< ![CDATA[  As usual, the place we didn’t expect to be turns out to be exactly where we want to be. If you ever find yourself in Germany, find Meissen, an old city on the Elbe river, just north of Dresden. It contains the first castle built for royalty in all of Germany; the castle which became the prototype for the classic German Schloss. It is amazing. For a pittance you can get a family combo ticket to see both the cathedral and the castle with all of your kids... even if you have a whole bunch, like us. The cathedral is classic Gothic architecture. The kids loved the open mouthed gargoyles stretching their necks out over the ledges to spit on unsuspecting peasants below. Too bad it wasn’t raining. The castle was, simply, breathtaking. Just when I was really “wowed” by the great hall, we donned enormous slippers over our shoes (to protect the glossy wood floors) and skated into the court room. Floor to ceiling gold gilt paint, arched ceilings, decorative columns, the stuff fairy tales are made of. I could go on for hours. Instead, see the pictures when Tony posts them in a few days. Very beautiful. Almost all of Meissen’s streets are cobbled... which means we walked, as riding on cobble stones quickly gives me a raging headache. My brain must be slightly loose in my head, the way it rattles around. We searched in vain for fresh bread to go with dinner. Instead we found the Meissener Fummel, which is pictured with this story. It looks impressive, but tastes rather like the dried mixture of flour and water left over from making a pinata... sprinkled with powdered sugar, of course. The kids had a great time passing it around and feeling how light it was as I read the story below, provided on a yellow sheet of paper by the bakery. Everyone howled laughing when Gabe was the one to break the pastry: By order of the Saxon elector, “August der Starke,” his courier regularly moved between Dresden and Meissen. The Courier often loved to drink the famous wine of Meissen, which was not to his advantage while sitting on his horse. For that reason, the elector of Saxony gave order to all the bakers of Meissen to create a pastry which was easy to break. Whenever the courier visited Meissen he had to show the pastry to his elector. That’s why you should try to carry home the pastry safely. If you do, nobody can blame you for drinking too much wine here in Meissen.]]>