We are now in Riesa, where we’ve been generously hosted by Heike and Gunter Stenzel and family. Richard Stenzel is the Rotary exchange student who stayed with us for six months last year. It’s been great for all of us to see where Richard grew up and lives now, spend more time with his parents and brother, and meet his grandparents. He is doing very well; it was a treat to see the four boys, along with Fritzi (Richard’s younger brother), connect again. We couldn’t help but reminisce about ‘old’ times! It really reinforces the richness of people-to-people exchanges between people from around the world.
This area is so rich in things to see and do, with many cultural gems of Germany are in this region; we really only scratched the surface. Besides sightseeing some of the traditional spots in Meissen and Dresden, we also toured the Riesa noodle factory as well as the fully glass-enclosed, high tech final assembly factory of VW’s high-end Phaeton in Dresden. The noodles were famous to us from packages Richard received from his parents/grandparents while at our house. Other highlights included a visit to the office of Saxony’s prime minister’s office, an exhibit of 16th century armaments in the Zwinger. It is amazing to realize how much work has been done to rebuild Dresden in recent years. The Frauenkirche, truly a pile of rubble for forty years, with only two small sections surviving the bombing in February of 1945, now stands again proud and tall, restored outside and inside to its original state. Finally, we squeezed in Kaffee und Kuchen with Urte Haertwig, a cousin of Martin’s mom in Dresden, who has been doing all the family genealogy research. Carl walked away with a photograph of a namesake, great-great-great-great-greatuncle, Carl Heinrich Poppe!
This area is so rich in things to see and do, with many cultural gems of Germany are in this region; we really only scratched the surface. Besides sightseeing some of the traditional spots in Meissen and Dresden, we also toured the Riesa noodle factory as well as the fully glass-enclosed, high tech final assembly factory of VW’s high-end Phaeton in Dresden. The noodles were famous to us from packages Richard received from his parents/grandparents while at our house. Other highlights included a visit to the office of Saxony’s prime minister’s office, an exhibit of 16th century armaments in the Zwinger. It is amazing to realize how much work has been done to rebuild Dresden in recent years. The Frauenkirche, truly a pile of rubble for forty years, with only two small sections surviving the bombing in February of 1945, now stands again proud and tall, restored outside and inside to its original state. Finally, we squeezed in Kaffee und Kuchen with Urte Haertwig, a cousin of Martin’s mom in Dresden, who has been doing all the family genealogy research. Carl walked away with a photograph of a namesake, great-great-great-great-greatuncle, Carl Heinrich Poppe!
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