Wir Fahr'n Fahr'n Fahr'n Auf Der Autobahn

Spent the good portion of sunday sight-seeing and being a good little tourist. We started the day by going to church in downtown Dresden. I've been attending Catholic masses my whole life, but this was my first one in a foreign language. I knew the procedure and what was going on, but gosh if I had any idea what they were saying. If the church ever needed an argument for a return to Latin celebrations, this is it. It was a bit ironic that in an old historical church, they use electronic boards to indicate the number of the hymn. I'm pretty sure I've never seen THAT in any other church before. Of course I would have been happier had they spent a bit more money and put pads on the kneelers...I do not enjoy kneeling on just wooden kneelers.

Dresden is probably most famous for the firebombing that took place there at the end of World War II. The former GDR lacked money (one reason communism is maybe not so good) to rebuild many of the historical buildings in the city that were destroyed, so they remained in ruins until reunification. The city is still in the midst of rebuilding and renovating the buildings, but it is amazing what they have done so far. They've mixed old bricks that were salvagable with new ones to completely reconstruct these buildings. It is all pretty amazing. We certainly do not have historical buildings like that in the U.S.

One thing I do like to joke about with the OFOMOL is how I'm visiting a former Communist country. Growing up in the US (and the West) we have certain stereotypes about Eastern Bloc countries and how life was so bad there. Talking to her about it, and learning from her mom, life wasn't bad...it was just different. They were not lesser people. The citizens were not tortured or treated badlz. Some western Germans still think this, and that is a shame.

I have taken some pictures of Communist things -- some buildings and murals that still stand, and I even saw an old car from the GDR. Another reason that Communism may not be the best way of governance -- people had to wait 10+ years for a car. And tropical fruits were unavailble...they could only visit other Easter Bloc countries and even this was hard...although they did have "free elections" where the people could vote for whoever they wanted. Then there was the Stasi -- no one knew who was a member and they mointored for anti-government behavior. So yeah, Communsim was not a good thing. On a good note, I even touched one of the buildings and I am happy to report that I did not catch Communism.

It is nice to see all of these buildings and symbols as they remind all of us that History is filled with not-so-great moments. We should look back and learn from these things so that we can create a more better world.