Dresden

Next we stayed with Johanna's relatives in Dresden, a beautiful and historic city. The sites were amazing and I took many pictures here. I am so grateful for the hospitality of the Ermel family as they welcomed me with open arms. I came away from Dresden with a renewed love for family and togetherness.

View of the city at night

Train station in Dresden

The Golden Rider, August the Strong

View of the old city of Dresden

The Katholische Hofkirche (The Catholic Church of the Royal Court of Saxony)

Semperoper (Opera House)

In the middle of the Zwinger, the palace in Dresden

More views of the Zwinger

Dresden Castle or Royal Palace

Steins!

The Furstenzug (Parade of Princes) depicted in Meissen porcelain 

The Frauenkirche (Women's church)

The inside of the women's church- beautifully renovated 

The outside of the Frauenkirche

Sunset images in Dresden

So much resilience in the city of Dresden, as it had been bombed heavily during World War II. The buildings as they stand now are full of history and beauty.

Back to Berlin

After we visited northern Germany, we returned back to Berlin. 

Train station in Berlin

Bracelets we got at the giant flea market in Berlin

Sunday is karaoke and flea market day at Berlin's Mauerpark. Many tourists and regulars will sing popular songs (especially American 90s music!) for hours.

The huge crowd was very supportive of all the singers and their dancing. Some of the singers were great dancers too. While not everyone was a pro at singing, it was great to be able to sing along to familiar songs.

Penzlin

We visited Penzlin, a town near Johanna's hometown of Neubrandenburg. It was celebrating its 750th birthday when we visited, so there was a huge celebration at its castle. There were many people in medieval costume and many bands were playing traditional music. It was quite a spectacle and I enjoyed it very much.

Penzlin Castle

Penzliner Burgfest (aka, Penzlin Castle festival)

The view of the medieval-based festival

Me and Johanna enjoying the local bands at the festival.

Stralsund

Next we visited the sea-side town of Stralsund and visited the Baltic Sea!

The Meeresmuseum, or Maritime museum 

The Gothic style church ceiling that the museum was built into

A ship outside the museum 

A street in Stralsund

Me next to a yellow building in the city

The main city square in Stralsund

The Stralsund City Hall

My first view of the Baltic Sea!

The Ozeaneum, or Ocean museum 

Listening to the whale exhibit in the Ozeaneum

View from the roof-top penguins exhibit

City street in Stralsund. The church at the end is St. Mary's church.

Me next to the church

The Baltic Sea in nearby Zinnowitz

Johanna and I relaxing on the beach. It was a beautiful day and we made many heads turn by speaking English and calling attention to ourselves. The beach goers were not used to hearing American English and they welcomed me to the area.

Chairs on the Zinnowitz beach