Charmed by Meissen

Well, we'd finished up at the porcelain factory/museum, and now it is time for lunch. No one prepared us for the ancient charm that is the town of Meissen itself, nestled on a large rock, with an assortment of buildings and its cathedral clinging to the sides like barnacles on a tidal rock. (I do wish the bus would have stopped so we could get pictures of Meissen as seen from the river.)

We started walking down the narrow street, which was steep and winding and at some point switched from asphalt to cobblestone (sometimes crazily laid out). The houses, too, ranged in style and age, depending on when they were built. With real estate so precious, every available space was used and newer buildings borrowed old walls rather than lose some inches. And, visible from most parts, the two spires of Meissen's cathedral, like beacons.

We kept rounding corners and finally got to what must have been part of a castle or something. It certainly looked like it. We were on a bridge. From the bridge, steps went down to the street below. Talk about making good use of the space!

From the bridge leading to our restaurant (with an incredibly laid-back cat sleeping right next to the walkway, totalling ignoring 40 tourists pointing it out to each other), we looked out over the red roofs of Meissen. I was especially charmed by the curvy way the garret windows are set in the roofs. Some look like an eye.

After lunch, we headed out to a vineyard north of Meissen for some wine tasting and another look at the river Elbe winding through some beautiful (and now hilly) countryside.

Comments

Tom said…
My mother's side of the family are Austrian and in my younger days we used to holiday there - they are still the best memories of my life.

I can't help thinking how similar the architecture in Meissen is to the small Austrian towns we visited. Thank you so much for bringing back such great memories!

For some reason that first picture brings back floods of memories of Vienna (Wien). I'm not sure why, probably the cathedral, although it looks nothing like St. Stephens.

Thank you for my nostalgic moment!
Keera Ann Fox said…
I didn't know you had something continental in you. :-) I do get why that first photo triggers Vienna. Something about the light yellow buildings and red roofs and the church. I visited Vienna two years ago and made a blog of it with photos, if you want to take a look.
Anonymous said…
What a beautiful little town!
Keera Ann Fox said…
I'd love to stay in Meissen, Nicole. I was completely charmed.

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