Other than being the home of the Meissen porcelain, which was rated the first high quality outside of the the orient, Meissen itself is a scenic town standing on both banks of the River Elbe in eastern Germany. Its Albrechtsburg Castle is Germany's first castle built with the purpose of becoming a residence instead of a fortress. It's regarded to be the first German palatial building and a masterpiece of late Gothic architecture.

I took the train from Berlin to Dresden to meet up with my friends Vasco and his wife Judy from California. His buddy Johnny and wife Martina drove us to Meissen, which turned out to be a nice surprise for all of us.

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