June 15th entry:
Finally, internet, well kinda . . .
So we finally figured out that we can't get internet in our room although people right down the hall get it just fine. We sat in the lobby of the hotel tonight and we were finally able to get logged on. I'll try to update as much as possible before we move on to our next tour tomorrow.
Today was great – we took a walking tour (about a 2-2 ½ hour tour) of Old Dresden. Old Dresden was destroyed during World War II but has since been rebuilt. The buildings are absolutely incredible. We saw the Opera House, Zwinger Palace and two churches - THE Catholic Church and the other Protestant Church (Lutheran). We also heard the Glockenspiel bells chime at Zwinger Palace. The boys were able to sing one song in the Catholic Church before it closed at noon for prayer. They did a great job. It's an incredible experience to walk into a church in Germany and hear our boys singing! After they sang, we took a break before the first official concert at 1:00 in the Open Air Square. This Square is amazing! One huge circular open space, all cobblestone with buildings surrounding. The square is in the middle of Old Dresden and New Dresden. New Dresden has streets lined with restaurants (all with outside seating) and vendors. They sang for at least a half hour, maybe 45 minutes. The crowd loved them!
After the concert, we had the afternoon to check out the city on our own. It was time for lunch so Cameron and Holden with a group of boys went where else? McDonalds! We all had to check out the mall too. Four floors that seemed to go on forever with every kind of store imaginable – even an Apple store! After dinner we took another walk before heading to the hotel bar to listen to the boys sing. They even threw in an Irish song tonight!
We've learned quite a bit about German "culture" since arriving. Here is a rundown of some of the things that come to mind – ice is NOT something that you get unless you request it and then it may not be much. Dogs are allowed everywhere you go – even the mall! There was a store that actually had a dog dish with water and food at the entrance to the store. We lost count of how many dogs we passed while we were at the mall. A lot of people ride bikes here and they expect you to get out of their way! Not once has a cashier handed our change back to us in our hand – they put it on the counter or on a small dish on the counter. There are no wash cloths in your hotel room and the hotel workers will look at you like your are crazy if you ask if they have one – I know this first hand. At breakfast, there is always lunchmeat and cheese. Also, by 6:00 in the evening, most everything is closed. The streets are very quiet. Tonight was an exception – it was "late shopping night" so the stores were open until 9:00. It gets light VERY early. I woke up at 5:30 this morning and was seriously afraid I had overslept and missed our tour. We found out that almost everyone did the same thing. I'm sure I've missed something. I'll be sure to pass any others on as they come to me.
Tomorrow after breakfast, we get back on our bus and head to Saxony for the day. The weather is supposed to be great so we should have another great day. Tomorrow night we will be taking another walking tour of Dresden but with a night watchman to get a completely different perspective of the city.
I think I've covered everything so far – sorry if there is anything duplicated. After going almost 36 hours without sleep and trying to update from my phone, there's no telling what I've already posted!
A big hello back home – it sounds like the Kelley boys had a great day at Great American Ballpark.
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