Geography

Dresden (pop 505,000) is the capital city of the German Federal Free State of Saxony. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe in eastern Germany close to the Czech border and only 2 hours from Prague. It was formerly in East Germany. During the War it was almost annihilated in the 13 and 14 February 1945 bombing by the British and American air forces. The city has been much rebuilt and is now considered the “Silicon Valley” of Germany.

Halle-an-der-Saale population 233,500 is a very old town, the composer Frederick Handle was born here in 1685. It is 1½ hours northwest of Dresden.

Hersfeld now known as Bad Hersfeld (pop 30,500)
3 hours west of Dresden and 1½ hours northeast of Frankfurt, is a thriving spa and resort city with a famous annual festival and “classic therapies like drinking or bathing cures with the mineral and salt water springs”.

Niederaula (German only) population 5,500 is half-an-hour from Hersfeld.

Stolp-in-Pommern (now Slupsk) is near Gdansk (formerly Danzig) in Poland. At the time my Father was born, Pommern (Pomerania) was a part of Germany.

NOTE
Most of the above websites have English translations available.