Ancient Texts

Today we got up and walked down to the university in Dresden to see the Dresden Codex. The Dresden Codex is the only remaining text from the Mayans of the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico and has given us impressive amounts of information about how their society worked. It it something I have always wanted to see in person ever since I studied the Mayans in school. We arrived at the library and asked how we were to see the Codex. A security guard escorted just the two of us up a few floors and then down a hall. At the end was a massive brass door; not quite as thick as a vault, but getting there. He let us inside and then shut the door behind us. Inside was a darkened room with a few dozen manuscripts and artifacts bathed in gentle spotlights. In the center was the long glass case that held the Codex and along the walls were the many other items. After admiring the Codex we started checking out the others, all of which I had no idea would be here as well. Bach's handwritten pieces, ancient Egyptian shipment logs written on decaying papyrus, a small statue dating back to the 21st century BC! It was all very impressive. 

Afterward, we returned to the beer garden and relaxed for a few hours before catching our train to Berlin. We are now here, staying with a friend of a friend and looking forward to our longest stay in a city yet.

As with the last post, I am unable to embed photos directly into the blog due to lagging internet speed so you'll have to check out the PHOTOS tab.