On Monday we took another trip to Dresden. This time we went by train only. The kids have been looking forward to this trip for some time. It was delayed a few times due to sickness but on Sunday we made the decision to go no matter what! By the way I woke up in the morning with my ears cleared and I could hear again!!!
Our trip started in the morning at my mom's house. We left the house around 7:15 to make our first train connection an the local village.
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| All ready to go. |
We barely made our second train conection in Lovosice. Our second train ride was from there to Decin. In Decin we changed trains again (with few minutes to spare) to Bad Schandau (Germany).
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| Our thrid train ride in the morning. I have no idea why Emma doesn't look happy. |
From Bad Schandau we made our last conection to Dresden (with 3 minutes to spare). We made it to Dresden a little before 10 am. Not bad for whole bunch of train rides.
We walked to downtown (about 15 minute walk). However it took us longer since we had to find a bathroom. Here in Europe you have to pay to use public and sometimes even restaurants bathrooms. The fee is about 1 Euro so for my family to go pee is about 5 bucks. Sometimes you are able to find bathroom for free. Your best bet is McDonalds but there are places where you have to pay as well.
Anyway after we emptied our bladders we felt much better and we headed to Residenzschloss which houses several museum exibits. The boys have been begging to see the Rüstkammer or Armoury exhibit. They were not dissipointed. By the way the kids were free and the adults are 10 Euros (if you want to see more it will cost more).
We were able to see The Türckische Cammer (Turkish Chamber) as well. On the first floor we viewed Neues Grünes Gewölbe (New Green Vault) with its many treasures. Everything was very impresive. We only had a day in Dresden so we weren't able to spend as much time as we would like but we were glad to get a taste of Dresden's treasures.
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| At the castles entrance. (Nate looks like he is about to rob it.) |
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| After our museum visit we were all hungry and looking for some good German food to eat. |
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| But not before mom got her pictures. |
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| ok mom, food now? |
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| A warrior garding the city. |
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| We walked these stairs a few weeks ago with daddy. We missed him and wished he could be here with us. |
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| The trees have leaves on them. What two weeks can do. |
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| Rare picture of me and the kids. |
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| My little travelers conquering the world. |
I know that our travels look great with all those pictures and smiling faces. This might come as a shock to you all but there are tears on our travels as well. The kids do not smile all the time (they do most of the time) nor do I :)
After we had our lunch (bratwursts with sauerkraut and potatoes) Jo lost it. She had her five year old moment that lasted way too long for my taste. She let everybody know in Dresden that she was not a happy girl. That is why there are ony three kids in the following picture.
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| Missing the rest of the family!!! |
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| Jo is not happy with her life at this moment. |
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| This is after my lecture about her visiting places that most people will never visit and that she should enjoy it NOW (it didn't stop the crying, no surprise there). |
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| One last look, we had perfect weather for walking around. It didn't start raining until we were safely on the train heading back home. |
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| The kids got a kick out of German crossing signs. They have one for girls and one for boys. We made the boys walk on the boys side and we girls walked on the girls side. The problem was when there was only one sign. But we all made it across anyway. I bet it never "crossed" your mind that different countries in the world have different signs. (by the way Jo is still pouting in the back) |
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| German outdoor market. |
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| The kids were wondering if it was the store they thought it was. We did go in and we can say for sure that TJMaxx is in Germany. Honey you would be proud I didn't spent any Euros :) |
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| Waiting for our train ride home (first train) Jo looks a little happier. |
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| Snack after a long day. |
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| Train ride number one. |
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| Quick picture from Königstein. We visited here a few years ago but we were at the top on the castle looking down at the river and trains go by. This year were were cranking our necks to look up. Not a good picture but I only had a few seconds to run out of the train and everything was in the way. |
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| Changing trains. |
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| Train ride number 2 on the way home. The kids are showing that we are on our ride number 6 for the day. |
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| Train ride number 7. |
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| Last train ride (number 8) |
By the way our train ticket (a group sale) was 400 Korun (about $20) for all of us round trip. Jo was free. Not bad for a day trip.
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| Walking home from the train station. You can see my mom's house in the back. By the way the kids ran home. I guess they were not tired at all. |
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| I am known for proping my family for pictures. I wanted them to act tired after our long day (we made it back home around 6.30pm) |
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| Whatever mom, time to play with the dogs. |
