Day off - Pfingstmontag!

So today is Pfingsmontag aka Whit Monday, that is Pentecost Monday. 

Interesting fact: It is called Whit Monday, derived from Whit Sunday(whitsun) which is attributed to the white garments worn by those who were baptized on that day (Whit Monday). 

What's my point, basically today was a day off - public holiday here :)

Just like in the US - Memorial Day #MemorialDayWeekend #BBQ

Not many may know this but it is also Africa Day #TheMotherland 

Africa Day 10 things you need to know about Africa Day

And as if that is not enough, this day is special because it is my Mama's bday <3

Well, besides the fact that I got to sleep in, today was also a nice day because, yes, once again I got to go site seeing! I got to visit one of the oldest places in the city of Freiberg. 

(It is called) es ist heiß: Freibergsdorfer Hammerwerk. One of the oldest mills that began in 1607. 

So, apparently this mill is open only once a year on Pfingstmontag.

Because the people who run it were actually factory workers back in the day (in the 70's). And are now old and retired. So they do it as a part time thing. 

It was quite a good turnout

Our tour guide (in the grey hat)

On a side note: the guy in a blue jacket looks so much like Inspector Derrick from the old TV show from TVRwanda - anyone?

The artificial lake was made to support the nearby Mill.

The water from the lake was used to power the mills...see below

Amazing to see this old ancient but effective machinery still working. And to think these guys had figured this out in the 1600's

Check out the size of those hammers though! 
Notice the guys giving the demo are quite old, and strong for their age.
Those things are heavy!

Another demo - talk about skilled laborers!!!

Staring boldly into the fire #fearless

Some of the hammers and tools (smaller - kleiner)
"As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another" - Prov 27:17

Got a souvenir as a gift - a replica of the horse shoe(hufeisen) made at the mill.
Which in this side of the world is also a good luck charm, as I was told. 

My very kind hosts and friends :)

      Got to enjoy my first Bratwurst - typical German Sausage with bread, similar to a hot dog in a bun

Check out this little guy enjoying his Bratwurst!

The Saxony flag
Underneath the local beer - Freiberger.
They have different versions of this - more about this in another blog!

But...they also have alcohol-free beer- yep, you heard me right.lol

We then took a walk through the forest (wald)

Till we finally came to the waldcafe (The cafe in the forest)
Where we enjoyed some cappuccino and Kuchen (cake)
Gotta love Europe! :D

The railway runs right through the forest 

Alright folks, that's all for today!
Enjoy your day off..wherever you are. 
Machs gut!
-Mwiza

Samstag...

Hallo!

So I got to tour more of Freiberg this Saturday. Besides the few occasional stares from the locals, nothing out of the ordinary. Although a couple of bikers did honk at me and screamed something in Deutsch to which I just nodded and smiled ;-)

Oh, and I did meet a guy from Algeria. Even though he spoke broken French, English and Deutsch, it was fun speaking a blend of all three languages and at times just nodding my head in agreement when I had no clue as to what he was saying. lol. 

En route to the St.Jakobi Church (St.Jakobikirche zu Freiberg)

The church stands at about 57m high

At the door of the church

So, of course I had to go in...

And this is what I found...#wedding
I Do #WeddingCrasher

Moving on, I went to see Das Donatstor

Basically these were the old, ancient gates of the town of Freiberg. (The Donatstor)

Then on to the Dom zu Freiberg - Freiberg Cathedral

These buildings are just massive, that it is impossible to capture their elegance and stature in a picture. But I had to try!

           Unfortunately, the inner entrance was closed, so I could only see so far. 

So that was that, for the rest of the day, I got to see the park (TierPark) and to explore a little bit more of Freiberg. Saw the Terra Mineralia (part of it at least - the free part) 

I will be honest and say I did get lost a couple of times. :D But like a friend reminded me recently, if you get lost, don't worry - the world is round. lol. 

Here, enjoy some more pictures - for free ;-)

I must add that the Terra Mineralia is one of the largest mineral exhibitions in the world with more than 3,500 exhibits! (Terra Mineralia) 

Picture - ok, just make sure you get my good side

Ducks being ducks. They've got their duck face look on. lol

Twas' a beautiful day in the park :)

 Lake

Das ist Freiberg - map

Skyline view

artsey-ish picture

Here's a Story Map with more historic info - created by yours truly ;-)

Auf Wiederhesen, 

- Mwiza

Day one-ish...

Guten Tag von Freiberg!

Birds chirping, wind blowing...its a beautiful, chilly day in Freiberg, Germany. And I am loving it!

I arrived in Freiberg about 2 days ago. Passport in my hand, and my two suitcases- I should have brought only one! (you'll get it later)...

I came all the way from California boarded two planes, a bus and a train to finally get to this nice little town, with all its nice little houses, where people are living their nice, cute little lives in peace
:-)

Freiberg, Germany is a small town of about 43,000 inhabitants. Located in the ore mountains. The name Freiberg, actually means Free Mountains. The town is about 850 years old and in the 12th century was funded because of silver mining. The mining is abandoned now, but everywhere in the city you can still see signs of the mining history.

I came to this nice little area to do an internship aka - a practicum. But mostly, I came to travel, go sight-seeing and to have fun! (shhh...don't tell :-P)

On the day I arrived though, there was a German rail strike. After successfully planning and figuring out my way to all the right gates, terminals and flights for my trip all the way from LAX airport, to Frankfurt airport and finally to Dresden airport, the last thing I expected was for the railway system to be a serious issue.

But believe it or not, it was. The day I arrived, was the day the train drivers had decided that enough was enough! I mean of all days, seriously?!
Well, good enough, I was in luck, there was one train that was working :-)
I imagine there must have been this one train driver, a loner-perhaps, who was so dedicated to his cause that come rain, shine or strike by his colleagues, he was going to drive his train! So help him God!. :D

After waiting in line for a while and dragging my two suitcases from the bus, across the cobblestone-paved roads of Dresden to the Dresden Hauptbahnhof, I finally made it to the one sole train that was to get me to my final home straße (street).

Am happy to say that as of now I am happily settled in my little room in a flat, soaking in all that this life has to offer me here in the town of Freiberg.
Here are some pictures for your enjoyment :-)

Shots from the streets of Freiberg city center

Nothing like a McDonald's sign to make you feel at home :-)(Am yet to try out the food there)

The people have spoken. Enuf'said!

Watch this space I will be posting more tales and pictures of life in Freiberg(Germany), and Europe.

tschüss,
Mwiza