Right now we're somewhere North of Munich.

We visited another castle 

Here, where stallions once breathed hitched to Grand coaches, horse-powered engines now roar. Augustusburg Castle houses the biggest motorcycle museum of Europe and, thus, is one of the most popular destinations for motorcycle fans.

Already visible from afar, the old hunting lodge rises high above the Zschopau River Valley. Completed in 1572, the castle is still called the »Crown of the Ore Mountains« today. The Castle does not only impress with its historic atmosphere. There is hardly another castle in Germany offering such a variety of cultural events and educational opportunities. Beside the Motorcycle Museum, the visitor will find exhibitions of game and birds, of coaches as well as the history of hunting and the castle itself.

It is located516 m above sea level and the drive getting there was gorgeous. Almost to the top, there was a parking space and you could take a cable car going up. Mom stopped there asking if they let dogs on and that was no problem like in most of the German places.

The wait was too long so Mom decided to take Lucy all the way up. It was a narrow winding road and beautiful.

This time I hiked along with the promise I get to stop whenever I wanted to. Well, that was a promise she didn’t keep because I didn’t get to sniff ALL interesting spots on the way…………...Mom said we still be on that mountain side then. 

We made a quick walk through the MC museum, and that’s because I didn’t like it. It would have been fine if it wasn’t because of all the motorcycle noises. The guys loved to push all the buttons to listen to the engines. I think Mom liked it too but it scared me so we went around it quickly.

We continued south and are now somewhere north of Munich which we are only passing by. No more big cities was another promise, we’ll see how long that lasts.

Anyway, it’s very tiring to drive on the big Autobahn it’s so hypnotizing so Mom is ready to fall asleep, so that’s the reason we’re now staying at an Auto Hof.

The small roads are much more exciting but we aren't getting much ahead then.

we are definitely the smallest vehicle here........................but that doesn't intimidate Lucy one bit

all is well, talk to you tomorrow.

Buttons

Neither one of us slept well and for me, it was because the heavy rain and thunder, why Mom couldn’t sleep I have no clue. This is what we woke up (sunny again)to and we hit the road early.

we didn’t drive very far this time either. We ended up on a very steep and narrow road, a sign said 18% and of course we met a truck in one of the narrow curves. I did hear a bad word out of Moms' mouth as she shifted to second and then first!! she did just fine and I say it’s good training………..

We drove to Dresden which is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Chez Republic and there are only 92 miles to Prague!!! Oh, now I’m putting my paws down, stick to the plan or else…..

Dresden has a long history as the capital and royal residence for the Electors and Kings of Saxony, who for centuries furnished the city with cultural and artistic splendor. The city was known as the Jewel Box, because of its baroque and rococo city center. The controversial American and British bombing towards the end of the war killed approximately 25,000, many of whom were civilians, and destroyed the entire city center. After the war restoration work has helped to reconstruct parts of the historic inner city, including the Zwinger and the famous Semper.

Since the German reunification in 1990 Dresden is again a cultural, educational and political center of Germany and Europe. The Dresden University of Technology is one of the 10 largest universities in Germany. The economy of Dresden and its agglomeration is one of the most dynamic in Germany and ranks first in Saxony.It is dominated by high-tech branches, often called as “Silicon Saxony”. The city is also one of the most visited in Germany with 4,3 million overnight stays per year.The royal buildings are among the most impressive buildings in Europe. 

this looks like a guy I used to know..................

  Built in the 18th century, the church was destroyed during World War II. The remaining ruins were left for 50 years as a war memorial as a reminder of the destruction from World War 2 The newly built Frauenkirche has charred stones from the destroyed church adapted with new stones.The church was rebuilt from 1994 to 2005.

Dresden has so many museums and exhibits it was just too much to take it all in, so we sat down for lunch and Mom order an Australian burger. It looked very nice but it was a really strange crumbled up meat. As a matter of fact, it tasted more like beans so Mom asked if it was a vegetarian burger, but it wasn’t. The fries was very good though.

We biked next to the river Elbe for 10miles, and it was windy as &%&#………Mom had to work hard as I was sitting comfortably in the basket cheering her on,   

It'll be interesting to see how far we get tomorrow since Mom is changing her mind every second................she says it's because there's so much interesting stuff to see on the way.

3 nights at the same place is quite unusual for Mom but it was because we had such great company and a gorgeous place to stay. The owners were fabulous people who really made us feel at home.

Our new found friends came from England so it was a lot easier to communicate.

I never have those issues, me and Poppy hit it off immediately. She’s a couple of years younger than I so she

had a lot more energy, but that wasn’t a big problem either, although she really wanted me to stop napping in my wagon and come out to play.  

Malcom offered Mom a beer but wanted her to drink from this horn as an initiation............haha, Judy told her he was joking. 

Malcolm, Judy, and Mom played games and in the evening went for a beer and schnitzel at a little restaurant that the owner's kids ran.

They let me sit at the table and yes I did get a taste. I really like Germany, people aren’t as uptight about letting us four legged furry ones into their places.

It was sad to say goodbye, but maybe sometimes in the future, we’ll meet again.

We didn’t go very far because Mom had seen a brochure on yet another castle she wanted to see. It’s Germanys oldest castle and this is where the Meissen porcelain started.

The dome next door is also quite impressive.

We parked by the river Elbe and since it’s pretty hot now I chose to stay and watch Lucy while Mom climbed the stairs. Apparently, it was quite a strenuous walk because when she came back she just collapsed for a while. (after my walk of course)  see Lucy parked down there. On the way back Mon noticed there is an elevator on the opposite side...hAHA  

This castle's name was Albrechtburg and have a very particular kind of vaulting that was invented specifically for this palace. Their distinctive folded vaults create a sophisticated light and shade

The diamond vault became a hit spreading across the whole of eastern Central Europa up until the middle od 16^th century The invention of the diamond vault can be explained by two principal factors Late Gothic design methods and the construction process itself. However since no contemporary records survived, knowledge of these can only be acquired through practical experience, so here's an example of such practice.

there was a sundial on the wall, can you tell what time it is?

Meissen porcelain used to be made here so a lot of the castle was destroyed but are now restored to its old glory

in one room everybody had to put on slippers over the shoes not to destroy the wooden floor, Mom couldn't resist skating around 

she did refrain from trying out the thrones though............I'm really proud of her

 Meissen china is the first European hard-paste porcelain It was developed starting in 1708 by Mr. Tschirnaus After his death that October, Johann Fredrick Botter continued von Tschirnhaus's work and brought porcelain to the market. The production of porcelain at Meissen started in 1710 and attracted artists and artisans to establish one of the most famous porcelain manufacturers, still in business today. Its signature logo, the crossed swords, was introduced in 1720 to protect its production; the mark of the crossed swords is one of the oldest trademarks in existence. It dominated the style of European porcelain until 1756.

there was a lot of Meissen porcelain stuff in there and Mom had a plan to buy a new coffee mug here but so far I haven't seen one. Have a feeling the price is too high, and they may be too gaudy for her taste.

After the castle, she went into the cathedral next door.

13th-century Gothic Meissen Cathedral, whose chapel is one of the most famous burial places of the Wettin family. The hill on which the castle and the cathedral are built offers a view over the roofs of the old town.

walking back Mom ran into this girl who delivered mail on a bike, exactly the same as Mom did as a puppy.

Brought back memories I'm sure, and I bet she wishes she could have that athletic body back from that century..............not gonna happen I whispered softly (not risking a treat) so deal with it...

The entire town is covered in cobblestones, so I'm pretty sure no ladies dare to put on high heels..............It was an exhausting but interesting day Mom says, and that's all for today........    

Waking up to millions of birds singing, couldn’t get any better says, Mom. The sky is bright blue and it’ll be a gorgeous day for sure.

The forest surrounding us is magnificent with tall oak and some other trees that Mom doesn’t know the name of. Germans are very easy going about bringing dogs everywhere so Mom said I could come along to explore the castle.

It started out real well, I friend I met from England and her Mom came with us for the walk but when we was about half way there I got tired and I laid down and refused to take another step. All Mom could do was to walk me back and leave me to watch Lucy and take a nap. Mom doesn’t understand that I have much shorter legs than her and get tired easily.

Just about at this bridge I decided to call it quits.

It was almost a 3 km hike to get to the castle so she went back by herself and went on a 2,5 hour long guided tour.

The lady who was telling the story was very passionated about the history of the castle and told so many interesting stories to keep her audience captivated.

The castle was first mentioned in the 11^th century.

Imperial property in the 12^th century.

Burned down twice in the middle ages.

15-18^th century it was used by the Saxon family.

19-20^th century it was a poorhouse and a mental hospital.

1939-1945German Army prisoner-of-war camps for captured enemy officers during World War II.

1946-1996 it was a general hospital

For nearly100 years, from 1829 to 1924, Colditz was a sanatorium, generally reserved for the wealthy and the nobility of Germany.

When the Nazis came to power in 1933, they turned the castle into a political prison for, communists homosexuals, Jews and other people they considered undesirable. Starting in 1939 allied prisoners were housed there

this is now used as a youth hostel and a music school

After the outbreak of World War II, the castle was converted into a high-security prisoner-of-war-camp for officers who had become security or escape risks or who were regarded as particularly dangerous. Since the castle is situated on a rocky outcrop above the River Mulde, the Germans believed it to be an ideal site for a high-security prison.

There were also prisoners called Prominent. The first one was Giles Romilly, a civilian journalist who was captured in Narvik, Norway who was also a nephew of Winston Churchill's wife. Hitler himself specified that Romilly was to be treated with the utmost care. 

Although it was considered a high-security prison, it had one of the highest records of successful escape attempts. This could be owing to the general nature of the prisoners that were sent there; most of them had attempted escape previously from other prisons and were transferred to Colditz because the Germans had thought the castle escape-proof.

It was a steep climb and Mom said she was happy I stayed home because this would have been very difficult for me

looking down from above there was a pig sty and gorgeous roses, a big contrast.

The prisoners was extremely inventive and here's a sewing machine they made

They made "dummies" of paper so when it came time to count prisoners all was there but in reality, they were busy digging tunnels to escape

One lavish scheme even included a glider, the "Colditz cock", that was kept in a remote portion of the castle's attic, completed in the winter of 1944–45, but following the great escape, in which 50 escapees were executed,(something the guide never mentioned?) all further escape attempts were officially discouraged and the glider was never used. When the camp was liberated by the Americans in late April 1945 the glider was brought down from the hidden workshop to the attic below and assembled for the prisoners to see. It was at this time that the only known photograph of the glider was taken. here's a replica built from the blueprints

The idea for the glider came from Lieutenant Tony Rolt. Rolt, who was not even an airman, had noticed the chapel roof line was completely obscured from German view. He realized that the roof would make a perfect launching point from which the glider could fly across the river Mulde, which was about 60 meters below.

The glider constructed was a lightweight, two-seater, high wing, monoplane design. It had a Mooney style rudder and square elevators. The wingspan, tip to tip, was 32 ft, and it was 19 ft 9 in from nose to tail. Prison sleeping bags of blue and white checked cotton were used to skin the glider, and German ration millet was boiled and used as a form of dope to seal the cloth pores The completed glider weighed 240 lb. 

For some time after the war, the glider was regarded as either a myth or tall story, as there was no solid proof that the glider had existed and Colditz was then in the Soviet Occupation Zone.

Bill Goldfinch, however, took home the drawings he had made when designing the glider and, when the single photograph finally surfaced, the story was taken seriously.

16 prisoners were building the plane behind a fake wall in the attic, and the plan was to use tables from the kitchen as a launch pad on the roof. and to fill a bathtub with concrete attached to the front to make the plane take off.

In March 2012, a radio-controlled, full-sized replica glider was built in the Chapel attic and was flown from Colditz for a documentary. The documentary aired in North America on PBS under the title "Escape from Nazi Alcatraz"  The glider built for this documentary now forms part of a new museum display in the Chapel Attic and a very interesting movie was made. Mom took pictures of the screen.

this is a picture of the men that engineered this escape that never took place

this is the church and the head of Martin Luther who was born in a town not far from here, and he brought the Protestant Christianity .

In April 1945, U.S troops entered Colditz town and, after a two-day fight, captured the castle on 16 April. In May 1945, the Soviet occupation of Colditz began. According to the agreement at the Yalta conference, it became a part of East Germany. The Soviets turned Colditz Castle into a prison camp for local burglars and non-communists. Later, the castle was a home for the aged and nursing home, as well as a hospital and psychiatric clinic. For many years after the war, forgotten hiding places and tunnels were found by repairmen, including a radio room set up by the French POWs, which was then "lost" again only to be re-discovered some twenty years later.

there are many documentaries on YouTube about this castle, and here’s one link if you're interested

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJC7ivpH6qc&t=81s

while listening to the guide in the courtyard Mom saw a lot of birds circling and one made a dive straight into a bush, so needless to say it had to be investigated.

There was a starling on her nest

and lots and lots of these birds on the roof, Mom thinks they are kestrels

It was a very interesting day for Mom and a great rest for me. We'll be staying another night at this wonderful place, and tomorrow ?? ?? who knows??? 

After a great night of sleep, we continue driving south. After a few miles, we met 10-20 or even more police cars driving north?Must be some kind of convention? soon we hear sirens behind us and here comes more police going south? really, what is going on? What was impressive was to see how fast all cars separated and gave way in the middle of 2 lanes.

We didn't see any accidents so what is happening? Mom pulled over at a rest stop, and there they all were checking all big trucks. Mom says she thinks she knows why.................I don't, but if it's bad I don't want to know anyway

Most rest stops in Germany is very nice, but this one was really awful.As a matter of fact, graffiti seems to be very popular here, which is a shame.Apparently, people don't bother reading this sign which says please keep free of schmutz

This is really really gross, I'm going to ask Mom to write to Angela Merkel about outlawing these awful habit people are having, but then Mom said I better make sure she isn't a smoker too.

This sign we agree with, but I'm wondering if the Germans don't have their own curse words?

So we made it to the RVpark in Leipzig that was included in a camper book. Alice (the lady that talks to Mom from that box in the window while she's driving) got us there without any difficulties. The attendant had a siesta? who knew that habit found its way this far North? We parked and went bike riding into the city. I guess the "rain curse" the bike had had last year finally has released because we had gorgeous weather the entire day. 

I was hoping to meet with the girls who hitchhiked with us last year, but they were both studying for their exams, and that's a very important thing for their entire future says, Mom.I know she was disappointed too but understood and was impressed by the girl's dedication to doing well.

Leipzig is Germanys 10th most populous city and has been a trade city since at least the time of the Holy Roman Empire.The city sits at the intersection of two important medieval trade routes. Leipzig was once one of the major European centers of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing and became a major urban center within the East Germany after the Second World War, but its cultural and economic importance declined.

Leipzig later played a significant role in instigating the fall of communism, through events which took place in and around St, Nicholas Church...................................


.According to Mom, this is the scariest city ever she's been biking in. In the brochure from the RVplace, it said there was a bike path the entire way. If it was, Mom didn't find them. The pace is at top speed and worst of all they have cable car tracks everywhere and if your bike wheel get caught ................and well, that's a problem

Germans must really love graffiti because not even this beautiful fountain was left alone from the graffiti a$$holes.The message "Ich liebe dich'" (I love you)would have been much better received on a different forum.

St.Thomas Church is  Lutheran and it's most famous as the place where Johann Sebastian Basch worked as a music director from 1723 until his death in 1750 and this is the location of his remains,

This building was very impressive, but standing there looking in a different direction, this is what we saw.................What's wrong with people?Where is their pride? I and my four legged buddies would never do that......but Mom reminded me of what WE do if human lets us. Well, I don't, I was told not to pee on buildings as a puppy.................so there.

The Town Hall (Rathouse in German) guess they too think there are a few rats in their government.It was a very nice town square, and there was men building a stage most likely preparing for the yearly Bach consert.

Very talented young musicians performed in the street, we took a break and listen to them for a long time. 

Mom tried to upload a video so you could hear for yourself, but it took too long so she gave up. We'll see if WIFIn is any faster tomorrow.

Biking back to Lucy I think we were lost again? Mom denied it and said she was just checking out a few more streets...........Oh so why have we passed this house twice already? May there's two look-alikes she said..........HA , she's not fooling me for a second.

We finally arrived back to Lucy and discovered that none of the services offered existed on this spot, To top it off, so was the owner really rude so Mom just packed up our stuff and left. We headed to next town called Delft but stopped at a beautiful campsite that Alice found for us. It happened to be located next to the Castle Colditz, and I was allowed to come along but chose not to, which is a good thing It was too far. Mom loved the stories about this castle and she gets to tell you all about it tomorrow.

Good Night all

We are now somewhere in Germany, not sure Mom knows where either?  We spent the last night in Sweden on a parking space for RVs, and Lucy was by far the smallest and without a TV antenna. Who needs TV Mom says and I tend to agree with her. We went for a walk and then cozied up with a book, Mom reading me napping listening to the rainstorm that came rolling in. Seems to be a repeat occurrence every night.

My favorite statue in this town called Trelleborg.

Here we are waiting in line to get on the ferry at 11 am 

The ferry will arrive in Rostock Germany at 5.30 and as usual, Mom was worried about getting seasick so she had bought some silly wristbands at the drugstore that supposedly do some kind of hocus pocus to prevent seasickness.

The sea was calm so we could sit outside in the sun. This ship had a small sandbox for me if I needed it. I sniffed around a little and decided I didn't need it.

arriving at the port there was a lot of cruise ships 

and a little tourist sightseeing boat that didn't have many passengers

I'm ready to get off the ship now

big cranes and dry docks to fix big ships and maybe also build new ones.

We got on the road and headed south until we found a suitable place for the night.

Germans are awesome drivers (fast)but total pigs at the rest stops. Mom doesn't want to walk around the bushes with me with me because of all the interesting scents I find underneath the bunched up toilet papers.

There's no need for this Mom says, every rest stop has beautiful bathrooms with an attendant that keeps it clean after each person. As a matter of fact, we spent the night at an AutoHOf, which is a stop where mostly truck drivers sleep. I can guarantee we were the smallest vehicle on this lot ;-)

Included was a great breakfast (for people) where Mom is sitting and writing this on their free wifi.............

We'll soon continue to Leipzig, hoping the girls we met last year will be home.

Oh, by the way, it rained last night too so I'm getting used to being lulled to sleep by the rattling  on the roof.

Mom is getting quite antsy and ready to get on the road and while we were waiting for the mailman to deliver the plastic card, we went for a walk. I said hello to the meatball factories and they were very nice. Unfortunately, Mom didn’t let go of my leash so I couldn’t get in and find some to eat.

She picked wildflowers and made arrangments like she used to do as a puppy.

The mailman delivered the card, but the code will arrive in a different mail later. That’s no problem Lotta can give us that later so we made Lucy ready to continue our trip.

After leaving Lotta's house we have been driving south hoping to find the sun and warmer weather, and yes we saw it for a few hours while on the road. We stayed one night by a lake because Mom said she was getting sleepy, but I think she really wanted to dive into those pancakes Lotta made for our trip.She ate them cold with a little sugar? Best pancakes in the world according to her, I’m not too crazy about them so no point in begging.

Second night we’re at the ocean not far from the ferry terminal and parked by a Viking museum, and now it was sunny and warm………..woohoo finally.

We met a really strange guy that made me very suspicious he said he was from Texas? He spoke a heavy southern Swedish so Mom thinks he was fibbing a tad………..a Viking from Texas without a cowboy hat huh? but he turned out to be an OK guy.

Mom never bothered to go inside and look at the Viking village, she says it's old news seen it before, and this place didn't appear to be kept very well.

pretty sure these artifacts are made in recent years to look like the real thing, but who cares, it's stuff that's made for tourists anyway

Mom got a call from Lotta with the new code, so now we’re ready for the adventure Mom says and she immediately looked up a ticket for the ferry. Prices varied a lot and she found a ticket for half price on Sunday at 11 am. Which means we’ll spend another day in Sweden

It’s sunny so we’ll walk around and explore the city tomorrow Mom said,

but later in the evening, all hell broke loose and Mom was very happy we weren’t on the ferry.

The neighbor had rolled out their canopy and now everybody ran to hold it down so it didn’t blow off.

Lucy was rocking from the wind but we were warm and cozy inside.

Lotta is not cooking for Mom anymore but she sent some of her delicious nettle pesto so in a way she’s still with us. Too bad she only thought of Mom, I know she loves me too but she can be forgetful at times.

As usual, Mom is up before the rooster and looking out at the water it looks like the wind died down, but the sun is still hiding behind the clouds.

We’ll be moving Lucy closer to the ferry today and Mom HAS to find a dog shop to make sure I have enough of the good food for me ( and extra treats) She also needs to get som seasick pills for herself, just in case.  ;-) ;-) :-)

All is well, next update will be from Germany I hope.

Finally, a gorgeous warm lazy day in the sun and Mom managed to stay still and read a book for awhile. 

Doing nothing is not something Mom is very good at so as she’s getting more and more restless she decided to clean out and organize Lotta’s tool shed. Lotta got a little nervous about Mom tossing too much stuff in the garbage, so she quickly came out to help. I was left to do whatever I felt like, so after exploring the garden I went inside for a long refreshing nap.

 

   looks pretty good now................  

When they were done they loaded Lotta’s little car with a lot of rubbish and drove to the dump. At the dump was several containers where everything had to be separated for recycling. Mom is quite impressed at the efficiency.

When this was done we went to a friends house where I scared a cat to climb up a tree and he refused to come down as long as I was there I don’t understand? All I wanted was to say hello……….

 

 

Driving home a large brown hare hopped around on the field chasing birds. He must have been playing because Hares don’t eat meat. Hares are herbivorous and feed mainly on grasses and herbs.

 

 

Yesterday was June 6^th Swedens national day, and Mom and Lotta went into the city to join in the celebrations.I stayed home and napped with Selma and Morre.

The Swedes are pretty humble and do not celebrate like Americans do on 4^th which I’m very happy about since fireworks scare me horribly. I do miss the BBQ tough

 

The tradition of celebrating this date began 1916 at the Stockholm Olympic Stadium, in honor of the election of King Gustav Wasa in 1523, as this was considered the foundation of modern Sweden

Some question the validity of this as a national holiday, as it was not observed as a holiday until decades later. However this event does signify the end of the Danish-ruled Kalmar Union, so in a sense, it is a marking of Swedish independence, though the event occurred so long ago that it does not have as strong of a presence in the social consciousness as does, for example, Norway(17 May).

In 2005 it became an official Swedish public holiday replacing Whit Monday. This change led to fewer days off from work (more working days) as 6 June will periodically fall on the weekend, unlike Whit Monday, which was always celebrated on a Monday. This, in turn, led to complaints from some Swedish unions.

Here's a man in a traditional costume with his dog

 

    

the band played the national anthem

 

  Some people sang the words very softly

 

This is a literal translation of the song

1

Thou ancient, Thou free, Thou mountainous north

Thou quiet, Thou joyful beautiful!

I greet thee, loveliest land upon earth,

/:Thy sun, Thy sky, Thy climes green.:/

2

Thou thronest on memories of great olden days,

When honoured Thy name flew across the earth,

I know that Thou art and wilt remain what thou werest,

/:Yes, I want to live, I want to die in the North.:/

After the celebration, they went for sight seeing around town and of course a "fika" (coffee and cake)

 

       

after a couple of nice sunny days, I'm disappointed to let you know it's raining again, so it'll be another lazy day doing nothing.