Dresden

Our first day in the amazing city of Dresden. This city has literally risen from the ashes. Destroyed in the fire bombings of February 1945 it was all but ignored by the Soviets and for the last 20 years has been undergoing a rebirth. The old town has been painstakingly, piece by piece, restored to its former Baroque beauty. You can almost feel the upbeat spirit in the air.

We began with breakfast outdoors accompanied by a cacophony of church bells. Because the old town’s major sites are in close proximity we decided to take a self guided walking tour. We started at the Theatreplatz, the site of the Baroque masterpiece, the Semperoper (the Saxony State Opera House).

Crossing the street we headed to the Zwinger which is often mistakenly referred to as a palace. In fact, no one ever lived there. It was the “party house” of Augustus II, the Strong. Lavish balls and parties were held in its vast courtyard. It even had the fifteenth century equivalent of the Playboy Mansion’s Grotto with elaborate fountains and waterfalls. The highlight for us was hearing the Glockenspiel, which unlike most Glockenspiels instead of brass bells these ones are of Meissen Porcelain giving it a sweeter tone.

Next stop, the Procession of Princes. This 102 meter long ceramic mural depicts seven centuries of Saxon royalty. Being ceramic only 250 of the 24,000 tiles were destroyed in the fire bombing. The artist carefully studied armour and clothing through the ages. I am having problems loading some photos. I will try to add them later.

Next stop, the Frauenkirche, “The Church of Our Lady”. Another Baroque masterpiece that was totally destroyed. It was left as a rubble pile until the end of the Communist regime. With private donations totalling over $100 million Euros it was pieced together bit by bit using as much of the original material as possible. As a bond of friendship the city of Coventry, England donated 2 fire blackened nails for the altar. Unfortunately, the Church was closed to visitors for rehearsal for upcoming concerts.

All of this site seeing was making us very hungry so we proceeded to Brühl’s Terrace, nicknamed the Balcony of Europe. This promenade was built atop the old city fortification walls facing the Elbe River. We found a very nice open air restaurant for lunch and beers.

After lunch we crossed the Elbe River to the New Town, which was miraculously left unscathed by the bombing. Unfortunately the area was modernized by the construction of blocky looking Communist era apartments. Passing “the Golden Rider”, a gigantic golden statue of Augustus II we settled in to a Venicia Cafe for some of the tastiest ice cream ever. We strolled the wide, tree-lined Boulevard for several blocks, but because it was Ascension Day holiday none of the shops were open. We ambled back to the bank of the Elbe River where we settled in to a beer garden and watched the world and the river float by. With the effects of sunshine, beer and jet lag kicking in we headed back to our hotel for a rest.