Oliver ‘ 26, Avery ’24, Sasha ’25, and Natania ’24, share the groups arrival in Prague.
During another sleepy bus ride, we arrived in Dresden, a few hours south of Berlin. As we entered the city, tall buildings revealed themselves as we got closer to the center. We got dropped off near a beautiful park and entered into an area of stunning baroque buildings. We had the opportunity to explore the surrounding museums, including the incredible art gallery of Alte Meister. Following our tour of the museum, we walked through the cobblestone streets of Dresden towards lunch, more traditional German food. The restaurant in which we ate was several centuries old! Afterwards, we briefly visited the wonderfully ornate Church of Our Lady. The church, which had been almost entirely destroyed in the Second World War, is newly rebuilt. In several places the sandstone bricks very clearly showed burn marks from the war. We then split into smaller groups and spent an hour or so exploring the city. Dresden offers both beautiful buildings and landscapes, overlooking the River Elbe. We learned lots today about the history of the city, the free state of Saxony, and a brief preview of Polish history.
-Oliver’26 and Avery ’24
After exploring Dresden, we hopped back on the bus to continue our journey to Prague. On the bus, we got plenty of rest before our busy time in Prague but also had time to play an interesting game where we debated who was the “greatest German” from a variety of prominent historical figures. Things got heated and the final round was between Hildegard von Bingen and Johannes Gutenberg, with Gutenberg eventually prevailing. Although I, Natania, won the game, personally I think Einstein should have won instead. I guess David and I were just too talented, which is, of course, a usual problem for me. Once we were in Prague, we had a delicious dinner of traditional Czech food and listened to a performance by a Czech folk band. I, Sasha the vegan, enjoyed a vegetable soup followed by some sautéed vegetables with potatoes. My non-vegan comrades had a variety of roasted meats in addition to their meal, and also some apple strudel. Personally, my favorite part was the deliciously cumin vegetable-potato soup which I will certainly try to make at home sometime! Overall we all are ready to get plenty of rest before a busy and meaningful day tomorrow, further exploring the city and visiting Terezìn.
-Sasha ’25 and Natania ’24
