship was departing port this night, we were exteremely hesitant to go seek medical attention for
fear of either it taking a long time and we would have to somehow get to the next port, or they even say "we want her to stay overnight
for observation" or something similar. While medical attention is important, we also wanted to make sure it wasn't going to cause more
harm than good. The ship had ice packs, and we were able to keep Linda's leg elevated and iced. Linda contacted our neice, who is a nurse,
and explained everything that happened, and how she felt. Because there were three detectable pulses behind her knee - who knew there were
THREE pulses behind the knee? - it was determined that there was nothing obstructing blood flow. She could wiggle her toes and move her
foot around too. At any time, medical attention was just a phone call away and we could have had anything addressed that was needed.
As I type this: other than a visit to the doctor after returning home to confirm the lack of any significant injury,
and after about a month of pampering, Linda was walking normally again.
Because of the detour back to the ship, the excursion schedule was revised a little. Instead of spending more time walking in town, we took a
bit more of a bus tour. From the ship, we drove through some more of the residential area of Dresden. Some of the area we drove through was a
wealthy area. Historical note: unfortunately, due the housing prices, 80% of Dresden residents rent.
The bus eventually stopped by a large field along the river.
We got off the bus and saw a hillside vineyard, and some castles across the river. The first castle was built by an Englishman
industrialist that invented toothpaste in a tube - it is now a hotel. The second was built by an industrialist that invented
mouthwash - it is now a municipal building. The third is Albrechtsberg Palace.
There was some other interesting sights, including an old water purification plant that is now lofts.
We returned to the bus and moved on, crossing the river and heading to Albrechtsberg Palace.
The palace was built in 1850, and the model for it was Versailles, in France, but this palace couldn't be built anywhere near that size due to
a soft foundation. The original owner was a Prussian Prince, but since law prohibited the Prussian from purchasing Saxon land, his wife had to
buy the land.
Other than staff, it looked like there was no one else visiting right now.
We passed through the foyer and paused in the receiving area while the local guide spoke in mostly-German and Cosina translated for us about
the history of the facility.
Looking out the window onto the patio / balcany area, and then around the room - there were spaces two steps up on either side of this area.
We turned back toward the entryway, turned left, and found ourselves at the base of a spiral, domed staircase.
At the top of the stairs, we made our way to the "chandelier room" - which separated the prince and princess wings of the palace.
Beside the obvious, it also had a lot of artwork and statues.
In the first set of paintings, the right-most panel - the lattace looking one - is actually a covering for where the orchestra sat.
The red leather looking wallpaper actually isn't wallpaper but rather painted cardboard.
The prince's room was being worked on so we did not get to see it. We were in the welcome room of his wing. And in the
far corner, there is a gap under one of the panels, the one next to the mirror, indicating where a secret door is.
We walked back across the chandelier room, and visited the pricess' side of the palace, starting in the welcome room, and
then visiting the bedroom - which had a domed ceiling and hidden mirrors (though they are visible in the pictures, they weren't
visible until the guide pulled a hidden lever).
We exited out the other side of the bedroom, took a couple steps down a hallway, and descending into the room with a bath (not
the bath room, but the room with a bath - there is a difference). It was in the style of a Turkish bath. The original tub actually
had no faucet but the tub was fed by water from a spring. The flight of stairs to the bath was also the only way out.
We ascended the stairs, turned left, and entered the dining room. The round wooden circles pieces above the mirrors aren't wood, they
are painted plaster because funding was running out and costs had to be cut. Conveniently, the kitchen was originally behind the dining
room which made getting food there easy through a passage in the back of a china cabinet - but as the family and the house and its use
grew, the kitchen was moved to the basement and the old kitchen became more of a butler's kitchen.
We left the dining room, passed another staircase - two flights up were the kid's and servant's bedrooms - and found ourselves back in
the foyer / entryway.
We left the palace out the back, and made our way onto the patio. The large fountain was drained as it was being worked on.
Looking at the landscape, other than churches, the countryside is all trees because there is a building height limit.
We headed off the the right (while looking at the back of the palace), and passed the side wing and entered a small park-like area.
We continued to circle around the palace, and walked down a short path off to the side, toward the front. There was even a small bridge
with a waterfall on that path.
We emerged from the path near the side of the fountain in the front of the palace.
Flanking the gate were two buildings that were used as guest quarters.
We spent about an hour and a half at the palace.
As we boarded the bus, Cosina asked me "Would your wife like to join us for lunch?" "Let me check." I replied, as I texted Linda.
Linda responded "Sure." We were less than fifteen minutes from the ship and this would give Linda enough time to change (if needed [it
was]), and make her way to the end of the gangplank for pickup.
So we drove back to the ship, going through some of the town again.
Tobacco production was illegal at one time. So this mosque looking building wasn't, it was a tobacco factory built to look that way.
We arrived at the gangplank as Linda arrived too - using a Viking umbrella as a walking stick.
She boarded the bus, and we headed out once again - this time our destination was in the town of Radebeul about a half hour away.
Linda was sitting in the front of the bus and got a couple pictures out the front window (included below).
This pump house pumps water up to the top of the adjacent hill, and at night the water comes back down the hill and spins turbines to
generate energy.
We crossed a funky suspension bridge.
A nice mansion.
We arrived at a winery and restaurant.
A round building above the vineyard - probably used to store harvest equipment.
The primary restaurant was called Schloss Wackerbarth. The surrounding grounds were the winery. There was some outdoor seating at the
restaurant. The conical shaped trees are decorated with lights at Christmas. There was a small walkway too.
There were some vines of different variety on display.
After our brief stop, we made our way back to the bus.
Our bus ride took us to the top of the hill - overlooking the winery.
The location, called Volkssternwarte Adolph Diesterweg, was actually a planitarium, but it wasn't open anyway. We did get to walk
around the property a little, and saw a statue of a couple "looking at the stars", the caretakers shack, and a couple views.
A couple stitched panaramics: one from in front of the statue, and one from in front of the round building.
There were hillside vines.
It IS a planetarium, afterall...
We had another ten to fifteen minute drive to the little town where the restaurant was - seemingly the dining room for the
Hotel Goldener Anker it was attached to.
The bus pulled into the alley on the side of the building and we walked in. However, we had to walk completely around the building.
While I already walk faster than Linda - perhaps it's because my stride is longer, or I just walk faster - but with Linda's injury,
she was taking half-steps, and was even slower. It probably took ten minutes (or at least it felt like it) to walk into the
restaurant. At least we sat at the first table on the right and not in the back corner.
It was a cozy little establishment, and our group of eight (plus the guide and driver) were the only ones eating there.
We enjoyed wine with a three course meal of lentel soup that became more like a stew, pork with potatoe and carrots, and fresh fruit with
mango puree and palenta.
Our meal was over, and we departed.
Fortunately the restaurant opened the front door so we didn't have to walk completely around, and Mike pulled the bus right up to the
curb straight in front of the restaurant.
We boarded and headed out.
We stopped and got off the bus again. Since it was going to be so long (relatively) that we were off the bus, Cosina asked Mike to
bring Linda back to the ship. So while he did that, we continued our walking tour.
We were shown a historical photo of the destruction to the Lutheran Church called The Church of
Our Lady. It has been restored. And we went inside briefly.
After exiting, we walked down the road.
Then we turned left and passed through a gate, and entered a courtyard.
We only paused briefly, exited, turned left again, and proceeded along the outside of the wall in the image above.
On this wall was a massive 25,000 tile mosaic. This isn't the standard mosaic of tiny little pieces, rather this one is made of larger
painted pieces - but it is still a mosaic. And it is of the Prince's parade.
The first long image doesn't include the the single, quad, and trio set of horses in the second.
This is a gigantic stitch of the entire mosaic. There are a couple "flaws" in it, but that more from the slight variations in the pictures
rather than the software because there was a spot where there was work being done on the sidewalk so the perspective of the image wasn't
the exact same for every single picture.
At the end of the street, before entering Kathedrale Sanctissimae Trinitatis church.
Then we went into the church - which had a little construction going on - through a door on the left (while looking at the altar), viewed the
highlights in the center, then exited out the other side, passing a memorial.
The altar painting is the biggest altar painting in Germany.
Having seen so many other churches with frescos on the ceiling, it was unusual to see nothing but white. Also, as this was a Boroque-style
church, there was also no stained glass.
As we made our way toward and out the exit in the opposite back corner, we passed a memorial.
After exiting out the back of the Kathedrale, we crossed the plaza past the opera house, and toward the Zwinger.
We walked through the opening in the building, and into the courtyard. There was some remodeling taking place and pretty
much the entire courtyard was ripped up and being worked on.
We entered the museum. There was a foyer we passed through before heading down the stairs to the lower level where access to the museum is.
Minerva, 1715, by Blathasar Permoser.
We put our belongings in lockers (drop in a Euro and get it back when the key is re-inserted in the lock), and started our tour.
Once again, an advantage and a disadvantage of these sort of tours is that we are guided to some specific highlights - advantage -
though we do not have free rein to spend as much time as we want to view whatever we want - smaller disadvantage.
We walked by some statues before seeing some paintings.
Lamentation of Christ, last quater of the 15th century, by Giacomo Del Maino. This relief was probably originally part of an
altar and was painted. It depicts the body of Christ seated on the edge of a sarcophagus and supported by his mother Mary and St. John. With
faces contorted with pain, they plaintively lament his sacrifficial death on the cross. The realistic representation is typical of North
Italian art and is intended evoke compassion in the beholder. Its style reveals the influence of Giovanni Bellini and Andrea Mantegna.
The Tribute Money, circa 1516, by Tizian. Jesus avoided the provocative question posed by the Pharisees as to whether it is right to
pay taxes to the Emporer in Rome, by cleverly avoiding the trap by asking for a coin bearing a portrait of the Emperor and saying, "Render to
Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." The young Titain focused on contract between the confident Christ
and the perfidious Pharisee.
Portrait of a Boy, circa 1481, by Pintoricchio. One of the earliest portraits of a child with a panoramic landscape background. This
Renaissance painting, a more realistic presentation of people and their character, shows the gaze and posture of the boy creating the impression
that he is addressing the viewer.
Painted Crucifix by Sano di Pietro.
The Sistine Madonna, 1512, by Raffael. A unique composition with the Virgin carrying the Christ Child, Saint Barbara
(on the right) and Pope Sixtus forming a triangle with her.
Taking a closer look at the painting above, a halo over the Pope, and faces in the clouds above him as well.
The image of the two Cherubs at the bottom of the above painting were stolen and use commerically, illegally.
The Holy Night, 1528, by Correggio. Rarely have Christ's words "I am the light of the world" found such a memorable visual
expression. All light enabates from the newborn infant in the stable at Bethlehem. He is held in his mother's arms. The shehers respond
to the birth of God with heartfelt joy and the angels are jubilant.
Sleeping Venus, 1508, by Giorgione and Tizian. This painting is one of the most famous works of the Renaissance. In fact,
it has made art history, because it was the first large-scale nude representation of a woman in Italy.
The Resurrection of Christ, 1570, Veronese. Images are silent narratives. Like a sun god, the risen Christ floats up from his
tomb on Easter Sunday.
The Archangel Michael Fighting Against Satan, 1590, by Jacopo Tintioretto. The dragon obviously has no chance against the
Archangel Michael and his legions. God himself ensures the salvation of the Woman of the Apocalypse with the moon under the feet,
traditionally interpreted as the Virgin Mary with the Christ Child. The Revelation of John, the last book of the New Testament,
describes this cosmic struggle as prophecy.
The Bearing of the Cross, 1571, by Veronese. On the way to the crucifixion, Christ collapses under the weight of the cross.
The soldiers urge him to keep moving. The antagonism between the forward motion of the thuggish guards and the stationary figure at
the centre dominates the composition. Mary plaintively points towards her son.
The Madonna of the Cuccina, 1571, by Veronese. The Cuccina family was one fo the richest in Venice. For the banquet hall of
their Palazzo - on the right in the picture - they commissioned four large paintings from Veronese. Here, the family is gathered before
the Virgin and Child. They are accompanied by the three Christian virtues of Faith, Love, and Hope. St. John the Baptist and St.
Jerome, as well as an angel, flank the throne.
The Old Fortificatiion of Dresden, 1750, by Bernardo Bellotto (called Canaletto).
The Zwinger Courtyard in Dresden, 1751, by Bernardo Bellotto (called Canaletto).
The Old Market in Dresden as Seen From Schlossgasse, 1750, by Bernardo Bellotto (called Canaletto).
The Old Market in Dresden as Seen From Seegasse, 1750, by Bernardo Bellotto (called Canaletto).
The two paintings above are of the same subject - the Old Market, just from two different angles. This is evident by the adjacent yellow
and white burgher houses in the middle of the row to one side. The small building in teh background and foreground, respectively, are also
of the same structure.
Dresden from the Right Bank of the Elbe, above the Augustus Bridge, 1747, by Bernardo Bellotto (called Canaletto). This when painted
when he arrived to the city, and shows some of the city still under construction.
The pointer is at the very bottom almost in the middle.
A characteristic of Bellotto's painting is "someone pointing" somewhere, much like "Where's Waldo". These are from all the Bellotto images above
The Chocolate Girl, 1744, Jean-Étienne Liotard. Liotard's most famous pastel is of a parlour-maid serving hot chocolate.
The low social status of the subject, the full-figure profile depiction and the realistic representation made this painting significantly
different from all the others in the historic pastel cabinet.
The Drunken Hercules being Led by a Satyr Couple, 1613, Peter Paul Rubens. Hercules, typically seen as a god of strength and courage,
is depiected in a moment of weakness.
Saint Jerome, 1612, Peter Paul Rubens. The "Golden Legend", a medieval collection of stories about saints, includes an account on
the life of St. Jerome. He lived for several years as a Christian hermit in the desert, where he helped a wounded lion.
Saint Jerome, 1618, Anthony Van Dyck. The artist, a student of Rubens, dominates the bleak landscape with a black curtain [not a
dragon] hanging over it.
Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window, 1658, by Johannes Vermeer. The recently completed restoration work has uncovered the Cupid
painting on the rear wall of the room, which had been painted over by a different hand during the 18th century. The prominence
of the god of love clearly points to the amorous context of the scene.
We viewed the key artwork for an hour. Then we headed back out after visiting the lockers.
Another Minerva, 1715, by Blathasar Permoser, similar to the one pictured at the entrance above.
By the time we stepped outside again, it was after 5:00 and the sun had already set.
Unfortunately, the first shot is a little blurry. Also, in the plaza there was a protest of some sort.
We had a short walk and then a short drive to the ship.
After returning to the ship, I dropped off the equipment from the excursion. Then Linda and I walked to the lounge for our daily
port talk.
Tonight was a captain's toast. All the department heads came out, and the captain... made a toast.
We finished the port talk, and then headed downstairs to the dining room. As I wound up doing for the duration of the trip on the ship, I
walked ahead of Linda, backwards, in case she had any issue going down the stairs. She didn't - which was a good thing.
We sat with Kress and Kathy from Wisconsin, and Janet and Frank from Massachuests. These two couples have traveled together quite frequently.
These weren't the only couples that we met that traveled together.
Also, someone - that wasn't me (seriously) - ordered two entreés for dinner.
Linda had Lombardy salad, stuffed portobello mushrooms, and mango ie cream.
I had erbsensuppe mit rauchwürstchen (sausage and pea soup), Classic German Tafelspitz (prime beef), and moelleux au chocolat.
Around the dining room.
We were going through cough drops faster than we would have liked. Soooooooo I had to make a quick run to the local Netto
supermarket. I walked straight across the narrow field next to the ship, up some stairs, across a street, down a two block
walkway - and I was there. I found the cough drops, went through the self-checkout, and was back in less than a half hour.
Tonight was another night of different entertainment (other than our pianist) in the lounge as we were treated to a classical music
trio. Linda remained in the room with her leg iced and elevated, and I missed the very beginning so I am not sure what they were
(meaning "college students") or exactly what they were playing - but it was still enjoyable. And they played three songs / sets.
After the performance, I returned to the room.
It was a REALLY long (at least it seemed like it) day with a little trauma. We finished getting situated in our room, relaxed a little, washed up, and went to bed.