Berlin and Dresden, Needlemakers’ Visit

I have been off the radar for a while as we were with the Needlemakers in Berlin and Dresden.  I had thought that I would write a daily diary and regale you with all we did.  In the end there is too much to tell and, like the endless holiday photos (we have those too.....), not all that interesting if you weren’t there.

If you were there you would have had a wonderful time.  I am not sure quite how we packed so much in and still left free time for everyone to indulge their own interests but we did.

Of course I leaned very heavily on Bryan Knight’s knowledge and expertise and the whole trip went like clockwork – thanks to much stress and work for him behind the scenes. 

We had the most superb guides who were not only experts in their field but were able to talk around their subjects with fluency and ease and humour. My abiding memory will be of the Egyptologist who took us around the Neues Museum and explained and read the hieroglyphics to us.

We saw how Meissen porcelain is made and why it is so expensive (as it is all still hand decorated) and heard the Meissen bells chime in Dresden.  John and I visited the Gemäldegalerie in Dresden and came across the wonderful Vermeer, Girl reading a letter by an open window just around the corner from a Raphael Sistine Madonna.  You may not recognize the Madonna but look at the bottom at the cherubs – they will be very familiar!

And then there was food, wine (including much Sekt) and a great deal of chocolate – oh yes, much chocolate! The asparagus were in season and they were sensational.

The most important part of the trip was the company. Everyone was so nice, friendly, entertaining and supportive. If you wanted to be alone you could be and if you wanted company it was always there. 

The last night would not have been complete without a poem by Carolyn which summarized our visit in her usual clever and funny way. John and I have wonderful memories and were given a beautiful piece of Meissen, which we shall treasure.