Dresden, What is Old is New Again, June 17, 2010l

Originally, I had planned our itinerary to spend a few hours in Dresden while traveling between Berlin and Nuremburg. Rita convinced me to make it an overnight stop and how right she was. Most of us know Dresden as the city which was destroyed in one night of firebombing during WWII. Rita insisted that the city was also well know for its historic sites.



We arrived in Dresden at 1:30 after a relaxing 2.5 hour train ride, left the station and walked about 200 yards to our great little hotel. The Hotel Kipping was built in 1858 and was one of the few buildings that were not destroyed by the firebombing. It’s a 3 star hotel with 20 basic but very clean rooms. After checking in we headed for Old Town Dresden which was a 20 minute walk and sits on the edge of the Elbe River.


At the peak of its power in the 18th century, this capitol of Saxony ruled most of present-day Poland and eastern Germany. When Germany was divided after the War, Dresden was in the Soviet sector and 40 years of communist rule left the city in an economic hole from which it is just now emerging. Huge progress has been made in the 28 years since the Berlin Wall fell and today much of Dresden looks spanking new or is under construction. What is remarkable is the city’s most important and beautiful historic buildings in Old Town have been mostly restored.


We spent 4.5 hours walking around the Old Town and were amazed at the reconstruction that had taken place. For example, the Frauenkirche Church (Church of our Lady) is an impressive Lutheran church completed in 1743. It was destroyed to rubble in the firebombing and has been completely rebuilt. The grandiose Zwinger Palace complex was also completely destroyed and has been lovingly restored.


Dresden is the home of Martin Luther and the Protestant faith but has a magnificent Catholic Cathedral completed in 1749 (during the firebombing, the Cathedral was gutted by fire but remained standing). Saxony was under Wettin rule for over 700 years (it ended in 1918) but they were not Kings but Prince Electors selected by the Pope. When it became time to appoint the next Wettin, the Pope requested a Catholic Cathedral be built in Dresden. The local people (95% Protestant) would not work on the Cathedral so Italian workers were brought in to build it.


After completing our tour we headed back to the hotel to shower and change for dinner. We had read about an authentic Saxon and Bohemian restaurant and headed there for dinner. It was a delicious experience. Rita had Boehmischer Gulasch (dark beer braised beef with dumplings) and I had Kutscher Pfanne (grilled pork tenderloin, mushrooms in a cream sauce and roasted potatoes).We washed this down with refreshing Krusovice draft beer (my son Jay imports the bottles into Canada) and for medicinal purposes only, finished with a shot of Becherovca, a herb based schnapps that leaves a clove spice aftertaste. We waddled back to our hotel full and happy.
Tomorrow we catch the 07:54 train to Nuerberg.

Geoff digging into Dresdens delicious delicacy Quarkstollen before exploring Old Town

The refurbished Catholic Cathedral

Church of Our Lady complety rebuilt and re-opened in 2005

The Royal Palace which has also been completly rebuilt based on its original design

Rita inside the Zwinger Palace complex that will be completed its reconstruction in 2011

Rita with her Goulash and Krusovice beer