Elegant Elbe: Day 11
Day 11: Wednesday, November 08, 2023 - Meissen, Germany, scenic sailing, and Torgau, Germany
The day's statistics:
- Weather: upper 50s, sunny
- Steps: 1,255 Linda; 12,687 Steve
- Miles traveled (approximately): 23
Breakfast was egg benedict with mushrooms and tomato on the side (for Linda) and full buffet (for me) on the ship.
When we got back to the room after breakfast we were still underway.
Today's excursion began at 8:45 and was called "Meissen Walking Tour & Porcelain Making".
We boarded the bus and headed out. Sabina was our guide and Josef was our driver.
It was a very short ride to the factory.
It wasn't long before we arrived at the Meissen porcelain factory.
The crossed swords is the current emblem of the company.
The bus stopped right in front, and Tomas jumped out to arrange the entry tickets. Then the bus moved up 100 meters (320 feet).
Doesn't seem like much, unless one has a problem walking. It would have been in our interest to get off the bus when Tomas did.
We didn't know that was an option...
By the time we got to the traffic light to cross the road, our entire group had already crossed the road AND entered the facility. The
second Viking bus that arrived shortly after ours, had all those passengers also get to the light and cross ahead of us too. We had to wait
another light cycle to cross. We finally entered the facility. The security guard at the facility noticed the walking issue and asked
Tomas if we wanted to use the wheelchair they had. Of course we did! Part of the facility was up three steps and in order to get to it easily,
we had to take the elevator up to the second floor, and then take a different one down to "Terrace". When we got there, we looked around a little.
Some of the pieces were, shall we say, expensive (to us).
In order to get to the demonstration rooms, we had to go back down a couple steps. While Linda was capable of descending a couple steps,
the staff insisted she use the little chairlift elevator for the three steps.
We also determined that the other groups QuietVoice® channel was 2. So we tuned to their channel and seemlessly tagged along with them.
We had to wait briefly for the group ahead of us - our "real" group - to finish before we could enter.
These are the various Meissen logos that were used over the years.
In the first demonstration room, we saw an artesian spinning a small pot. He threw the pot by hand, but also had a mold for a second one.
There were some pieces that were completed being thrown, and a progression of how the spaces are removed in flowers on a platter / plate.
The demo in the first room was done, and we moved on to the second.
This artesian was doing the "additions" to certain pieces. In the demo, he was adding a hand to the two dancing ladies, and shaping a dress.
In the third demo room, we saw an artesian painting underglaze. The colors were painted one at a time and in layers. After one
color was done, the next one was applied. Underglaze is coloring that goes beneath a clear coat to protect it forever.
The last artesian was painting overglaze. These color were also usually painted at a time. Overglaze is paint that goes on top of a clear coat.
We left the fourth demo room, and made our way to the collections.
Because the pieces are hand painted, there is a very high probablilty that pieces - even in the same set - could have slight variation to
them. Probably not "one is red, the other is blue", but rather "this leaf is a little smaller than that one," or "this shade of blue is
slightly lighter / darker than that shade of blue."
There were pieces on display that are no longer produced, or were produced strictly for display. There was also a "zoo" collection.
Including the demos, we were in the factory for over an hour. We viewed as much as we reasonably could in the time we were allotted.
When it was time to go, I asked the security guard if I could wheel Linda out to the bus and bring the chair back, and he said, "I'll go
with you." OK, so I wheeled Linda to the bus and the guard took the chair back to the factory.
The bus headed out - giving us a view of the factory on the way.
We were dropped off not too far down the road so we could tour the town a little, though Linda stayed on the bus.
It was a quaint little town - like most of these have been - with nice architecture. And a palace. And a flood line.
The town of Meissen was not destroyed during the war, but it was neglected during the communist era - but has, for the most
part, been refreshed now.
We walked down a few streets and ended at the square - another frequent feature of these towns.
The pharmacy - Apotheke - has been in business since 1504, and in the building since 1555.
Those that wanted and were capable, were welcome to join the guide to travel up the hill to the castle. I was one that wanted to.
Portal seats. There are a number of these fixtures throughout the city.
Before ascending the stairs to get closer to the top of the hill, Sabina stepped into a a bakery, Konditorei Café - the last selling
this particular item - and got us a sample of the Fummel cake (spelled with m's, not n's). I happen to volunteer to take the first bite. And
because of that, was given whatever was left over. It turns out that while the pastry is shaped like a small pillow, it has less inside of
it than a small pillow.
We made our way to the staircase, and continued our journey. There are a number of different types of stones used for the cobbles.
At the top of the stairs, we turned right, and walked along a short road - enjoying some views - before passing through the first gate.
We eventually arrived at the portion of the city that was enclosed within the walls. The main street was called Freedom Street. Though it
would be more appropriate to call it Freedeom From Taxes Street.
There was a church that was attached to the palace, and it is beleived that there was a passage from the palace to the church so royalty
wouldn't have to go outside to attend service.
There wasn't too much building in this area, but that was primarily because there was a lack of space to build.
The church - though we didn't get to go inside - was 700 years old but the spires were only 100 years old because they were destroyed
by lightning.
The light stone building is the palace. It is the first palace in Germany that was constructed strictly for living, and not ruling.
Next to the palace was the corn house. Rumor has it that a wealthy Italian has said that they want to acquire the property, and turn it
into a five star hotel. However, that was over a decade ago.
Heading back out, along the outer wall was a small park like area, and a couple spots for an overlook. Further, there was actually an
elevator installed on the side of the hill to help with gaining access to the grounds and, especially, the five star hotel. But apparently
it isn't too reliable and breaks down often.
We left the palace grounds area, and turning left outside the gate, we paused on an overlook next to a restaurant. We would have stopped
here on the way up to the castle, but another group was occupying the space.
We took a narrow stairway to return to the area near where the we ascended the first stairs.
We came back down the hill and still had a little time. I ducked into the church on the square - that had an 11:30 bell ringing that
we missed it because we were on top of the hill.
The visit in the church was brief, and there were still a few minutes before we were supposed to meet - so I
walked over to the Apotheke and popped in to get a picture of the original ceiling. And some cough medicine.
After our tour of the town was done, we had a short walk to the bus, and then a short drive to the ship.
I thought the golden arches might be branching out into a new line of business.
We embarked, dropped what we took with us to tour, and headed to the dining room for lunch. We sat with Kathy and Kress, and Janet and Frank.
The menu and today's market far items.
Linda had red lentil & coconut milk soup, Cuban sandwich, and melon ice cream.
I had red lentil & coconut milk soup, BBQ baby back ribs, and chocolate brownie.
The ship was underway while we had our lunch.
We had a comparatively lengthy journey to the next port, so this afternoon - and tomorrow morning - were considered scenic sailing.
Frequently on days like this, there are some additional things to do. Today, at 3:00, there was a demo on how to make quarkkeulchen, a soft
sweet-ish cake.
It was considered a "tea", so there were tiny sandwiches and other sweets too. Linda stayed in the room to elevate and ice
her leg, but I headed to the lounge to check it out. Fortuately (or unfortuantely, depending on your perspective), I did NOT
get a tower of sandwiches and sweets, but I did get a chocolate covered cookie-cake sort of thing, and just one. I'm glad I
didn't get morebecause it was going to be a quiet day and I didn't need to eat even more.
After our snack, the scenic sailing continued.
The shoreline, here, had little alcove sort of indents which I gather would be to help break the waves and wake, and curtail erosion. And
the ducks like them too.
The ship was on the river in Torgau. Right when the ship was slowing down, and I took a series of pictures, the lights came on (the ship was
moving, so they aren't perfecct - low-light / night photoes are hard enough, adding movement does not help).
We actually docked, and Tomas took whoever wanted to (and could) go, on a short night walk into the town.
We were given flashlights, and took our QuietVoices®.
At the end of the gangplank we turned right and walked along the river briefly. Then turned left toward, walked a little, left, walked a little,
and made our way to a monument overlooking the river.
Enough travelers shown their flashlights on the monument to illuminate it.
The inscription reads "Here on the Elbe on April 25, 1945, the foreces of the First Ukranian Front of the Red Army linked up with American Forces".
As the story goes, the Russians were firing at whatever soldiers approached. The American forces were trying to join them (in this case, at this
time, they were actually considered allies). But they could never get close enough. So the Americans recruited a German soldier with the threat
of "if you don't help us, we'll turn you over to the Russians." (For a German, at this time, that would have been very bad for him.) He helped,
and the two forces finally united.
We crossed the street - which had no traffic and Tomas made a joke about the fact that the captain would hold up traffic for us while we crossedd -
walked up a small sidewalk, passed through the gate, and entered the courtyard.
The highlight of this stop was the spiral staircase to the left - the first spiral staircase without a central support.
Near the entry gate was a church. There was only a small locked plexiglass-enclosed entryway, and there was little light inside.
We headed out the other side of the grounds, through the gate, over the moat, and toward St. Marien church.
It was getting pretty dark, and I didn't have the monopod.
We arrived at St. Marien church.
The bells started chiming at 6:00. Most on-hour chimes may be a little melody, and then single chimes for the hour. This church was different.
It played a song. And kept playing the song. I recorded this minute worth, and we started walking away. And it kept playing. And playing. The
bells rang for at least five minutes.
We headed back to the ship.
When we got back to the ship, it was time to head to the lounge for the port talk.
We grabbed a cup of coffee on the way.
After the talk, we headed to the dining room for dinner. We sat with Mary and Bob, and Peter and Phylis.
Linda had Caesar salad, reibekuchen, and raspberry sorbet.
I had würzfleisch, roast chateaubriand béarnaise, and opera cake.
Tonight was a night of a little fun in the lounge. While the pianist plays every night, and or there are other musicians, tonight
was a musical trivia night. Linda stayed in the room to keep her leg elevated and iced. I went and joined two other couples.
Bonus points were scored if - for the first three times - someone on the team got up and danced, but for the last bonus song,
the entire team had to stand to dance.
We were doing a song where hand motions were used to spell something but
I don't know Y the name of the song escapes Me, even though you can C A letter being formed...
In the end, our team came in fourth.
Today wasn't that busy of a day, but there were still some activities. We relaxed a little, washed up, and went to bed.