Back to Dresden, Germany

Back in November I went to Dresden, Germany, with Claudia and Norbert.  I said that I wanted to visit it again but when it was warmer.  Well, yesterday was my second visit.

Miran's cousin is visiting from Canada for three months so they came up from Murska Sobota on Friday night.  To tell the truth, I wasn't really that jazzed about this day trip.  The early morning train from Brno to Dresden takes just over five hours to get there.  Plus another five hours home.  That's ten hours on a train, to walk around the city for five or six hours.  That's just a long day.  Fortunately, the weather was good so it made the trip, more or less, worth it.

I saw pretty much everything that I saw the last time I was here.  But again, the weather was better this time so it was easier to just walk around.  Of course no visit to Dresden is complete without seeing the Frauenkirche.

On the outer wall of the castle's stables courtyard is the Fürstenzug - the Procession of Princes.  Originally it was painted from 1871 to 1876, it celebrated the 800th anniversary of Saxony's ruling family.  However, from 1904 to 1907 it was replaced with ~23,000 Meissen porcelain tiles so that it would be weather proof.  It has a length of 102 meters (335 feet) which makes it the world's largest porcelain artwork.

Zwinger is a Baroque complex of gardens and galleries which were built between 1710 - 1732.  Originally, it was built to be the forecourt of a castle.  Today, it is a great place to wander around.  It is also home to several museums.

 

Federal Republic of Germany

I've been to Germany many times.  Some of the places I've been to include Karlsruhe, Heidelberg, Frankfurt, Berlin, Stuttgart, Herrenberg, Dresden and Munich.  I'm not worried about running out of destinations because there are lots of other places which are still on my list such as Hamburg, Cologne, Hannover, Dusseldorf, Bonn, Rostock, and Leipzig.  So I might as well give a little information about the Federal Republic of Germany.

After the defeat of Nazi Germany in WWII, the country was split in to four zones.  The eastern part of the country was occupied by the Soviets and the western section was occupied by the American, British and French armies.  Berlin, deep inside of East Germany, was also split in to four zones.  The Berlin Wall eventually divided the city in half.  It was a symbol of the Cold War between West Germany (the Federal Republic of Germany) and communist East Germany (the German Democratic Republic).

West Germany was about the size of Oregon and developed quickly after the war thanks to American aid.  The country industrialized rapidly, developed a market economy and became a member of the EU and NATO.  East Germany became a staunch ally of the Soviet Union.  East Germans lived under the watchful eye of the Stasi – the secret police.

With the fall of communism in Europe in 1989, the Berlin Wall came down and everything opened up.  There was a fast move towards German reunification.  However, countries like France and Poland were nervous about a unified Germany.  You can't really blame them given WWI and WWII.

In 1990, East Germans voted to dissolve their country and join West Germany.  Reunification Day was October 3, 1990.  In 1994, the capital was moved from Bonn back to Berlin.  Today, Germany is a bit smaller than Montana and with 81.8 million people, it has the second-largest population in Europe after Russia.  German is the official language.  Economically, Germany is a rock star.  It is the second-largest exporter and third-largest importer of goods in the world.  With the strongest economy in Europe, it is doing everything it can to help keep the Euro afloat. 

There are still economic differences between the western and eastern parts of the country.  The east tends to be poorer and unemployment is much higher.  The west had to pour a lot of money in to the east in order to revitalize the area after 40 years of socialist central planning.  The east still gets quite a bit of subsidies from the government which does generate some resentment between the Westies and the Osties.

©Deutsche Welle

Here's a video I found out on YouTube which talks about how Germany became the strongest economy in Europe.  I'll be honest, the USA could take a few economic lessons from Germany.

Update 2025:  Here's a short video I found about who opposed German reunification.

©History Matters

Rapeseed

With the way that Czech holidays work over here, if a holiday falls on a weekend then you lose it.  So even though I almost at three years here in CZ, yesterday was my first day off for Liberation Day.  It's a shame that I seemed to know more about it than some of my Czech friends did.

So with a day off yesterday I took the opportunity to go buy a new suit.  I must be starting to fit in now because I've been invited to three weddings over the next couple of months.  It's still a hassle trying to shop in Euro-sizes but I was overdue for a new suit.

After that I went on a short 8 km (5 miles) hike in Medlánky, which is the district north of Brno.  You can definitely tell that Spring is finally here due to all of the rapeseed around.   

 
The Czech Republic is among the top 10 producers of rapeseed.  It is used to make vegetable oil and diesel fuel.  When taking a train though the country right now you can see field upon field of this bright yellow flower.

Liberation Day

Today is Liberation Day in the Czech Republic which marks the end of WWII in Europe.  The first country that the Nazis took over was their own – Germany.  In 1938, Hitler annexed Austria which became part of the Third Reich.  His next target was Czechoslovakia.  Hitler wanted the ethnic-German border regions of Bohemia and Moravia – the Sudetenland.  This part of the country was responsible for the major portion of Czechoslovakia's coal, energy, power and mountain fortifications.

The UK and France thought that by appeasing Hitler with a few concessions that the bloodshed of WWI would not be repeated.  They were very wrong.  In September 1938, there was a four-power conference in Munich between Germany, Italy, France and the UK.  Czechoslovakia was not invited.  The Munich Agreement is where the West sold out Czechoslovakia.  The result was that Nazi Germany took over the Sudetenland.  Other parts of the country were taken over by Poland and Hungary.

On March 15, 1939, Hitler invaded what was left of Czechoslovakia.  This marked the end of the country and it did not exist again until after the war was over.  What were left of the Czech lands became the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia.  For the first time in history, Slovakia became its own country, although it was just a Nazi puppet state.

The Czechs were among the first victims of Nazi oppression.  They were also the last people to be liberated.  General Patton's army liberated most of western Bohemia on May 5, 1945.  On May 8, the Germans on the western front surrendered.  Due to the Moscow time difference the German surrender took effect on May 9.  This is why Liberation Day in Western Europe is on May 8th but in Russia and the former east European countries it was celebrated on May 9th.  After the Velvet Revolution, the Czech Republic moved Liberation Day to May 8th.


Here is part of an old USA documentary, which I found on YouTube, that gives more background.

Update 2025:  Here's a short video I found on about why didn't Czechoslovakia resist annexation.

©History Matters

Spalovač mrtvol

A couple of weeks ago, a few of us went to a coffee house to see Spalovač mrtvol.  This has got to be one of the creepiest movies that I've ever seen.  Don't get me wrong...the movie was good.  But creepy.

The English language title is The Cremator.  The movie was released in 1969 and is considered one of the best movies made in Czechoslovakia.  The film has a strong Hitchcock feel to it.

The film takes place in Prague during the 1930s.  Right before the Germans carve up Czechoslovakia and create the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia.

The lead character is Karl Kopfrkingl and he works at a Prague crematorium.  The man is a freaking whack-a-doo!!  He winds up killing people including his family because his part Jewish wife and their kids will make it difficult for him to advance his career under the Nazis.  

The movie is in black and white.  It was also in Czech with English subtitles.  It was not accepted by the 42nd Academy Awards as an entry for Best Foreign language movie.  I'm told that the movie was banned under the communists and was released again until after the Velvet Revolution in 1989.

Here's a clip from the end of the movie that I found out on YouTube.  Unfortunately, there are no subtitles but you can at least hear what Czech sounds like.

Back at the Gun Range

I've been on this team building kick at work lately.  Well some of us managers decided that we too needed our own team building event.  So on Thursday, a few of us decided to blow off a little steam at the gun range. 

A couple of hours of shooting and I was totally able to put a hectic week behind me.

Me and my 9mm Glock at 30 meters

  

Bratislava Day Trip

With an early morning flight from Edinburgh, Miran and I met up with Eiko in Bratislava.  I haven't seen her since Thanksgiving so it was good to catch up.  But the bad news is that she is moving to Stockholm in a few months.

I've been to "Bratsville" more times than I can count but I never seem to have time for any of the touristy stuff.

On top of the New Bridge is the UFO restaurant.  For €6 you can go to the observation platform.  It's a great view of the city and the Danube. 

I finally made it up to the Bratislava castle.  It was going through renovation when I first starting going to Bratislava.  From what I understand the renovation project went over budget for the exterior and now there is no money left to redo the interior.  But at least it looks good from outside.

The last time I went to the Blue Church the doors were closed.  Well this time I finally got to see the inside.

Slavín is a Soviet Army memorial.  It was built from 1957 to 1960 and honors the thousands of Soviet Army soldiers who died liberating the city in April 1945.  It opened on the 15th anniversary of the city's liberation. 

But to me the interesting thing is that while the Germans were fighting here, the city had not actually been occupied.  Slovakia was an ally of Nazi Germany and Slovak troops helped Germany invade the Soviet Union.  There are 6,845 soldiers buried here. 

Scottish Highlands and Loch Ness Tour, Scotland

The final day in Scotland was spent on a bus tour of the Scottish Highlands and Loch Ness.

This was a very long day.  The tour lasted 12 hours and we traveled about 350 miles (+560 km).


From Edinburgh, our first stop was to get some coffee and take a few more pictures of Hamish again. 

We stopped at Glen Coe in the Highlands to take photos.  This looks like a great place for hiking.

The Commando Memorial was unveiled in 1952 and it commemorates the elite soldiers who died in WWII.  The commando Basic Training Center is located 4 miles (6 km) away.  During the war, over 25,000 men trained there including British, American, French, Dutch, Belgian, Norwegian and Polish soldiers.  Even Jewish German soldiers trained there.  The memorial is 5.1 meters (17 feet) tall.

Loch Ness is probably one of the most famous lakes in the world.  At 23 miles long, 1 mile wide and over 750 feet deep, it is second only to Loch Lomond.  There is enough fresh water in Loch Ness to fill every lake, river and reservoir in both England and Wales.  The here is very murky due to the high peat content in the surrounding soil.

Loch Ness is the supposed home of Nessie, the Loch Ness monster.  There have been many sightings over the years but Nessie must have been busy when I was there because she didn't come out to play.


The ruins of Urquhart Castle sit on the north shore of Loch Ness.  It was built in the 13th century and was in use until around 1692.




There's not much left but the tower has a great view of the lake and Great Glen.

Haggis

No trip to Scotland would be complete without at least trying Haggis, the national Scots dish.  Haggis is a rich dish made of sheep's heart, liver and lungs.  It is then mixed with onion, oatmeal, suet, lots of fresh ground pepper and other spices.  It is then put in a sausage casing and simmered for a few hours.  It is usually served with "neeps and tatties" which are just mashed turnips and mashed potatoes.

At a local restaurant, I tried a high-end version of haggis which was served on top of layers of mashed turnips and potatoes with a whiskey sauce.  It was actually pretty good as long as I didn't think of exactly what I was eating.  Of course, the local Scot beer did help wash it down.

Loch Lomond, Central Highlands & Stirling Castle Tour, Scotland

My second day in Scotland was a 9-hour bus tour.  The total trip was about 145 miles (233 km).  We traveled from Edinburgh to Glasgow, then on to Loch Lomond, the Central Highlands and a visit at Stirling Castle.

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and the 3rd largest in the United Kingdom.  George Square is the town's main square.  It was laid out in 1781.  The east side of the square is the  home of the Glasgow City Council.


Around the square are many statues including the only known equestrian statue of Queen Victoria.

Poppies at the memorial

There is also a memorial, erected in 1922, for the Glaswegians killed in WWI.

With only 30 minutes of free time in Glasgow there wasn't any time to really see the city.  But at least I got a glimpse of it.  Now I just need to plan a return visit to see the rest.


Loch Lomond is the largest lake, by surface area, in the UK.  The freshwater lake is 39 km (24 miles) long.  The width varies from 1.21 km (0.75 mile) and 8 km (5 miles) wide. 

At its deepest point it is about 190 meters (620 feet) deep.  By water volume it is the second largest after Loch Ness.

The Trossachs National Park is centered on Loch Lomond.  At 1,865 square km (720 sq miles) it is the 4th largest park in Great Britain.  The Trossachs are beautiful and look like a great place for hiking.

Along the way to Stirling we stopped at the Trossachs Wollen Mill in Kilmahog.  The principle attraction here is a visit with Hamish the Highland bull.  Highland cattle are a Scottish breed with long horns.  The meat is extremely lean because of relying on fat, the cows stay warm thanks to their thick shaggy coats.

In 1996, during the mad cow disease scare, Hamish was saved from the slaughter house by animal rights activists.  At 19 years old, he is one of the oldest highland bulls in Scotland.  His daughter Honey was born in 2011.

Stirling was a strategically important city between the Scottish Lowlands and Highlands.  The medieval city has a population around 34,000.  Stirling Castle is one of the largest castles in Scotland.  Most of the castle dates back to the 15th and 16th centuries.  Mary, Queen of Scots, was crowned here in 1543.

From the castle you get a glimpse of the Wallace Monument.  It commemorates Sir William Wallace and his actions during the Wars of Independence.  The 67 meter (220 feet) tall, sandstone tower was completed in 1869.  Too bad the tour itinerary didn't include a better view.