Tuesday, June 14th

          Today started at 6:30 (German time) for me, enough time to shower, eat, and get ready for the long day ahead of us in Dresden. Everyone met at the school to get on the bus that was supposed to take about 2 hours to get to Dresden. To be honest, the bus rides are usually my favorite part; I like being able to sit and talk and joke with friends in the back of the bus.
          When we finally arrived, we went around the city in the bus for maybe a half hour or so and got a short tour of the more outer parts of the city. We saw a hygiene museum, some old houses and castles; it was really pretty.. The bus dropped us off in at a square in the city, where we started our tour by foot. We stopped by many beautiful buildings, statues, monuments, and other well-known areas in the city. One of the buildings we stopped by was the Grand Hotel Taschenbergpalais; Barack Obama stayed in this hotel for one night two years ago. To stay in this hotel, it costs about $5000 per night, I think is what the tour guide said.
          We saw many other monuments, so many that there's no way I could remember all of their names. During the tour, I learned that porcelain was first made in Dresden and that it's the most expensive there.. On the main church, Dresden Church of Our Lady, the bricks are different colors. This is because after the air raid from WWII, which the church withstood, there temperatures were too hot (they reached up to 1000 degrees Celcius) and this made the church collapse two days later after the air raid. The darker pieces on the building is the original,  and the lighter colored pieces are the refurbished pieces.
         Once the tour was finished, we were allowed about 2 hours of free time. I think the majority of people went to get something to eat and to shop a little. Tom, Allison, and I went to some Italian place and Allison and I got the most amazing pasta we've ever tasted. After this, we got Frappichino's from Starbucks to cool down from the heat outside.
          Everyone had to find their way back to the set meeting place to get back on the bus, which then we drove to the Asisi Panometer. This place was really cool; inside the dome-like building, there was a huge painting of Dresden from back in the old days. When you'd climb to the top of a structure in the middle of the building, you were surrounded by the sounds of the town and a very detailed picture. Eventually the time of the day would change from daytime, to a deep purple/blue which was like nighttime.
         By the end of our time here, everyone loaded back on the bus to go home. This was another fun bus ride home. We stopped once to pee (which cost ,70 Euros) and get some refreshments for the ride. Then we continued home, it rained a bit, and we saw a double rainbow; which was pretty sweet.. After we got back to the school, I think most kids went home with their partners because we have to go to classes tomorrow with them. Others went to hang out with other students; I'm not sure exactly what everyone did. But overall, the day was pretty rad..

Miranda Buffington