Dresden Here We Come

I woke up a zombie, clearly not as well rested as I should've been; given the events from the night before. Some of us were out late exploring Berlin one last time (and trying to find the closest underground train home for what seemed like forever).

Anyways, that morning I finished packing my things before putting my larger (more obnoxious) suitcase back behind the front desk of the Relexa hotel for our second week of travels. Dresden is halfway between Berlin and Prague; and it's the capital city of Saxony.

The building style of architecture here is clearly Baroque (the details were fine and intricate) and there were lots of museums to see as well.

I learned so much of the city's background thanks to a guided tour named Carola Bernholz. At the height of the 18th century, Dresden ruled most of present day Poland and Eastern Germany from the Elbe River.

"Louis XIV" was also known as "Augustus the Strong" and what a reputation he had. He was not only the prince of Saxony but also the King of Poland. He was known as a womanizing, powerful Baroque man. Today, many call the city "Florence on the Elbe." Rumor has it August fathered as many children as there are days in a year (that's 365 allegedly!)

When the United States and Britain firebombed Dresden back in February of 1945 (during World War 11) tens of thousands of people died in the attacks and three-quarters of the city in Old Town (Alstadt) was destroyed. New Town or Neustadt Dresden wasn't touched though!

After the war was over, the Soviets controlled Dresden. Communists ruled the city for the next four decades. Even today there is a high unemployment rate within the city, but local economic officials are working on that! There were lots of tourists like our group out exploring the city and it certainly was one of the most fascinating Old Town European places I've ever seen!

I loved the atmosphere and feel of Dresden, it was also great if you wanted to get away from the hustle and bustle of Berlin (and I would later learn Prague too). Some of my favorite sights to see included the Lutheran Church known as the "Church of OurLady," the Semper State Opera House and the government buildings as well. Oh and the Zwinger Palace was stunning too and I loved having a cup of tea in the heart of Theaterplatz! It was really an amazing experience.

More about The Zwinger - it was ruled by the Wettin Dynasty and is now made up of many museums. The Wettin family ruled Saxony for more than 800 years, till' the end of WW1. Isn't that wild? A King didn't rule Saxony but a prince elector did.

For Dinner we ate at this delicious restaurant called Sophienkeller. The theme of the restaurant was Baroque from top to bottom! The style of dress worm by the waitresses to the furniture all across the restaurant was Baroque themed. The atmosphere was amazing. I had pork fried in cheese with potato dumplings. It was delicious. We also gobbled up this fresh bread and drank some fine Dresden wine too! "Augustus the Strong" was walking around the restaurant interacting with each table too. Of course, he was working.

One of my favorite things at the restaurant was the turn-style table at each setting. We kept putting our food on this huge round table and passing it around to eachother. It was fun.

We then retired to our luxurious rooms at the Radisson hotel just down the street. A wonderful time was had by all.

Tomorrow we're off to the VW plant in Dresden. Exciting stuff right?