Elf's Shrine

Time flies fast indeed and it is time to leave Berlin. I really love this city. It is so easy to move around in and there is so much to do and experience here. Of course, I need to qualify this by saying that I have an interest in World War II history.

After breakfast, we start off on our way to Prague in the Czech Republic. First, we stop by the East Side Gallery which is a section of the Wall which has been preserved with lots of graffitti on it. One thing I have to say about Berlin (and this is probably true of most European cities) is that there is graffitti everywhere. At the East Side Gallery, there is a very famous artwork which you can see here:

You can also see graffitti on the graffitti. That's the beauty of it eh?

Also, there was this peculiar piece of artwork which I found.. interesting on the Berlin Wall:

 I guess they were comrades in arms back in the day........

 Do you notice the China vs Japan issues here?

More of the issues...

Another artwork was meant to showcase the various walls around the world....

 But then someone comes along and says "We need democracy, not Great Wall.". Well, I do not know the original intent of the original artist, but to the person who wrote that line.... the Great Wall of China wasn't built to keep out democracy, you knucklehead. Read more history before you protest.

After visiting the East Side Gallery, we head off to Dresden. It's nice as a day trip as it has a pretty medieval feel to it but has almost nothing much apart from stuff in the Neumarkt area (at least that was the feel that I got.. maybe it's cos I only had two hours in town). You can pay 8 euros to go up to the top of the Frauenkirche, you can also sit in the pews of Frauenkirche to enjoy the views. I've been so religious all week, lol. We got like 2 hours to wander around and grab lunch, but I didn't eat any lunch as I wanted to maximise my 2 hours.

The thing about Dresden is that pretty much most of the stuff were rebuilt after the war and as recent as 2006. There was very bad firebombing in Dresden towards the end of WWII and that killed many civilians and became extremely controversial. It is a given that military personnel are fair game, but to target civilians is another thing entirely. There's alot of history here, do read up if you are interested.

After leaving Dresden, we are finally headed off into Prague! It is now Auf Wiedersehen, Deutschland. Ahhoj, Česká Republika.

First order of the day when we get into Prague was to check into the hotel, naturally. It's a lovely hotel called Ibis! You know what's so great about it? It has free wifi in the room :P Didn't have that in Germany... so sad. However, some dumbarsehole thought it was a good idea to blardy smoke in the toilet of a non smoking hotel room. I friggin curse that fella to constantly disturbed sleep for as long as that smell stays in my toilet!

Tonight's dinner is included in the tour and so we go off to a restaurant that is actually in a basement. The food is not bad but I'm already missing my schnitzels :(

After dinner some went off to a pub and the rest of us took the coach back to the hotel. It's really cold out tonight. Think it's about 4 degrees. First night in Prague.