Day 4 began with us catching the train to Dresden. And it got off to a great start because of this yummy pastry!
The train ride was about 2.5 hours and pretty uneventful other than the disorganization of trying to board the train. They didn't have numbers on the cars so people would know which car was theirs, so it was quite the traffic jam in the hallway. and a traffic jam with people with luggage in a hallway that is about 4 feet wide, is no fun thing. But we survived! And made it to Dresden!
We met up with Ben et al in the city center for a walking tour so we could get the highlights in the short time we had available to us. The cool thing about Dresden was how new so many of the things are because the Allied bombing of Dresden in 1945 pretty much demolished everything in the city. So many of these buildings have been rebuilt, restored, or there are new building entirely--some that didn't even pop up into 2005! Which makes me curious to see what Dresden looked like before much of the rebuilding.
These are pictures of the Catholic Church in Dresden, built because August the Strong wanted to be King of Poland and to do that, he had to convert to Catholicism. The other building, in the right of the photos is the former Royal Palace where all the Kings and Queens used to live, and then normal people (imagine that! Telling someone you live in the Royal Palace, no big deal.) after WWI because the German Royals were forced to abdicate their throne in the treaty.
One of the Kings had this walkway built from his chambers to the church so that he could easily escape boring sermons. Then we have the Royal Theatre, which was burnt down and then rebuilt, then bombed and rebuilt.
Royal Theatre a little closer up and an entry way into the Summer Palaces.
Here are the Summer Palaces of the Royals. A huge courtyard and open space because when you are Royal, you have to throw the biggest and the bestest parties :) Unless you want to keep the peasants out, then you build your own secluded courtyard and fountain like the picture on the right.
Panorama of the entire (or most of it) building
A really lovely place, I would like to go back when its warmer weather!
Inside the Royal Palace in the smaller courtyard. They have a nice plastic bubble atop it to keep the wind, water, and cold out. It was much appreciated on this cold day.
A medieval market but you had to pay to get in :( and a truly beautiful porcelain mural of all the kings of Germany. It was one of the few things that wasn't actually destroyed in the bombing.
The Lutheran church!
All in all, it was a good side trip to Dresden. I would have liked to stay longer but alas, we were short on time so 4 hours was all we had.
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