A (German) Tie that Binds: Stefan Knopfel (YP, '06-'07) shares a photo journal of his CBYX year—and the twist that followed

There was no better daily reminder that Dresden was formerly part of the USSR than this old gentleman standing every day in a busy shopping area with his large USSR flag.

I lived close by two other CBYX participants, William Stanley, and Jackie Eckblad-Waller.  Picture is of us with William’s host mom, Frau Riedel, outside of the historic Zwinger in alt stadt Dresden.  We quickly became close friends and stay in contact to this day.  

My host family decided to tie the knot and had a large wedding towards the end of my year.  Will Stanley and I volunteered to be bartenders for the wedding.  A professional is teaching us how to properly pour beers the “German” way.  The wedding was a great opportunity for me to meet the important people in my host family’s life and gave me the opportunity to practice my German through playing bartender. 

In Dresden we were a tight night CBYX community.  This is from one of our dinners with InWEnt GmbH and our host families in alt stadt Dresden.

Through my host family I met Vanessa Picon who was hosted with the same family a year after me.  We hit it off right away after meeting and eventually got married in Mexico.  Our host family flew all the way from Dresden to San Miguel Allende to celebrate our special day with us!