Dresden

Yesterday, eight of us decided to use the wonderful Schönes Wochenende Ticket (39 euro ticket to travel anywhere in Germany with up to 5 persons from midnight Saturday or Sunday to 3am the following day) to travel to Dresden, the capital city of the German state Saxony that is situated on the Elbe and that was bombed heavily at the end of WWII. Although we left Berlin in the early morning, we did not arrive in Dresden until a little before 1pm, mainly because we had an almost 2-hour long layover in a little town in the middle of nowhere (Falkenberg, Germany, anyone?). When we arrived in Dresden, we immediately sought out a Deutsche Bank for those of us who needed to refill our empty wallets/pockets. And afterward, everyone but me enjoyed some sort of Wurst (sausage) with Senf (mustard) and Brötchen (roll) in the market of town.

Once everyone had satisfied their hunger pains, we continued to walk around the city for the next 7 hours. Our self-guided tour began at the Frauenkirche square, where we were greeted with offerings of free beer. Since it is rude to decline anything--especially free beer--we each took a cup and consumed the beverage before entering the Frauenkirche. The church is one of the most notable sights in Dresden, and for good reason. It has a beautiful interior that isn't too godly, with the right amount of gold and color decorating the alter, the walls, and the organ. After marveling at the church for a bit, we made our way over to the Elbe, which divides the city in two (it resembles Budapest and the Danube, if you ask me). We crossed Augustus Bridge and entered the other side of the city, where Mohit and I found an amazing Bäckerei (Pecan Streusel + Käse-Brötchen + Quarkzipfel = €1,50) and where we visited one of the oldest dairy markets in Europe. After consuming various products that would probably not make a great mix together (e.g.: mustard, cheeses, ice cream, pastries, etc.), we continued our exploration of Dresden, gaping at the wonderful buildings and views. We ended our day with some of us climbing up to the top of the Frauenkirche, which offered a wonderful panoramic view of the city.

Frauenkirche

Martin Luther

The inside of Frauenkirche

The Elbe

View from the other side of the Elbe

The golden equestrian sculpture of August the Strong

Allegedly the greatest dairy shop in the world

Dreikönigskirche

The opera house in Dresden

The Hofkirche

Fürstenzug, the Saxon sovereigns depicted in Meissen porcelain

A view of Dresden from the Turm of Frauenkirche

It's a shame, however, that the city was almost completely wiped out during the bombing of Dresden by the Brisih and the American air forces. Therefore, most of the landmarks and things that we saw have been rebuilt and renovated since 1945. Thus it was interesting to see the mixture of burnt and new materials. Nevertheless, Dresden is a beautiful city that everyone should visit at least once in his lifetime!