April 29, 2008 Awoke on what the concierge promised was going to be a rainy day….but only in the afternoon. So we jumped into our clothes and headed for the Elbe to catch a steamboat ride to Meissen. Ever since I was a very small child and broke a plate of Meissen on Christmas Eve, I understood the importance that this china played in our family. There were stories of parties where the butler had stepped into the middle of a table to change a light fixture and the table collapsed smashing 20 place settings in one minute. There was the sad story of Edith’s china lost after her death when the moving van bringing her goods to us rolled over and burnt or broke everything on it. It was its emotional value as much as its actual financial value that made our family treat it like gold. To now be able to go to the town from which it came was as if making a visit to Mecca. The steamboat with its huge paddle wheel and resounding high pitched whistle was built in 1892. Over the next two+ hours it took us past sheep and cows, vineyards and castles as we sipped coffee to ward off the damp cool weather while listening to the perfect German descriptions of everything we passed. At Meissen we debarked and boarded a little mini-van right at the quay which took us up to the factory itself through a fairly dreary town. We bought a ticket for both the tour and the museum. Our first stop being a small auditorium where a video described the history of this famous porcelain and process of making the materials which are used in its creation. Then there followed a very interesting tour through four separate demonstration workrooms where there sat in each a Meissen employee, working in perfect silence while demonstrating a part of the process which was simultaneously being described on an audio voice over our heads. Bob and I being the only English speakers wore infrared headsets which translated this audio into English. Through this tour we learned about the history of the porcelain and were able to watch various pieces being made right before our eyes. Some of the wisdom I learned was: - Meissen has been in continuous production since 1700 and after the war it was not available to the east but was sold to the west since it was in high demand and represented a wonderful source of hard currency to the GDR. - In the early days those working in the factories were kept almost as prisoners in fear that the process would be discovered by others. One hell of a way to control one’s ‘patent’. - In the first workshop we watched a ‘thrower’ making the beginning of a cup working with the wet clay at a potter’s wheel and then placing the object into a mold in order that the cup have the exact shape and thickness of every other cup. There needs to be some level of consistency to ensure that Meissen remains unique. - In the second workshop we watched a ‘repairer’ who actually joins pieces together – for instance putting a rose on top of a sugar bowl, or a piece of fruit on a plate of a figurine. On the repairers workbench there stands a model of the final piece to act as a point of reference. This is very precise minute work done with moist ‘clay’. - In the third workshop the underglaze is done. The onion pattern, requiring no gold around the edge has its design first put on with a stencil to ensure that all onion patterns look exactly the same. Then the ‘painter’ using a black paint fills in the stencil. Here there is a bit of creativity in the hands of the painter, but again a consistency is required. It is then fired three different times to truly harden the glaze and allow for the plate to be put in a dishwasher. That paint which appeared black actually becomes the brilliant blue which is what makes the onion pattern recognizable. - In the last workshop a painter puts on a pattern on top of the three-time glazed plate. This includes the gold rim (real gold), individual paint colors and flowers. Then the plate is glazed again. And Voila! - In their vast storerooms they keep the original molds of absolutely every piece that has ever been made which allows someone to order any piece from its entire 300 years of production. Thus if I wanted to complete a piece of mother’s china I could order it and in a few months time it would be shipped to me. What was astounding is that Meissen continues to be made by hand. The plates seemed a bit thicker, the designs seemed a bit simpler, but everything was very recognizable. We learned that there are ‘knockoffs’ being made in the world, but none is the real thing. The mark of the crossed swords which is put on the bottom of every piece identifies the years in which a piece was made and whether it is a ‘second’ or not. We went through the museum which had plenty of service ware, but a ton of figurines, statues and other decorative pieces which represent the true magic of Meissen. Finally we wandered through the store where one could order any piece one wanted, given you had deep pockets and a huge Visa allowance. We just looked. The new pattern with the poppy flower caught my eye, and were I to ever buy any new china, that would be my favorite new pattern. But the costs are so prohibitive (a 6 piece tea setting costs @ 4000 euro based on the pattern chosen) we simply bought some post-cards. To see so much Meissen in one place was over-whelming and beautiful. I felt so proud that I actually own some of this beautiful porcelain and it made me appreciate it even more than I do already. It is a true treasure that has been passed from our grandparents to us and I will continue to honor it and treat it with the care it deserves. We left the museum and headed back to a local train which took us back to Dresden in the promised rain. We stopped by the City Museum to pick up some materials from the store which had been closed the day before, and then had our daily quota of wurst and beer. Back to the hotel to pack, and then off to dinner at Rodeberger Restaurant overlooking the Elbe in the rain from a candlelit window table. . A warm, gemutlich, restaurant with simple Dresden fare. Bob had Dresden Potato Soup, and Sauerbraten with raisin sauce… and I had another wurst with potato salad. And so to bed. We are sad to leave our palatial quarters knowing it is highly unlikely that we’ll ever stay in such a hotel ever again. April 30, 2008 A last room service breakfast and off to the HauptBahnHof to catch our 8:55 train to Leipzig and on to Munich. We passed mustard fields, flowering fruit trees and lilacs as we headed to our next stop. I listened to a Rick Steves IPod program in which he interviewed three people who grew up in three different eastern/ Warsaw pact nations. It answered a lot of questions I had about this work-in-progress called reunification and acceptance into the EU. While the over-all goal of creating one Europe is a worthy objective, the process of getting to this point has been painful for everyone. For those born in the 40’s who have known only one way of living, the communist regime seemed a lot easier. One was provided housing, wages, health insurance without having to think. While life may have been bland, and possibly dangerous, it was consistent and known and easy. For young people who assumed that democracy would suddenly be the perfect solution… to their frustrations they find that in this new world there are still rules and regulations provided by the EU, by Western Germany, by the ‘government’ and they are disillusioned. For many just finding a way to have a job and to make one’s way is difficult. Many people who served the party in the old days in order to survive, simply put on a new disguise and are now in some form of power in the new world The EU rules on food production and other manufacturing regulations have caused anger and frustration as people who did things one way are now told that they can no longer continue to sell their wares without making changes It will take years to truly consolidate these disparate parts and people into one Europe but it was understood that this would be the only way for Europe to survive. And a side benefit is that initiating wars between these now united nations becomes harder and harder when one becomes more and more dependent on each other in a market-driven economy. I almost wish I could come back in 150 years and see how it really all turned out. It is a huge experiment which has never been tried on this magnitude. Filled with new knowledge, we arrived in the Hauptbahnhof in Munich where hundreds were leaving to take advantage of tomorrow’s important holiday. We walked over to the Sofitel Hotel which was a block from the station. It is the old post office and has been totally remodeled into a very 21st century glass and light structure. Our room is stark and ultra-modern with a glass wall so that a person taking a bath or shower can be watched by someone watching TV in the large living room. Theatrical floodlights on the ceiling, in a variety of colors. make one feel that one is on stage. At the bedside, keypads allow lighting, temperature, music and TV adjustments…and even let you turn on a ‘do not disturb’ light outside the door. Large, functional, but not quite like our previous hotel. We were exhausted and since it was poring rain outside, we simply ate at the bistro in the hotel – Susie W. where we had an Asian meal. I had a Bento box, and Bob a plate of Sushi, spring rolls and soup. Our fellow diners were all Americans since most Germans were on their way home to enjoy the May Day holiday.
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