Dresden, Germany: A Place for Zwingers

Between February 13 and 15, 1945 the Allied forces, targeting the German military borough of the state of Saxony, laid waste to the central city of Dresden through a series of bombing raids. In the weeks prior to my visit to Dresden, I had been lightly briefed of the city's history so I had an idea what to expect. And what you expect to find when you walk or ride through the historic center of Dresden is very close to what you might have found on February 12, 1945, because the vast majority of the historic buildings have been rebuilt, either during the communist era or in the years since.

Across the river from the old town lies the "new town" or Neustadt which, ironically, is older than most of the old town since large portion of this area escaped the bombing. My hostel happened to be located in the Neustadt, today considered the social and cultural center of the city- home to the majority of the city's bars, cafes, restaurants, and clubs. The day I arrived, I was a bit tired from my Czech excursions so I called it an early night. 

The next morning I awoke and decided to investigate a curious phenomenon. Apparently if you follow the road adjacent to my hostel 4 blocks north you will arrive at and walk into the Dresden Forest. It's not very often you can take a ten minute stroll from a city center and find yourself in an real forest. A stroll in the cool woods was just what I needed to prepare myself for a full onslaught of both the new and old parts of Dresden.

Instead of following the path I took into the woods to return, I decided to forge a new trail out. I climbed up a hill and looped around until I came across some sort of fenced in area. Intrigued I began to encircle the perimeter. After a few minutes it opened into a park that led to a small parking area, around which I found this:

What. In. The. Hell? The weirdest part, even weirder than it being seemingly in the middle of nowhere AND weirder than the giant razor blade slicing through the western half, was that the place was almost completely deserted. Creepy. I later came to find out it is the newly completed German Military Museum, redesigned from a former military arsenal to the modern museum by Daniel Libeskind whose design was dubbed the "Dresden Shard." The steel structure cutting through the stone form of the building is intended to remind people how the war(s) have cut through and divided Germany, it's people, and as a reasonable interpolation, the world. 

From there I strolled back through the Neustadt where I came upon one of that neighborhood's most unique features: the backyards of the Kunsthofpassage. After the communist times the citizens of Dresden expressed their freedom, artistic and otherwise, by painting and decorating their backyards. Linked together and filled with little shops and cafes, this area became the Kunsthofpassage. Some of the painting and designs are really interesting- if you come on a rainy day there is one that plays music as it collects water.

Before continuing my walk into the old town, I spotted something that I had been craving for months- ever since I left NYC. Currywurst! In NY there is a little currywurst shop on 1st ave and 7th st called Wecksler's- owned and run by a Berliner who once worked for Deloitte. It was one of my favorite spots for a snack and great German beer during the summers. 

For those of you unfamiliar with currywurst, it's a sausage that's chopped up and smothered with a red somewhat spicy sauce (like a curry ketchup) that's then sprinkled with curry. It originated in Berlin just after the second world war and it's generally held (and my personal belief) that the best currywurst comes from Berlin, then eastern Germany, then western Germany, then everywhere else. It usually comes with fries (pommes) and, if done correctly, is an outstanding dish.

This particular place, Curry & Co., was voted the best currywurst and pommes in Dresden and it showed. They were so good I ended up eating there 2 more times before leaving Dresden- plus the currywurst and pommes costs only 3.50 euro. Can't beat that. I also love the round receptacles for  Curry & Co's conical pommes delivery unit.

From Albertplatz in Neustadt the easiest way to get to old town is to walk down the Haput Strasse (Main Street) to the gilded statue of Augustus the Strong, patron of Dresden. He was responsible for making Dresden the capital of Saxony and is largely credited for establishing the city as an art, music, architecture, and cultural center. He was also known for great feats of strength such as breaking a horseshoe in half with his hands, and among scholars it is widely agreed Agustus absolutely kicked ass during Festivus.

Another interesting factoid about Dresden is the Elbbeweissen. If you find yourself walking around the Elbeweissen, a 19 mile stretch of undeveloped grasslands in the city bordering the Elbe River (and with that description why wouldn't you), you'll encounter two things of note: (1) an excellent view of the (rebuilt) old town; 

and (2) the private (and extremely difficult to book) George Washington's Time Traveling World Tour of Spectacle.

If you're like me you're probably not wealthy and important enough to afford the GWTTWTS, so my advice to you is proceed on foot across the Agusustusbruke (Augustus' Bridge- isn't German easy?) and into old town. Along your way you might notice the display memoralizing the flood of 2002 where a great deal of the city was swept underwater. They tastefully commemorate that horrible time in Dresden's history with a cutout of a giant wave. Kowabunga dude!

With that in mind, I was hoping to find the bomb-shaped memorial building in old town. Alas, I could never locate it. I did, however, find the Fürstenzug which is the largest porcelain artwork in the world and depicts a mounted procession of Saxon rulers, notably distinguishable from a depiction of a procession of Saxon rulers, mounted. Two interesting facts: (1) the mural somehow survived the bombings with only minimal damage; and (2) there is only one woman shown in the mural depicting the entire history of Saxony, a little girl. Must have been a tough kingdom for dating.

One of the more impressive and controversial of rebuilt structures in Dresden is the Frauenkirch. This church was built in the 18th century and destroyed during the Allied firebombing. Actually, if you check out the wikipedia article there is a cool description of the columns literally exploding from the heat... errr... anyway. In reconstruction a large portion of the original stones were used. You can see them here as little black dots. The reconstruction cost 180 million euros- but you can't put a price on tourism.

In case you're wondering I didn't go inside because they levy a fee against you, and it's against my principles to have to pay to enter a church. But I hear it's quite pretty in a 180 million euro sort of way. In addition to the Frauenkirch, much of the old town was rebuilt in the "old style" to look as "authentic" as possible. It achieves this but in a way you might consider Epcot's World Showcase an "authentic" representation of each country.

From the old town I took a stroll over to the Grosser Garten (Big Garden), the aptly named largest park in the city. A couple of interesting facts: (1) there's a really old school train/tram you can ride in through the park, like something you might find at Dollywood; (2) Volkswagon built a manufacturing plant in the park and they employ an additional train system to ship the cars out of the park (it's critical that you do not board the wrong train); and (3) in the middle of the park is an old palace that, in comparison to the immaculately up-kept park, looks like a derelict (and likely haunted) house.

It seems like they are in the process of renovating it but I'd love for them to just leave it as is. Perhaps even promote it as a haunted house. Like in that movie with Liam Neeson where he was all like "I'm going to retire from acting after this" and then made about 25 more films and at least that many millions of dollars. By the way, when did he suddenly become a badass action star? I always fashioned him more of the slightly creepy professor with a hidden agenda type. Moving on...

Not all of Dresden's old town has been rebuilt. Here is an empty square still awaiting a few million fistful of euros to spark the groundbreaking. Perhaps they can reallocate the interest Germany will ultimately collect on all the Greek bank loans. Or, upon default maybe they could just relocate the Acropolis? It would make a fine addition to the Frauenkirch.

Also in the heart of the old town is the rebuilt former schloss (palace) which now hosts 5 museums. I'm not going to post a picture because I found the lobby boring and moderately confusing. Here's something cool- an old jousting ground (with just the tip of the schloss poking up in the background).

One structure definitely worth rebuilding is the Semperoper (opera house). In fact, I hate to say this but here the communists and I agreed, for this building was completely restored during their regime. And what a fine job they did. Who says the communists never did anything for anyone?

And here is some other stuff that was rebuilt. Still looks kind of old so good job guys!

And last but not least we have the Zwinger Palace, mostly built during the early 1700's, destroyed during the air raids, and rebuilt (again surprisingly) during the rule of the GDR (German Democratic Republic). It's located on the former site of the Dresden Fortress and was built as Augustus the Strong's response to Louis XIV's move to Versailles. It is rumored he once defeated 5 lions barehanded in the courtyard just to prove a point, all before he breakfasted of his usual 14 egg omelet, loaf of bread, and two liters of beer.

One of my favorite elements is a bit hidden away. You need to go to the far end of the courtyard and up some stairs, then circle around to the back of the palace where you'll find the Nymph's Fountain. Who doesn't love Greek mythology? It's perfect, especially now that the Acropolis is slated for relocation.

As you may have noticed astute reader, the skies have been gradually getting darker and darker throughout the series of photographs, indicating no doubt that a storm was on the horizon. Seeking shelter from the initial downpour I headed to the Yenidze, a former tobacco factory turned restaurant. Sound familiar? Remember Glasgow? Also, do you remember anything unusual about that structure? "It was built with a serious eastern influence, like an Indian palace." Very good! Now, feast your eyes on this:

Holy mother of a mosque Batman! Is that a smokestack shaped like a minaret? You bet it is. Evidently the Dresden town council nearly had a collective coronary when this building was proposed. Personally I think it gives the city character. And I love the thumb in the eye of the planning committee. The restaurant is located just below the letters and provides both a great view of Dresden and tasty overpriced beers. While stopping into the Yenidze allowed me to avoid the initial sprinkle, it did not save me from the tempest which was to strike with a heavy hand on my walk back to the hostel. But, it did provide an opportunity for the obligatory photo of the day: me marching soggily up the Haupt Strasse.

I arrived back at the hotel fairly soaked and after a hot shower and a currywurst I was able to convince myself to join fellow compatriots and new friends Rick, James, Jen, and Fritter for drinks. Rick, a fellow American from Cali has basically the exact same back story I do. Worked for a while now taking time off to travel the world. He went with one of the other options I considered- buying a motorcycle and making it a bike trip. I have to respect that. James is a musician from London living in Berlin and will feature prominently in that city's forthcoming post. The two girls are Aussies doing what every Australian is doing right now: aimlessly roaming the globe.

It was a long, fun, and boozy night. I eventually turned in "early," meaning I left before Rick and James (but just after Rick James), and managed to get to bed by a reasonable hour of 2am. The next day I ate my third currywurst of Dresden and prepared for my departure to Berlin. Originally I had planned to spend only 2-3 nights in the city of the bear but after meeting James and Rick, both of whom were also destined for Berlin, I figured I'd use it as a base for six days of R&R. Turns out I'd be getting far less R&R than I'd planned on...