Day Trip to Dresden!

The great thing about living in Chemnitz is that I'm not far from the most famous cities in the East. Which means, that on any given (non-work) day, I can jaunt off to cool places and explore a bit.

But as everyone knows, being with other people is much more fun.  Some of the other Sachsen Fulbrighters hatched a plan to spend the weekend in Dresden.  So I grabbed my phone, my purse, and my camera and headed to Dresden!

Of course, getting to the main train station in Chemnitz is a frustratingly difficult since the direct route, a bridge over the tracks is still (after 2 years!) under construction.  So I have the choice of taking the extra 20 minute detour or the joy of going through this totally-not-terrifying-tunnel:

Totally innocuous and innocent looking tunnel. 

A dimly lit, graffiti-covered, dank, long tunnel!

It reminds me of something straight out of the film
Harry Brown (which, for those uncultured among you
 is basically the more violent, less heartwarming,
and overall more satisfying/depressing
British version of Gran Torino).

You may ask yourself:
"Why the barricade over that tiny door? I wonder who they're trying to keep out."

Better question:
"What are they trying to keep in?"

Have fun sleeping tonight!

Anyway, after the cheerful morning sprint through the cheeriest tunnel on this side of the Atlantic, I found myself on the train to Dresden, which is where I also found Melody, another ETA who lives in Zwickau, which only 30 minutes from Chemntiz!

We bonded over our mutual appreciation for Ritter Sport.

Many of the other Fulbrighters were coming into Dresden from other cities or they were still sleeping in, so Melody and I set out on the town by ourselves.

Let me say for the record:  Although I'd heard from many people about how beautiful Dresden is, I didn't believe it until I saw in person.  The city is absolutely lovely.

We stumbled onto a Herbstmarkt (Fall Market) - hello delicious
German market food and Nutella crepes!

More Herbstmarkt

Skyline of the Altstadt

First view of the Frauenkirche, which was completely destroyed
during WWII (as was most of Dresden) and completely rebuilt,
using some of the original stones and designs.
They finished in the last remodel of the spire in 2006.

The city area by the Frauenkirche

Melody and the Frauenkirche

This is why you bring friends along -
they can take pictures of you!

Near the Frauenkirche are many side streets,
filled with restaurants and cafes. 

This view of the Frauenkirche, showing some of
the original stones that were blackened by the fire bombs
dropped on Dresden.

View of the Frauenkirche from a bridge.

The Elbe river flows through Dresden...

A view of the Neustadt (New City) across the Elbe

A view of the Hermannsturm

A view from the steps by the royal palace down to the opera house.

Hey guys.

This is the Wall of Princes, depicting all the
rulers of Dresden (and/or Saxony). 

The level of detail, size, and placement of each prince
tells the viewer the reputation of the princes.

There was an event for children near the Wall of Princes.
This is live version of table-top Fußball!

The tower of the royal residence, now a museum.
Too bad it was closed.

The opera house in Dresden!

One of the Royal Gardens.
We stopped and had lunch here!

Obligatory butt shot.

Another view of the Altstadt.

We met up with the other Fulbrighters inside the Frauenkirche, which is truly lovely on the inside.

After we toured the Frauenkirche, we all made our way on yet another mini-tour of city until we reached the Hermannsturm, which is part of a larger art musuem in Dresden.  The other Fulbrighters wanted to climb the Hermannsturm, but since I'm not one for heights (that's putting it mildly), I passed my camera off to Cathy, who happily took photos for me.  (Thanks Cathy!)

Some of the ETA guys: Tom and David.

Meanwhile, in the art gallery gift shop, Your Humble Blogger stumbled onto this gem and had a massive nerd moment.

It's a book about Kant and you get to build your own Categorical Imperative in the shape of a cube with a summary of Kant's theories on it, lest you forget.

Might have saved me lots of wailing and gnasing of teeth in college.

So if you come to Dresden, there's lot to see and do and you have your choice of transportation!

You can rent a rigshaw or a dapper old fashioned car...

But maybe a Segway tour is more your style...

On the other hand, I've always found that horse drawn carriages are quite romantic...

But nothing tops the glorious strech-"limo" Trabi.

That was Dresden! I hope you all enjoyed my first visit to the city - I did! I hope I can visit again soon.

Lots of Love,

Your Humble Blogger