First full day in Dresden! We arrived yesterday afternoon with just enough time to walk around the neighborhood and have dinner at my brother, David’s, house. I haven’t travelled in a while. Not this kind of traveling, at least. So getting here was a bit more challenging than I remember. But it was fine and the train ride was really enjoyable. I’m traveling with my 7 year old son, Marlon and so I’m getting to see everything through his eyes. On the train we walked up and down visiting all the cars. I remember doing this as kid. Marlon loved it! I loved getting to practice my German for the first time and was pleased that people didn’t immediately revert to English.

Today, we spend the day walking around Allstadt - the part of the city with the big old buildings. We saw the Kings residence and the Catholic Church and dundeons! A tour of the dungeon where cannon balls were made was so cool! A really well done walking tour with a ghost for a tour guide and beautiful projections on the walls of the dark dungeon to tell the stories.

The highlight of the day was a math and physics ‘salon’. A museum that housed mathematical instruments from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. Old instruments are some of \240my most favorite things so I was in heaven! I looked at everything in there and took a lot of pictures. Taking pictures of things is kind of silly because it’s so easy to access photos these days but I couldn’t help myself. \240Celestial Sphere from the 1600s!! A Herschel telescope!! An astrolabe!! These are things I teach my students about and have never seen. The intricate detail and mathematical precision is impressive. The importance of geometrical and astronomical technologies was high at this time and so these instruments were making big changes in the world. Mostly having to do with navigation but also in a philosophical importance of the owner having a priveged view of the universe and thus proximity to God. What made the biggest impression on me today, in having the opportunity to view these items, was how these were “technologies” just like a cellphone is today. The amount of detaied attentionl and science and trial and error and perfection that was required matches (exceeds most likely) any technology we see today. A big difference is how accessible these were to the general public. We’ve come a long way. Now many more are among the privileged to know the workings of the heavens. As a teacher, I hope to expand that even more.

My sister in laws family own a vineyard in Radebeul (a small town outside Dresden), so today we went out there and walked around. A beautiful little town with with windy stone streets, hills marked by rows of vineyards, and picturesque houses. The highlight was the walk up a set of stairs to the top of the hills. I have no idea how many flights - 100? We had lunch at the family wine garden before our walk up the stairs.

Today was a day I’ve been waiting for - I got to visit my brothers school! It was so cool to see where he works and meet people I’ve heard about! The school was awesome. I found some parts to be quite similar to Harpeth Hall - the physics equipment, the classroom setups, the schedules. I found other parts to be quite different - the course structure, the design curriculum, the importance of projects and labs, the club system, and the lack of importance placed on athletics. This last one was the most different. Students at this school do some clubs after school. This is pretty rare for schools here in Dresden - most kids do clubs in the city and outside the school. At the international school, they have clubs because many students don’t speak German. But here’s the clincher - the sports are just once a week. So a student might do basketball on mondays and golf on saturdays. Then they have time for the chess club on Wednesdays. Students have gym and there is an importance placed on the mental and physical benefits of movement and sports but not on the athletics like we have in the US. Imagine how much more time their students have!

I also enjoyed a conversation I had with the physics teacher. We spoke about mathematical relationships and the difficulty students have in connecting these ideas in math to the real world meaning in physics. A shred problem across the globe! I appreciated how she referred to the gradient as opposed to the slope and how in every unit she has students connect the gradient and the area to real world meanings. By the end of the course they know to look for the gradient. I think I could do a better job with this and I really am happy to have had this conversation and gain some ideas from her!

Here’s something really cool: students in the IB spend 9 and 10 grades doing all science classes - a third of the year in each class. Then 11/12 grade is a two year course in the science of their choice. So physics is 2 years! They can really get to a lot of cool stuff that way! One cool thing they get to is the choice topic which might be astrophysics or might be engineering physics. She teaches engineering because most students are interested in that career path.

At the Frankfurt airport on a layover as we travel to Croatia. I have a minute to reflect on my experiences in Germany this far. I had two goals of the trip. One was just to travel again after being home bound and sticking so close to comforts during Covid. Goal achieved. I made my handle for this blog ‘rusty traveler’ because that’s how I feel. It’s been a funny joke as we made small errors in packing, spilt drinks on the plane, failed to punch our ticket at the train station, and gotten a little more lost than we should have. All these things are fine and recoverable and really no big deal. I feel like the allowance I give myself for errors in judgement make everything so much more relaxing, and I wonder why I don’t do this at home. Expecting the unexpected is an easy mentality to carry while traveling. What would it look like if we could spend more days like this? Allowances for ourselves and others. Slack in our schedules. Curiosity in our days.

I am finding a rhythm now as we embark on another travel day. Marlon is now becoming adjusted to strange schedules and the ‘hurry up and wait’. I have no idea how we’ll get from the airport to our house but I am confident we’ll figure it out. And I am looking forward to having an unplanned day tomorrow to wander.

Today was a big adventure. We took a ferry to Dubrovnik, walked the wall of the city, and took a tour to islands where we snorkeled in caves and relaxed on sandy beaches. It was all amazing and I feel I could go on and on about how beautiful everything was. But for as much beauty as I experienced, it was probably fear that made the day.

I knew I would be afraid of snorkeling. I am terrified of the ocean because of the big open spaces and depths. But I didn’t know how terrifying the walk on the wall would be. There was a section that overlooked the ocean. So I wasn’t expecting it to be so scary. And then bam - wide open ocean! It was fantastic. Pushing through fun and irrational fears are such an easy way to grow your spirit. After the terrifying escapade on the wall, we took a tiny boat out to the middle of the deep dark rough seas (ok, not the middle, but it felt like it) where I again was terrified. Then hopped into the deep water (horrifying) and swam into a dark cave. I pretty much started crying and shaking but no worries it’s all so fun to have experiences like that. What a day!

Living now in the Old city