Dreary Dresden, Cheery Chatting

Dresden:

Dresden

Dresden Frauenkirche

           Since arriving in Dresden last week, I have to admit, the weather has been a little dreary. It's slowly heating up, which is great! I think my behavior and emotional health is definitely weather-dependent. In Leipzig, the weather was perfect and it was the most perfect week...concerts, churches, and sunshine! And now, the city I have been looking forward to visiting for almost a year, has seemed quite dismal..but is this weather-related? I'm thinking half and half. It is clear that Dresden is still in the rebuilding period following WWII and the fall of the Berlin wall. While a lot of historic buildings are back up and open for visitors (such as the beloved Frauenkirche), they still look a bit sad...like they are surrounded by these excited tourists and pleasant Dresdeners, but still not healed from the war. *sigh*  On the bright side, I plan to revisit the old historic buildings again, during a nice sunny day this weekend...which may or may not change my perspective.
         
Bechstein:

Bechstein factory 

           Two days ago, I had the privilege of touring the Bechstein piano factory in Seifhennersdorf (just had to share that my spell-check thinks I was trying to spell 'oversensitiveness' when spelling 'Seifhennersdorf'...so close spell-check...so close). Anyway, Seifhennersdorf is a small town and about an hour and a half away from Dresden via regional train and taxi. Unfortunately, there was some communication error between myself and the tour reservation I had made because no one knew I was coming. I knew I should have reconfirmed my tour a week earlier...like I've done with almost every other factory. Oh well, I still was able to have a tour and everyone in the office was very pleasant toward me. They even gave me some Bechstein books to take home!

Bechstein company car

           There was a Japanese lady with a scheduled tour, and although she preferred the tour in German, she also knew English (and Spanish and Japanese, of course...quadrilingual??). The tour was mostly in German, with some English thrown in there for some of the complex information (thank you!). Instead of having to pay for another taxi, an employee of Bechstein's drove us to the train stop in the company car! Hopefully, I will get my butt in gear (today!) and write a page on the Bechstein process and my sustainable observations soon.

Seifhennersdorf:

Seifhennersdorf Kreuzkirche

           After the tour, the Japanese lady (Kaiya? I believe that's what she told me her name was...) and I had about three hours to kill before the next train back to Dresden arrived, so we wandered aimlessly around the small town and talked in Germanglish (German-English). We walked to the town church called Kreuzkirche (popular church name...Church of the Cross) and then to the Gymnasium (high school). The town contained some beautiful sights besides the church, such as rolling hills of fields, woods, and a creek. It made me feel a little more at home. Cities aren't really my favorite places.
          Anyway, Kaiya and I stopped to have some tea for an hour or so...at the only cafe in town. There we discussed many subjects...and one of them was WWII. For anyone who knows me, you know I love discussing some of the more taboo subjects. Not to start a quarrel, but simply because I love discussing important issues and by hearing other's opinions and beliefs, I gain perspective. So yes, after two hours of talking with this woman, I brought up WWII. She was so surprised how much I knew! And believe, although I took the highest level history classes in high school (and love history), I don't remember nearly as much as I was told. In fact, I really hate how little I can retain from my classes.  Anyway, we discussed the Japanese camps in the United States, Pearl Harbor, and Hiroshima and Nagasaki...and at the end, she said she was happy we could discuss those issues now. I think the initial conversation came up when I asked if there were a lot of Japanese flags in Japan...because I've barely seen any flags in Germany. For an American, this is strange because we have flags everywhere...from little shops to schools to outside every government-related building. And no, there are not a lot of Japanese flags flying high in Japan.

Cafe in Seifhennersdorf

          Kaiya and I also discussed Christianity because I brought up my Bible somewhere down the line. (And I know, religion is another taboo topic, but she seemed comfortable to discuss it). She asked me if I prayed everyday, and I was a little stumped. I said, "Well it's mostly just an on-going conversation throughout the day. I don't usually pray formally." Apparently, Kaiya found love for Jesus about a year ago when she studied religion in school. (Now, this was an older lady so props to her for taking some more classes!). She said many Japanese are not religious at all. After talking with Kaiya, I felt I had gotten a sense of the Japanese culture...since it is not often discusses in school. When I was getting off the train, she hugged me goodbye. I will miss this lady!