Dresden Days #9 and #10 - Sightseeing and Heading Home!

Saturday was essentially a "free" day. We had two optional activities planned, or students could decide to go out on their own and explore. Many had to shop for gifts still as well. Quite a few went hiking, while the others explored the city. I was one who explored Dresden some more!

Our first stop was the Panometer Dresden. This is a 360-degree museum with 1-to-1 scale view of Artist Yadegar Asisi's creations. The current installation is "Dresden 1945" which shows the Altstadt (Old City) and the immediate aftermath of the Allied bombing raids in 1945. The display is 27m high (88.5ft) and in the center is a 15m (49.2ft) high tower so you can get a "bird's eye" view of the city. While impossible to capture the amazing feel of the exhibit, or how it appears in 360, I was able to capture a few interesting pictures. The use of music and lighting gave the feel of being in the actual bombing in the night.

After the Panometer we walked downtown along the Elbe and saw quite a few of the old buildings again, passing the convention center along the way.

We toured various churches and buildings, to include the home of the Dresden Opera and Theater, The Semperoper Dresden (above), and the Dresden Cathedral, previously the Catholic Church of the Royal Court of Saxon.

And since many of us were tired, and the OSU game started locally at 6PM, we were able to get back to the hostel and steam a bit of football!

Many of us had a quick dinner, and hung out on the rooftop of the hostel talking about the next trip over in 2021.

Sunday was long, with a 5AM meeting time and flights all day. The day started with the German students waving us goodbye as we pulled away on our bus to the airport in Prague, Czech Republic....and ended with a successful touchdown at John Glen International.

A life changing experience for everyone, the pictures and a few words can't do justice to the friendships made, the culture experienced, the partnerships strengthened, and the inspiration gained.