Date: Sat, 07 Nov 1998 06:28:12 -0500
Subject: :)
Good morning everyone! It's a beautiful day here today- clear blue sky, everything. I woke up and rushed into the city to try to take a picture of the Alps with the lake in the foreground, but unfortunately the sun was coming from that direction and it was a bit hazy in the background... so it'll have to wait. In the meantime, I thought I'd write a bit more, before I go back and start doing SERIOUS work! (Yes, I'm still a procrastinator!) Anyway, I need to tell you that starting Monday I can't use these computers for email. (I've been using the ones in the library where I don't need a log-in or password or anything.) But never fear! I did finally sign up for a password, so that i can use other computers, with an ETH address! The only thing is that I don't know yet if I can use telnet (meaning use my rpi address) from there, so until then, please don't write anything ( :( ) OR if you do, please save a copy so you can send it to me at my new address! (I'll let you know asap what it is!)
THANKS!
OK, so I was telling you about the Morgners, who are SOO wonderful! They were trying so hard to show me as much as possible within 2 short days of their beautiful little part of the country- Vogtland, and the Erzgebirge.
On Saturday morning we went to the Bergbaumuseum- a museum for the coal mining that was done in this region. We all had to wear hard hats for the tour, and even though I didn't quite understand EVERYTHING the tour guide said, (I did get a lot of help from Christiane, though!) :D it was really interesting- it seems like an incredibly scary place to work- NOT the life for me! Oh, and at the beginning of the tour the guide handed out lollipops to all the little kids on the tour, and he gave one to ME! (But not one to Andreas, who is 8 years younger!) We all laughed about that, and I gave my lollipop to him later.
They took me to see the Goeltschtalbruecke, which is absolutely amazing- it reminds me so much of a Roman acqueduct- like Pont du Gard, or something.
It is the biggest masonry bridge in the world, built in the 1800's (by one of Christiane's ancestors!!- I guess engineering runs in her family!)
At the bottom of the bridge is a little brook, maybe twice the width of the length of a kitchen table! (I'm not going to get into feet and meters here!) It seems kind of funny that so massive a bridge was needed to cross so tiny a stream, but really the valley it was in was quite big, and that was really what it was spanning. We drove up to it in the valley, so we were at its very bottom, and then Christiane, Andreas, Mr. Morgner, and I climbed up the hill to the top.
This bridge was incredible- a whole series of brick arches in a row, and stacked on top of each other, to create a level surface for the trains to cross on top.
The span in the center is the biggest, to cross the brook, but the rest are all equal spans.
I took a TON of pictures here, about 10 that all fit together taken from the brook - I needed that many to fit it all in- and then a few more.
When you stand directly under one one the arches and look through lengthwise, you see a whole series of arches that could almost be a Romanesque cathedral, except that it's outside.
Andreas was hoping that I could do a sketch of it for him, but I didn't think to bring my sketchbook. (What, me?!?) :(
Then on our way home we saw some beautiful countryside, which Mrs. Morgner kept pointing out, and whenever I turned to see what she was pointing at, a bunch of trees got in the way. "And some MORE beautiful German trees!" Andreas kept saying. :) But everything there WAS very beautiful! Rolling hills of farms, with little villages of red roofed houses.
And there were so many windmills there too- sleek modern ones with two blades, rather than the old wooden Dutch ones that you always think of- slowly turning, quietly doing their job on the hillside. There was one point where the field seemed so smooth, and the windmills with their smooth lines and the line of trees in the background all seemed so simple, as if the whole image could be represented in three or four clean lines- so elegant.
We drove into a very wooded area, and started climbing up a hillside, (yes, MORE beautiful German trees!) :D It all seemed so warm and cozy, and we had glimpses of a spectaular view as we passed by little clearings. I loved it! Mom, I think you would love this part of the country! It really reminded me of the camp road in some places. HMMM! :)
At one point we drove right along the Czech border. Mrs. Morgner pointed out the border guards stationed at a little post on the cross road. You can WALK across, or take a TRAIN across, but you're not allowed to drive a CAR across the border here. I guess they have lots of problems with smuggling. It kind of eminded me of the movie we saw in German class last semester, Das Versprechen (the Promise), which took place in Berlin during the whole time the wall was there. Our professor had explained that when a car crossed from East to West, the guards would jump up and down on the back seat, and stick a pole into the gas tank to make sure it didn't have a false bottom. (These were two places people would hide in a car to escape to the west.) I asked Mrs. Morgner about what it was like in the DDR, if it was very different from how things are now. She said that for the most part things were good then, just a bit different. There were certain statements and rules issued that you just couldn't question. For example, she wasn't allowed to make an Abitur (The big test in German High schools that allows you to get a High School Diploma) because she was so involved in the church. But at the same time everyone always had a job, there was always someone to care for the children when the parents were at work, and there was a bigger social safety net. Now she said, there is more unemployment, which isn't a problem for the Morgners and their friends because they all have good positions, but for many others it IS a problem.
We drove through one town which Mrs. Morgner said was the richest town in the DDR, with more millionaires than anywhere else. It kind of surprised me- I didn't realize there WERE millionaires in the DDR- I thought everyone had pretty much the same- middle-level income- noone too rich or too poor. She said that yes, there were millionaires, just not as frequently, and the wealth differences weren't as extreme as in the west.
That evening Christiane and I fixed dinner for ourselves and had a chance to talk- which was great- we had so much to catch up on in the last few weeks! I met her cat, Feelix (named after Brenda's bear!!!) He was so cute, and still just a kitten! We took him for a walk outside, and I got to see their backyard, which is really a small farm! We walked through the chicken yard- I carried Feelix while Christiane stood guard with a big stick, so that the rooster (who is very mean, I guess) wouldn't attack us. We saw the two sheep, but couldn't get too close, because if they moved we'd trip on their chains and then they'd stomp on us before we could get
untangled! Christiane said only her Dad and her Grandfather can go right up to them. (I didn't get a picture of her sheep for you, Graham, sorry! It was too dark out anyway.) So we had to be careful that Feelix didn't wander too close to the sheep- when we did, the sheep began to stomp their feet nervously. Then we walked around their garden, which is filled with some kind of plant, that I didn't know the translation for. (Maybe they're turnips? I don't really know.) The whole time Feelix kept sneaking through the grass (which was taller than he was!) and pouncing on leaves and things. He really reminded me of Snoopy, when he pretends to be a great lion of the Serengeti or something!
The next morning we went to a Musical Instrument Museum, which was really cool- so many beautiful examples of ancient, medieval, classical instruments, variations of instruments I knew, some I had never seen before.
Nick, I saw a few Alphorns!!! I thought of you! :) (They're HUGE!) The day we went there were people MAKING instruments there and we could watch, and there was a concert, a quintet, I think, upstairs.
It was great! Bren, they said they took you here too?
For lunch Oma made Kloese, which were delicious! Bren and Christiane, I thought of day you made them at home, and were so disappointed in your "disaster!" (I still thought yours were yummy, though!) But now I can understand what you were trying to do! :D Kloese are a special potato dumpling made in this part of Germany. They're about the size of my fist, and very stiff, but at the same time very soft and tasty- they go very well with gravy or sauce on top of them! I guess Christiane's grandmother makes them every Sunday! Speaking of food, she also made her Pflaumkuchen (plum cake) which Bren talked about so much- and yes Bren, it was as delicious as you said! It was much better than the Eierschecken (a Dresden specialty dessert that I brought with me to Rodewisch-it's a soft custardy baked dessert, that's cut into squares kind of like brownies), I thought.
So that was about the end of my weekend with the Morgners. Mrs. Morgner bought me a little Hummel plate (!) like the ones they gave you, Bren, to take with me as a memory. (Hummel is made in this region) I couldn't believe it! It was so sweet! She and Christiane brought me to a store to pick it out, and I found one called the Globetrotter, of a little kid with a backpack, hiking along with a church and mountains in the background (that's me this year!) So it's sitting on my shelf in my room in Zuerich, where I can see it and always think of the Morgners! Mr. Morgner picked a bouquet of roses from their garden to bring back to Dresden with me- beautiful colors- red and pink and orange and yellow. They were beautiful!
I felt so sad on the whole train ride back to Dresden, but at the same time so happy, because I had such a wonderful weekend with such a sweet family, who I felt so at home with! Christiane, now that I can email you too, nochmal VIELEN DANK FUER ALLES! (Du und deine ganze Familie!) :)
One day the next week our class took a tour of the Semperoper, the famous Opera House in Dresden, designed by the architect Gottfried Semper (hence the name!) :) in the late 1800's- it opened in 1878. Like everything else it was flattened with the bombing in 1945, but it was rebuilt, in time to reopen in 1985- on the 40th anniversary of the bombing, to the opera that was the last performance before its destruction. This is an incredible building! So detailed, so ornate, so formal. The vestibule, which makes an elbow-macaroni shape around the perimeter of the theater has big vaulted ceilings, covered with paintings of Greek myths.
Side thought- did you ever notice that the FRONT of a theater/opera house (where the main door is) opens to the vestibule directly at the BACK of the theater itself? So is the vestibule at the FRONT or at the BACK? Strange, isn't it? the same is true for cathedrals- it all makes perfect sense until you try to put words to it.
Anyway, the walls of this lobby were covered with artificial wood paneling, with a square of real mable framed in the middle of the large panels! It made for a strange contrast, I thought.
But there was "Kunstmarmor" or artificial marble everywhere- floors, walls, columns- of so many different colors. When it was rebuilt they had to figure out how to reproduce this fake marble, which was a lost art form of the 19th
century. From what I could understand (which was not everything, because it was auf Deutsch) they made a thick dough and poured it into a mold. When it hardened they cut it just like they would real marble!
The theater itself was amazing! There were four balconies, each with only 2 or 3 rows of seats, so everyone had a good view.
The fronts of the balconies were decorated ornately with a creamy white, pale pink, and gold leaf, and globe lights protruding on big swoopy gold holders, almost like candelabras or averly curly "S"'s lying on their sides.
The curtain, which wasn't a curtain at all, but a drop, had a detailed painting on it, and the sides and top of it were painted to LOOK like a curtain, deep red, with the coat of arms of the ruling family of Dresden in the center.
Above the stage was the "Five Minute Clock"- kind of like an early digital clock. It displays the time in Roman numerals, and every five minutes -click!- the minutes flip over, like an odometer in a car.
On either side of the stage, where the box seats were, the levels were held up by caryatids (columns carved to look like people.)
The ceiling, which was a big circle, plus sides, had paintings of four women radiating out from the center, each representing a country where great theater literature came from (Greece, Italy, England, and Germany, I think?) and the names of opera composers and playwrights next to their respective countries. In the center of the circle was the most immense chandelier, with I don't know how many hunderds of these globe lamps on it, suspended above the audience below!
Oh, and each of these balconies had fresh air from the roof pumped in to it through its front railing! (The air intakes were on the tops of the backs of the seats, I think.) I thought that was pretts cool, especially since it was in the original building in the late 1800's!
A few of my friends and I got tickets to a concert in the Semperoper on the last night we were in Dresden.
It was absolutely incredible!
We were in the top balcony, behind the last row (we had standing room tickets, and eventually sat on the stairs.) which I thought was great- we were close enough to the ceiling to see the brushstrokes, and shadows that were painted on to give it extra depth!
The acoustics were amazing- picture Troy Music Hall (which, by the way you STILL need to visit, Mom!) :) and multiply it by 5- that it, if you can actually talk about acoustics in terms of multiples! The sound was so full and round, the music was so inspiring. I love classical music anyway, and in a theater like this it is so much more powerful. I think I like it for the same reason I like playing music- it gives me a chance to clear my thoughts by letting my mind wander while soaking in the inspired genius of the music. I feel like I have so much more energy, like I'm ready to conquer the world's problems. It sounds crazy, I know, but this is how I felt being at this
concert in the Semperoper! I loved it!
After the concert we met everyone else at a Kneipe for a sort of going away party. The two weeks had gone by so quickly, and we had made such good friends, it was hard to believe we'd all be leaving in the morning.
So that was Dresden.
Talk to you again soon!
Take care!
Lotsa love,
Cory :)
Subject: :)
Good morning everyone! It's a beautiful day here today- clear blue sky, everything. I woke up and rushed into the city to try to take a picture of the Alps with the lake in the foreground, but unfortunately the sun was coming from that direction and it was a bit hazy in the background... so it'll have to wait. In the meantime, I thought I'd write a bit more, before I go back and start doing SERIOUS work! (Yes, I'm still a procrastinator!) Anyway, I need to tell you that starting Monday I can't use these computers for email. (I've been using the ones in the library where I don't need a log-in or password or anything.) But never fear! I did finally sign up for a password, so that i can use other computers, with an ETH address! The only thing is that I don't know yet if I can use telnet (meaning use my rpi address) from there, so until then, please don't write anything ( :( ) OR if you do, please save a copy so you can send it to me at my new address! (I'll let you know asap what it is!)
THANKS!
OK, so I was telling you about the Morgners, who are SOO wonderful! They were trying so hard to show me as much as possible within 2 short days of their beautiful little part of the country- Vogtland, and the Erzgebirge.
On Saturday morning we went to the Bergbaumuseum- a museum for the coal mining that was done in this region. We all had to wear hard hats for the tour, and even though I didn't quite understand EVERYTHING the tour guide said, (I did get a lot of help from Christiane, though!) :D it was really interesting- it seems like an incredibly scary place to work- NOT the life for me! Oh, and at the beginning of the tour the guide handed out lollipops to all the little kids on the tour, and he gave one to ME! (But not one to Andreas, who is 8 years younger!) We all laughed about that, and I gave my lollipop to him later.
They took me to see the Goeltschtalbruecke, which is absolutely amazing- it reminds me so much of a Roman acqueduct- like Pont du Gard, or something.
It is the biggest masonry bridge in the world, built in the 1800's (by one of Christiane's ancestors!!- I guess engineering runs in her family!)
At the bottom of the bridge is a little brook, maybe twice the width of the length of a kitchen table! (I'm not going to get into feet and meters here!) It seems kind of funny that so massive a bridge was needed to cross so tiny a stream, but really the valley it was in was quite big, and that was really what it was spanning. We drove up to it in the valley, so we were at its very bottom, and then Christiane, Andreas, Mr. Morgner, and I climbed up the hill to the top.
This bridge was incredible- a whole series of brick arches in a row, and stacked on top of each other, to create a level surface for the trains to cross on top.
The span in the center is the biggest, to cross the brook, but the rest are all equal spans.
I took a TON of pictures here, about 10 that all fit together taken from the brook - I needed that many to fit it all in- and then a few more.
When you stand directly under one one the arches and look through lengthwise, you see a whole series of arches that could almost be a Romanesque cathedral, except that it's outside.
Andreas was hoping that I could do a sketch of it for him, but I didn't think to bring my sketchbook. (What, me?!?) :(
Then on our way home we saw some beautiful countryside, which Mrs. Morgner kept pointing out, and whenever I turned to see what she was pointing at, a bunch of trees got in the way. "And some MORE beautiful German trees!" Andreas kept saying. :) But everything there WAS very beautiful! Rolling hills of farms, with little villages of red roofed houses.
And there were so many windmills there too- sleek modern ones with two blades, rather than the old wooden Dutch ones that you always think of- slowly turning, quietly doing their job on the hillside. There was one point where the field seemed so smooth, and the windmills with their smooth lines and the line of trees in the background all seemed so simple, as if the whole image could be represented in three or four clean lines- so elegant.
We drove into a very wooded area, and started climbing up a hillside, (yes, MORE beautiful German trees!) :D It all seemed so warm and cozy, and we had glimpses of a spectaular view as we passed by little clearings. I loved it! Mom, I think you would love this part of the country! It really reminded me of the camp road in some places. HMMM! :)
At one point we drove right along the Czech border. Mrs. Morgner pointed out the border guards stationed at a little post on the cross road. You can WALK across, or take a TRAIN across, but you're not allowed to drive a CAR across the border here. I guess they have lots of problems with smuggling. It kind of eminded me of the movie we saw in German class last semester, Das Versprechen (the Promise), which took place in Berlin during the whole time the wall was there. Our professor had explained that when a car crossed from East to West, the guards would jump up and down on the back seat, and stick a pole into the gas tank to make sure it didn't have a false bottom. (These were two places people would hide in a car to escape to the west.) I asked Mrs. Morgner about what it was like in the DDR, if it was very different from how things are now. She said that for the most part things were good then, just a bit different. There were certain statements and rules issued that you just couldn't question. For example, she wasn't allowed to make an Abitur (The big test in German High schools that allows you to get a High School Diploma) because she was so involved in the church. But at the same time everyone always had a job, there was always someone to care for the children when the parents were at work, and there was a bigger social safety net. Now she said, there is more unemployment, which isn't a problem for the Morgners and their friends because they all have good positions, but for many others it IS a problem.
We drove through one town which Mrs. Morgner said was the richest town in the DDR, with more millionaires than anywhere else. It kind of surprised me- I didn't realize there WERE millionaires in the DDR- I thought everyone had pretty much the same- middle-level income- noone too rich or too poor. She said that yes, there were millionaires, just not as frequently, and the wealth differences weren't as extreme as in the west.
That evening Christiane and I fixed dinner for ourselves and had a chance to talk- which was great- we had so much to catch up on in the last few weeks! I met her cat, Feelix (named after Brenda's bear!!!) He was so cute, and still just a kitten! We took him for a walk outside, and I got to see their backyard, which is really a small farm! We walked through the chicken yard- I carried Feelix while Christiane stood guard with a big stick, so that the rooster (who is very mean, I guess) wouldn't attack us. We saw the two sheep, but couldn't get too close, because if they moved we'd trip on their chains and then they'd stomp on us before we could get
untangled! Christiane said only her Dad and her Grandfather can go right up to them. (I didn't get a picture of her sheep for you, Graham, sorry! It was too dark out anyway.) So we had to be careful that Feelix didn't wander too close to the sheep- when we did, the sheep began to stomp their feet nervously. Then we walked around their garden, which is filled with some kind of plant, that I didn't know the translation for. (Maybe they're turnips? I don't really know.) The whole time Feelix kept sneaking through the grass (which was taller than he was!) and pouncing on leaves and things. He really reminded me of Snoopy, when he pretends to be a great lion of the Serengeti or something!
The next morning we went to a Musical Instrument Museum, which was really cool- so many beautiful examples of ancient, medieval, classical instruments, variations of instruments I knew, some I had never seen before.
Nick, I saw a few Alphorns!!! I thought of you! :) (They're HUGE!) The day we went there were people MAKING instruments there and we could watch, and there was a concert, a quintet, I think, upstairs.
It was great! Bren, they said they took you here too?
For lunch Oma made Kloese, which were delicious! Bren and Christiane, I thought of day you made them at home, and were so disappointed in your "disaster!" (I still thought yours were yummy, though!) But now I can understand what you were trying to do! :D Kloese are a special potato dumpling made in this part of Germany. They're about the size of my fist, and very stiff, but at the same time very soft and tasty- they go very well with gravy or sauce on top of them! I guess Christiane's grandmother makes them every Sunday! Speaking of food, she also made her Pflaumkuchen (plum cake) which Bren talked about so much- and yes Bren, it was as delicious as you said! It was much better than the Eierschecken (a Dresden specialty dessert that I brought with me to Rodewisch-it's a soft custardy baked dessert, that's cut into squares kind of like brownies), I thought.
So that was about the end of my weekend with the Morgners. Mrs. Morgner bought me a little Hummel plate (!) like the ones they gave you, Bren, to take with me as a memory. (Hummel is made in this region) I couldn't believe it! It was so sweet! She and Christiane brought me to a store to pick it out, and I found one called the Globetrotter, of a little kid with a backpack, hiking along with a church and mountains in the background (that's me this year!) So it's sitting on my shelf in my room in Zuerich, where I can see it and always think of the Morgners! Mr. Morgner picked a bouquet of roses from their garden to bring back to Dresden with me- beautiful colors- red and pink and orange and yellow. They were beautiful!
I felt so sad on the whole train ride back to Dresden, but at the same time so happy, because I had such a wonderful weekend with such a sweet family, who I felt so at home with! Christiane, now that I can email you too, nochmal VIELEN DANK FUER ALLES! (Du und deine ganze Familie!) :)
One day the next week our class took a tour of the Semperoper, the famous Opera House in Dresden, designed by the architect Gottfried Semper (hence the name!) :) in the late 1800's- it opened in 1878. Like everything else it was flattened with the bombing in 1945, but it was rebuilt, in time to reopen in 1985- on the 40th anniversary of the bombing, to the opera that was the last performance before its destruction. This is an incredible building! So detailed, so ornate, so formal. The vestibule, which makes an elbow-macaroni shape around the perimeter of the theater has big vaulted ceilings, covered with paintings of Greek myths.
Side thought- did you ever notice that the FRONT of a theater/opera house (where the main door is) opens to the vestibule directly at the BACK of the theater itself? So is the vestibule at the FRONT or at the BACK? Strange, isn't it? the same is true for cathedrals- it all makes perfect sense until you try to put words to it.
Anyway, the walls of this lobby were covered with artificial wood paneling, with a square of real mable framed in the middle of the large panels! It made for a strange contrast, I thought.
But there was "Kunstmarmor" or artificial marble everywhere- floors, walls, columns- of so many different colors. When it was rebuilt they had to figure out how to reproduce this fake marble, which was a lost art form of the 19th
century. From what I could understand (which was not everything, because it was auf Deutsch) they made a thick dough and poured it into a mold. When it hardened they cut it just like they would real marble!
The theater itself was amazing! There were four balconies, each with only 2 or 3 rows of seats, so everyone had a good view.
The fronts of the balconies were decorated ornately with a creamy white, pale pink, and gold leaf, and globe lights protruding on big swoopy gold holders, almost like candelabras or averly curly "S"'s lying on their sides.
The curtain, which wasn't a curtain at all, but a drop, had a detailed painting on it, and the sides and top of it were painted to LOOK like a curtain, deep red, with the coat of arms of the ruling family of Dresden in the center.
Above the stage was the "Five Minute Clock"- kind of like an early digital clock. It displays the time in Roman numerals, and every five minutes -click!- the minutes flip over, like an odometer in a car.
On either side of the stage, where the box seats were, the levels were held up by caryatids (columns carved to look like people.)
The ceiling, which was a big circle, plus sides, had paintings of four women radiating out from the center, each representing a country where great theater literature came from (Greece, Italy, England, and Germany, I think?) and the names of opera composers and playwrights next to their respective countries. In the center of the circle was the most immense chandelier, with I don't know how many hunderds of these globe lamps on it, suspended above the audience below!
Oh, and each of these balconies had fresh air from the roof pumped in to it through its front railing! (The air intakes were on the tops of the backs of the seats, I think.) I thought that was pretts cool, especially since it was in the original building in the late 1800's!
A few of my friends and I got tickets to a concert in the Semperoper on the last night we were in Dresden.
It was absolutely incredible!
We were in the top balcony, behind the last row (we had standing room tickets, and eventually sat on the stairs.) which I thought was great- we were close enough to the ceiling to see the brushstrokes, and shadows that were painted on to give it extra depth!
The acoustics were amazing- picture Troy Music Hall (which, by the way you STILL need to visit, Mom!) :) and multiply it by 5- that it, if you can actually talk about acoustics in terms of multiples! The sound was so full and round, the music was so inspiring. I love classical music anyway, and in a theater like this it is so much more powerful. I think I like it for the same reason I like playing music- it gives me a chance to clear my thoughts by letting my mind wander while soaking in the inspired genius of the music. I feel like I have so much more energy, like I'm ready to conquer the world's problems. It sounds crazy, I know, but this is how I felt being at this
concert in the Semperoper! I loved it!
After the concert we met everyone else at a Kneipe for a sort of going away party. The two weeks had gone by so quickly, and we had made such good friends, it was hard to believe we'd all be leaving in the morning.
So that was Dresden.
Talk to you again soon!
Take care!
Lotsa love,
Cory :)
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