Meissen, Germany: June 27

This morning we woke a little earlier and decided to have breakfast out.  We settled on a cafe-restaurant, where we had  jelly-filled donuts and a raisin braid and coffee, which we enjoyed very much, but proved to be too sweet for my palate after a while.  I so remember the "Berliner," "Kreppel," or "Pfannkuchen" from my youth, but now not with the same relish.  The coffee provided a nice foil to the oversugared nature of the pastries, so I was grateful for it, if nothing else.  From there we walked to the landing stage to find that the first and last boat to Meissen had departed for the day!  And it was not even 10:00 a.m.!  We were told that we could instead take the S-Bahn or above-ground train to the center of Meissen, and that we did, after a great bit of successful map sleuthing on the part of Alexandra.  We arrived in Meissen at about noon.  Meissen is associated with "Dresden china," yet the porcelain factory is only one of the attractions of this photogenic and unspoiled old city.  It is in total contrast to Dresden in that it came through WW II almost unscathed.  It suffered quite badly from pollution under the GDR, but is steadily being cleaned up, having been one of five towns to receive special Federal restoration grants.  The city is laid out in a series of twisting and meandering streets between  the Burgberg and the Elbe.  It is impressive as an ensemble, and therefore ideal for a stroll.  Centerpiece is the Markt, dominated by a town council hall.  At #8 on the square is the "Fachgeschäft" or Meissen porcelain shop, which is well worth a visit.  On its own small square is the Gothic Frauenkirche, but it was thoroughly surrounded in scaffolding and inaccessible.  We decided to take the winding paths up to the pinnacle of the Cathedral of Meissen, begun in the 13th c. and replacing an initial Romanesque structure with a high Gothic one.  It is one of the most beautiful churches we have seen so far.  From there we meandered the ramparts and ended up having lunch (pork Schnitzel with French fries) high above the city in an outdoor cafe.  During our meanderings we were occasionally subjected to a soft rain, but nothing we could not handle.  Back in the center of town, we went to the Elbe landing stage for paddlewheelers and found that once again we had missed the last boat to Dresden from Meissen.  We backtracked and went to the train station, returning to Dresden in about 30 minutes.  We stopped in at Aldi's and bought a few provisions for a light evening meal, and then went to a gelato place, where Alexandra ordered a concoction of vanilla ice cream, hot fudge sauce, whipped cream, hazelnuts, and a ring of chocolate pudding.  I had a scoop of "After Eight," which amounted to a mint chocolate chip flavor.  Very good, but thank God we had walked about 5 miles today, so we did not have to feel too guilty about our culinary sins!  I paid our hotel bill, and Alexandra worked on looking at and editing some of the photographs we have taken so far.  I have packed, for the most part, and reception has ordered us a taxi for tomorrow morning.  We have an 8:08 departure for Prague, and it is the shank of the evening.  Live music and the crowds to-ing and fro-ing are creating quite a lively tapestry outside.  Back to Prague tomorrow!  Glad to have seen the Homeland once more.  By the way, German flags are flying everywhere following Germany's 1:0 victory over the USA.  A reason for pride!