Germany for a Day

This past Saturday the 18th, we took a bus to Dresden for the day. It was a completely free trip, so why not right? We got up to our annoying alarm clocks at 6:30, and took off down the free-way. It was a fairly short bus ride lasting about 2 1/2 hours. Everyone else slept, but I anxiously starred out the window. Let me explain, for those of you who have not heard the great news, I was officially approved for my visa, and I had to send my passport back to the US. My mom sent it off to the Czech Embassy in LA, where it still remains. Until then , I am in a foreign country with no passport.  I am hoping they will quickly return it back to me with the visa in place.  I was told that I should be fine without it, since they have established the European Union, but I was nonetheless anxious. The way they explained it to me is that because of the EU, its like traveling in-between states within the US. Its not really that simple. Though it is easier to move about from country to country, it is illegal to do so without a passport unless you are a European citizen. Luckily, I never had an encounter with an immigration officer. Ok, back to Germany. We arrived at about 11, and went on a tour of the city. Just a little background of this special place: In 1945, during the second World War, the US bombed Dresden, which left the entire inner-city basically destroyed. It has since been rebuilt with architechture that is structured to resemble that of the past. It was such a beautiful city. It is situated around the Elbe River, which of course added to the beauty. Dresden was much like most European cities in that the buildings were incredible. The city was filled with museums, traditional German restaurants, and endless amounts of tourists taking photographs. Following the tour, we went to a restaurant and grabbed some lunch. I had onion soup and a salad, but everyone else had very Germany meals. They had sausages, pretzels, and beer. Meredith was disappointed in her lunch. It consisted of a cold slab of meat that was basically the left over meat from many different types of animals held together by a gooey gelatin. She was not satisfied. We followed up lunch with some gelato, and walked around the city to do the tourist thing. After weeks of being here, we still stand in amazement at the structures. They are absoloutely incredible. There was a sadness to think that they were not originals, but duplicates, but they were still amazing. As we walked around the city, there was pictures, both painted and photographs, of the city when it was leveled, and bodies that were killed during the explosion. It was sad to think that the US was responsible for such a tragic event, though I fully accept the fact that I am not "war" minded, and therefore I always think it is unnecessary. Anyway, after we took some photos, we did some souvenir shopping, payed 75 cents to use the bathroom ( they are never free in Europe :), and spent some time in a Beer Garden. They are very common in Germany. They are just an area, usually like a park setting, where there is tables and chairs set up and people can order a beer and some food, usually a pretzel or sausage, and sit for as long as they would like and enjoy nature. I hate beer, but I love the setting, so I had fun. After this, we explored a little more, and headed back to meet the group. After boarding our bus, we headed back for Prague. I was still a little anxious, but after multiple people told me I had nothing to worry about, I found myself fast asleep almost the whole ride back. I woke up just as we were pulling into the city. It was such a fun trip and mind-blowing to think that Saturday I was in Germany for the day. The thought never leaves my mind of how blessed I am to get this experience!