Happy Birthday to me! October 14, 2009

I started my birthday with a surprise from my host mother. She had a made a breakfast cake and had a candle in the center.

She also had a necklace for me that is totally my style. It was a nice start to the day. Things got a little strange from there. Our next stop was a farm that produces energy from crops and cows.

Needless to say, it was a very stinky operation. I was told there would be dogs at this farm, but no such luck. After the farm, we had a tour of a brewery (Meissner Schwerter Brauerei) and had lunch there.

The brewery was stinky too. My next tour was supposed to be a toilet factory and the Meissen porcelain factory. Instead I had to make an emergency trip to Dresden because my boots were falling apart. In Dresden I only had one hour, which wasn’t nearly enough. I did manage to find a pair of boots and a hat though. I met back up with the group at Meissen.

I was disappointed that I missed the tour, but it was a really good thing that I got the boots and hat because it snowed the next day. That evening we had time to wander the old town of Meissen, but of course everything was already closed for the night. Dena, Ryan, and I did find a cool little hideaway for some hot chocolate and coffee.

We had another Rotary meeting that night next to the cathedral, but we never actually got to see the cathedral which was also a let down. On a positive note, I was presented with a bouquet of flowers at the meeting and sang to for my birthday. In the next photo is a group shot including the Prince we previously met. He is the one in the green sweater.