Hello, again, Blogonauts! I have spent three days exploring Dresden. Some of my photos can be seen by clicking on the "Photos" tab above. However, two unrelated images from my childhood, separate from the snapshots here, keep coming to mind: First was "Girders and Panels," a make-believe construction toy I had as a child. The plastic "girders" would lock together in a 3-dimensional grid pattern, all mounted onto a masonite peg board for stability. Once the i...

Hello, again, Blogonauts! On Wednesday, my planned path landed me in Bamberg, a smallish city about an hour north of Nürnberg. Bamberg's old city center has received accolades as a World Heritage Site. Indeed, the primary reason for its inclusion on my itinerary is that the place is just so bloomin' cute! (Click on the Photos tab above to find the album labeled "Bamberg.") Similar to Rome, the city is surrounded by seven hills, most of which have a church an...

Hello, again, Blogonauts! As predicted by the sky-watchers, my last day in Nürnberg was the first where the weather wasn't as spectacular as the scenery. So my consequent plan was to devote most of the day visiting the Germanisches Nationalmuseum. This is a vast collection of archaeology and art, both secular and sacred, and much of it drawn from the area around Nürnberg. Included inside the walls of the museum is an abbey church, which was the only church in...

Hello, again, Blogonauts! Germany, from perspectives both long and short, is a paradox. Admittedly this may describe all cultures, but the contradictions before my eyes now belong to Germany. Over the last couple of days, multiple sources have dangled before me the notion that Nürnberg is the "most German" of all the cities in the country. I found that statement almost verbatim in guidebooks, on museum displays, and on podcasts describing the city. Now, if s...

Hello again, Blogonauts! On Sunday you would have found me enjoying the rebuilt remnants of the Holy Roman Empire and the Reformation, alongside a few thousand Nürnberger pedestrians who flocked to the Altstadt to eat ice cream and drink beer...blessedly, not together. Nürnberg was beloved by many Holy Roman Emperors, but by none more than Charles IV. The Kaiserburg (Emperor's Castle) pre-dates him by a couple of centuries, but it looms large over the city ce...