Day 4: Dresden & Prague
Today we left Germany and crossed the border into Czechia...read about our adventures from Pranav and Maggie!
Today was quite a fun travel day, covering the following locations: Berlin, Dresden, and Prague. We started off with a tremendous breakfast at the Meininger Hotel in West Berlin, Germany. We checked out of the hotel and were welcomed by clear skies and a hot sun. Thereafter, we embarked on our journey to Dresden. Dresden is one of the most beautiful cities I’ve ever seen. We quickly explored the beautiful Zwinger palace buildings. There we learned about Augustus II The Strong, who is comparable to Napoleon Bonaparte, yet Augustus II was born in Dresden. He was a famous elector of Saxony from the Wettin dynasty. His reign of power contributed to Poland’s decline as a European power, as he fought to regain formerly Saxon territories controlled by Poland. Fascinated by the Zwinger building, our group decided to revisit some of the locations in the Zwinger palace that our EF tour guide, Ildi, did not cover on our break. After exploring Dresden, we went on an expedition to our final location for the day: Prague. Prague is a beautiful city. Prague is filled with astonishing architecture and has proven to be quite a tourist trap. While watching out for pickpockets in this busy location, we were able to see many of the attractions in the Old Town Square. What makes Prague so special is that the city was safe from raids and attacks during WWII, except for one accidental bombing by American fighter pilots who mistook Prague for Dresden. Since none of the city was destroyed, much of the architecture we see standing has a rich history. All in all, despite today primarily being a travel day, we were able to see many breathtaking sights and truly have a good time exploring further in Europe.
We started off our fourth day in Europe pretty early and quickly by hopping onto the bus. After a two hour bus ride, we arrived in Dresden which is about half way in between Berlin and Prague. In Dresden, we did a walking tour with Ildi where all of us were shocked by how old the buildings looked. Yet, we were surprised to learn that most of the buildings were actually rebuilt due to the bombings from World War II. Overall, we all enjoyed seeing Dresden which was an extremely charming town located in Saxony. We had another two and a half hour bus ride to Prague, where we got to see the beautiful mountains and hills in the countryside. Upon arriving in Prague, we immediately began a walking tour which brought us into Old Town Square. Each of the buildings in the square was extremely old, yet very beautiful and charming, seeing as the newest building was 400 years old. After some free time where we got to walk around the shops and explore the city, we all met up to head to dinner. We ate at a local restaurant and enjoyed a delicious meal and dessert. Afterwards, we headed to our new hotel in Prague to get ready for the busy day ahead.
- Maggie
Today was quite a fun travel day, covering the following locations: Berlin, Dresden, and Prague. We started off with a tremendous breakfast at the Meininger Hotel in West Berlin, Germany. We checked out of the hotel and were welcomed by clear skies and a hot sun. Thereafter, we embarked on our journey to Dresden. Dresden is one of the most beautiful cities I’ve ever seen. We quickly explored the beautiful Zwinger palace buildings. There we learned about Augustus II The Strong, who is comparable to Napoleon Bonaparte, yet Augustus II was born in Dresden. He was a famous elector of Saxony from the Wettin dynasty. His reign of power contributed to Poland’s decline as a European power, as he fought to regain formerly Saxon territories controlled by Poland. Fascinated by the Zwinger building, our group decided to revisit some of the locations in the Zwinger palace that our EF tour guide, Ildi, did not cover on our break. After exploring Dresden, we went on an expedition to our final location for the day: Prague. Prague is a beautiful city. Prague is filled with astonishing architecture and has proven to be quite a tourist trap. While watching out for pickpockets in this busy location, we were able to see many of the attractions in the Old Town Square. What makes Prague so special is that the city was safe from raids and attacks during WWII, except for one accidental bombing by American fighter pilots who mistook Prague for Dresden. Since none of the city was destroyed, much of the architecture we see standing has a rich history. All in all, despite today primarily being a travel day, we were able to see many breathtaking sights and truly have a good time exploring further in Europe.
Signing off,
Prabhav
We started off our fourth day in Europe pretty early and quickly by hopping onto the bus. After a two hour bus ride, we arrived in Dresden which is about half way in between Berlin and Prague. In Dresden, we did a walking tour with Ildi where all of us were shocked by how old the buildings looked. Yet, we were surprised to learn that most of the buildings were actually rebuilt due to the bombings from World War II. Overall, we all enjoyed seeing Dresden which was an extremely charming town located in Saxony. We had another two and a half hour bus ride to Prague, where we got to see the beautiful mountains and hills in the countryside. Upon arriving in Prague, we immediately began a walking tour which brought us into Old Town Square. Each of the buildings in the square was extremely old, yet very beautiful and charming, seeing as the newest building was 400 years old. After some free time where we got to walk around the shops and explore the city, we all met up to head to dinner. We ate at a local restaurant and enjoyed a delicious meal and dessert. Afterwards, we headed to our new hotel in Prague to get ready for the busy day ahead.
- Maggie
Great group picture! Thanks for the posts!
ReplyDeleteHey, did you all get a chance to stop and watch the clock tower. It was pretty amazing to watch it run!
ReplyDelete