Trento i Bolzano-Bozen

After three days in Dresden, Louis and I were on the road again. Direction: Trento.

We left Dresden around 9:00 and arrived in Trento around 20:00, having transferred trains in Nürnberg and München, where Philippe joined us.

Of course, Louis immortalized this eleven hour trip in video.

Memories came flooding back as the train approached Trento, as I giddily pointed out familiar sites, restaurants and café... and the epicentre of many wonderful and stupid adventures.

We spent the Friday evening in the city centre, grabbing an aperitivo before going out for supper. The Italian scene was a complete change to Germany for Philippe and Louis, whereas I felt as if I was coming back home.

The Saturday was dedicated to visiting Trento's main sites and relaxing in Piazza Duomo, meeting up with Marco and some ESN students. Sunday morning, we went to Bolzano for a day trip, where I introduced my two companions to the multilingual city. We spent the morning up in Oberbozen (for those that have followed this blog over the past few years, you will recognize the cable-car) and the afternoon in Bolzano, before heading back to Trento.

We spent a lovely evening in Trento, where we were met by Giuseppe and Mindaugus for supper and drinks (many, many drinks), while Louis retired early in the evening - it was reassuring for me to see that I wasn't the only one prone to illness!

We left Trento on monday morning, after grabbing a last cappucino in Piazza Duomo, to spend a few days in Munich.

As you can very well understand, I took very few pictures of our time in Trento and Bolzano-Bozen! But Louis was there, as always, with the video camera.

Duomo - seen from via Verdi

Piazza Duomo 

Trento

Philippe

Video of our first full day in Trento

Second day, spent in Bolzano-Bozen

We left Trento on the monday morning, as I left my memories behind, happy to have returned to Trento   even for such a short period of time. Philippe continued his treck back to Konstanz as I introduced Louis to the joys of Munich and the surrounding area.

Next update: München, Dachau & Salzburg 

Eastward to Saxony II : Dresden

Our Saxon adventure continued!

After our memorable day and night in Freiberg, Louis and I made our way to Dresden. The short (30 mins) train ride went well, apart from the sweltering heat. We promptly met Tina Schönfelder, Tina Lebelt and Tirza, who had come from Weimar for the day, at the train station on the wednesday.

We spent the day hat hunting, visiting the zoo and enjoying a BBQ while relaxing at Tina S's place. It was nice to slow our vacation rhythm down and to relax a bit.

The second day was dedicated to visiting Dresden itself with the Tinas, with Tina L serving as our personal tour guide. Dresden is a beautiful city with a nice vibe. especially in the New (ironically older) City.

On the friday morning, Louis and I boarded yet another train for the 12 hour trek south to Trento.

I will definitely be returning in the future, and would like to thank everyone that joined us during out time in Saxony, with special thanks to Tina S and Markus for providing us with accommodation.

Tirza and Tina L

Tired lion slowly melting in the heat at the Dresden Zoo

Do not lift children up against the cage!

Don't go over the fence!

The old city

Tina S in the market place

Dresden as seen from a bell tower

Frauenkirche 

The Ontario restaurant and café!

Tina L having fun

Hofkirche

Zwinger

Zwinger

Tina L and the old city

The Elbe

Waiting for Döner, looking intelligent

The Tinas

Döner in 4 steps...

Neustadt - New City

And of course, no blog post would be complete without Louis' unique video perspective, so for your enjoyment, here are the video highlights of our stay in Dresden!

Eastward to Saxony!

On May Day, Louis and I left Berlin and move eastward to Saxony.

Our first destination: Freiberg

The trip took about two hours to get to Dresden, where we transferred unto a regional train for the half hour trip to Freiberg.

While we did not spend much time in Freiberg, it was quite a memorable visit. It also demonstrated the apparent complexity of German names, as Louis could seemingly not identify one German from another (although it does get somewhat confusing as you will see). 

Isabel met us at the train station before we headed downtown to her apartment. After meeting Annegret at the apartment, we toured the town and took in the sights. Like Berlin, the weather was beautiful and warm, a nice departure from the weather back in Canada.

Some city highlights include the old town, the visit of the mineral museum (which we had to drag Louis out of to continue our visit) and afternoon cake with sambuca coffees. 

Freiberg reminds me of Trento in many ways, as both are beautiful and quaint towns that are outside the main tourist circuit, although Freiberg is smaller than Trento. The Saxon town also has a relatively small core, with locals meeting in the main square, much as was the case in Trento. 

After our cakes, we went to a BBQ on the university campus where Tina Lebelt (last names are important when it comes to Tina's as you will see) joined us from Dresden. The rest of evening becomes a bit more of a blur, as bottles of wine started disappearing to the point where we had to organize an expedition to the only convenience store open (as May Day is a national holiday in Germany).

Having successfully completed our mission, we headed back to Isabel’s for a nightcap.  

Louis in downtown Freiberg

Isabel 

Annegret

Just like the old days

Schloss Freudentein (happy stone palace)

Isabel, longing for the exit and liberty

One of the wonders of the mineral museum

Finally! The exit of the mineral museum

Inside the cathedrale

Cake and sambuca coffees!

Town hall and Isabel

After the BBQ, Tina, Isa, Louis and Annegret

View from Isa's appartment

Here is a compilation of Louis' unique video take on our visit to Freiberg, enjoy the train ride, colza fields, downtown tour and Louis's constant struggle with Isabel's name, always referring to her as Ina. 

After having some difficulties waking up the next morning, Isabel treated us to a real feast for breakfast. Soon after, Isabel and Annegret left for university while Louis and I made our way towards Dresden, our next destination.