June 16 2012

Today we left from Dresden and went to Königstein. I didn’t really know what to expect, and it was yet another long ride on a packed train with not enough seats for everyone. But at some point the scenery outside began to change, there were more rolling hills, the houses more picturesque, and so many trees! It was beautiful. More like the stereotypical idea of what Germany should look like, or at least, what one expects to see in Germany.

We rode up the steep hill to the fortress on a bus, got our audio guides, climbed/took the elevator to the top and dispersed.

It is really incredible, the history of the fortress begins in the Middle Ages and it was continuously built up into the 19^th century. It would certainly deter many from attacking I think. Jennifer and I walked all the way around the walls of the fortress and the  view of the surrounding countryside is spectacular. We both agreed that there is no way pictures or video would ever get across how beautiful it was to actually be there and to see it for ourselves. It is times like that where I realize how incredible this trip is for us. We then came back down to the meeting point about 20 minutes early to make sure we were there on time. Once we rode the Bimmelbahn down to where the Bus was we then took the Bus to near the train station and walked back to our train. It took us from about four until 8 to get back to Wittenberg.

New Words:

Ursprünglish (adj) = original

Erbauen = erect

Gehören = be proper, be right (I wonder if “genau” isn’t some old bastardized form of this…?)

Zärflichkeit = tenderness

Springersteifel = combat boots