Berlin 03: Dresden Day Trip

Monday, August 5, 2024

As with almost every other day during the trip, we had an early start this morning. We were taking the train to the city of Dresden for a day trip and we had purchased tickets for the 08:30 journey. Mom went to check on Dad, who was still not feeling well, and he decided to remain at the hotel again for the day. I offered to send him some places that he could get out to see around Berlin, but he said that he’d just stay in the room for the day. It was a shame that he was missing so much during our time in Germany, but I hoped that the rest would allow him to recover enough to enjoy our remaining Olympic events back in Paris.

After taking the U-Bahn over to the Berlin Hauptbanhof, mom and I again got breakfast from the same bakery as the previous day, though we got different pastries this time. We found the departure platform and soon boarded the train. The journey lasted around two hours, during which I watched Netflix while mom napped a bit.

Upon arrival in Dresden, mom and I set off for the historic city center to begin a full day of sightseeing. Dresden had been subjected to intense bombing by the British and Americans in February 1945, during the closing months of the Second World War. The fire bombing saw more than 3,900 tons of high-explosive, incendiary bombs dropped on the city. The resulting firestorms burned and destroyed much of the city, killing around 25,000 people. Postwar reflections of the bombing have called into question the justification for the heavy attack, making it somewhat controversial nowadays. For me, the indiscriminate attack, especially on the city center rather than focusing just on the military infrastructure, was unjustified. It is saddening to visit the city and still see the scars from the bombing throughout Dresden.

The walk from the station to the city center was short and took us through some shopping areas. As we approached the historical part of town, the architecture changed to the more beautiful, gothic stone style that is so symbolic of Germany. We made a brief stop at Dresden Castle so we could buy entrance tickets for later in the day. The castle sells timed entry tickets, but there was nothing sooner that mid-afternoon, so we decided to sightsee around town before returning to the castle.

Mom and I walked under the Georgentor gate and finally reached the heart of Dresden and began our city tour. Many of the stone buildings were blackened and I pointed out to mom that this was because of the firebombing during the war. The damage still visible today is but a fraction of what happened to the city, but it serves as a strong reminder of the horrors of the war.

The impressive Standehaus (city courthouse) towered above the first small square that we entered. Running along the wall of a building next to this was an mural depicting the rulers of Saxony. Saxony was a former Electorate of the Holy Roman Empire and became its own kingdom in 1806, after Napoleon dissolved the Holy Roman Empire. The Kingdom of Saxony then merged into the German Empire in 1871, when Bismarck unified the German states. Now Saxony is one of the states that make up modern-day Germany. Throughout all of these periods, Dresden served as the capital, which is why the city is so culturally rich.

Mom and I then walked over to the Frauenkirche, the imposing Baroque Protestant church built in the mid-1700s and then reconstructed 20 years ago. The reconstruction is an architectural marvel. The pile of rubble of the church that had been untouched since 1945 was carefully removed and cataloged. Using special computer programs, some of which were created specifically for this project, they were able to determine where the bricks in the rubble were placed in the original church. After identifying which bricks were still sound enough to be reused, they placed these blackened bricks (from the firebombing) back into their place as the church was rebuilt. The result of this is that the church has dozens upon dozens of black bricks dotted around it – the old mixed with the new – to create a unique look for the facade.

I then took mom over to the riverside, where we strolled through Bruhl’s Terrace along the Elbe River. The terrace is a large pedestrian area with sweeping views over the river. The areas on the other side of the river are far less pretty, but the terrace was still lovely for a mid-morning stroll. Many of the buildings along the terrace were still blackened from the firebombing, but their architectural beauty still shone through. Mom and I enjoyed getting to see all of the unique structures, many adorned with various statues.

We returned to Schlossplatz, where our city tour began and descended the steps down from the terrace to arrive back in front of the Standehous. On the other side of the square stood the Kathedrale Sanctissimae Trinitatis (Dresden Cathedral), an 18th century cathedral that was also rebuilt after the war. The central belltower is particularly notable, not only because of the statues that adorn ever corner, but because of it’s three distinct levels or floors. Much of the cathedral is still blackened, but it does not detract from the extraordinary architectural details of the building. Statues and detailed stone carvings covered the entire building. Even though the majority of Saxons at the time of its construction were Protestant, the rulers were Catholic and the ruler at the time had it build next to Dresden Castle (the two were connected by an intricate walkway).

As we walked around the cathedral, the opera house came into view across the nearby Theaterplatz. From here, we could look back towards the cathedral and see the towers of the castle and the Standehous all clustered together. The beauty of Dresden was shining bright in the afternoon sun, and I was glad that mom was enjoying our time in Dresden.

Our next stop was at the Dresden Zwinger, a palatial complex that had originally been built to serve as the forecourt to a new castle (which was never built). The Elector, Augustus the Strong, had the Zwinger built in 1709 and it stands as one of the finest examples of Baroque architecture in Germany. The complex consists of four walls surrounding a large courtyard. The main entrance to the courtyard has a massive crown standing atop the gate. Nowadays, the Zinger serves as a museum, notable for its collection of porcelain.

To my dismay, we found that the Zwinger was undergoing massive restoration work, so we could not fully enjoy or admire the beauty of the place. I have very fond memories of when I first visited Dresden in 2009 and I was excited for mom to enjoy the gardens in the central square, but this was not to be. The restoration work had torn up the courtyard as they made repairs to the fountains and pools. It was a shame, but we were still able to walk around the top of the walls. We descended down to a small grotto located in a corner of the building, which had a small fountain. I took mom all the way around the walls until we reached the huge black and gold crown. We had seen it from afar, but I wanted mom to be able to see it up close.

When we finished our walk around the Zwinger, we had to retrace our steps and then navigate the impromptu walkways from the reconstruction work to reach the exit. We took the main gate to leave, walking across the small drawbridge, where we could look back to see the huge crown towering above us. As we began walking back to the city center, the bells at the Zwinger clock began to chime, which was very pretty to hear.

We stopped to get a coffee and a light snack before heading to the castle for our timed entry. It was nice to have the short break – we had been walking non-stop for several hours. The café where we stopped was alright, but the service was quite poor – it took them nearly 25 minutes to bring the coffee and ice cream we had ordered.

Mom was very excited to visit Dresden Castle, where we had tickets to tour both the castle itself and the famed Green Vault containing the royal jewels and collections. Before we could enter, we had to put all of our belongings (coats, bags, etc) into a locker – the castle has strict security, especially with the Green Vault, due to a notorious jewel heist that occurred there several years ago.

At 14:30, we went to the Green Vault and collected our audio guides for our visit. This part of the castle has 12 rooms full of various treasure. Each room had a different theme, both in the collections on display and in décor: one was decorated in a rich green, another in red, yet another in blue. The audio guide provided excellent narration about the collections on display as we walked through each room.

The first room contained items the 1500s, while the next had items showcasing the art of micro-carving. Ivory and pearl pieces filled yet another room in the museum. The most impressive room was lined with mirrors and had pieces hung all over the walls. The artworks here were made from gems, amber, ostrich eggs, and rock crystal.

My favorite room contained the jewels from the rulers of Saxony, and it was here that the 2019 robbery took place. In November 2019, thieves broke into the museum after starting a small fire to cut the power and disable the security system. The stole items were worth an estimated €113 million. Many of the stolen pieces had been returned to the museum, but some were still missing. On display were the many diamond pieces, including a broach and a sword hilt. Mom and I were both extremely impressed with the Green Vault.

After collecting our bags from the locker, we set off to explore the rest of the castle. We followed signs to the rooftop terrace, which required us to climb a seemingly never-ending set of stairs to reach the top. The climb, while exhausting, was well worth the effort though. We were able to walk around the tower and were rewarded with views overlooking the entire city.

Mom was eager to see some of the old clothes on display in the castle, though it took us some time to locate them in the sprawling museum. We had just about given up when we finally stumbled upon that section. We spent some time walking around to admire the clothing from the former rulers of Saxony. I was happy that we were able to find them because mom was clearly enjoying this part of the visit.

When we finished our visit of Dresden Castle, mom and I both wanted to get something to eat for dinner before catching the train back to Berlin. I had found a beer hall nearby, but we found that almost all of the tables were reserved and thus we couldn’t have dinner there. We spent some time walking around to find somewhere else to eat, before setting on the Paulaner restaurant next to the castle. I ordered a Radler to drink and a hamhock (schweinshaxe) to eat for dinner. The food was delicious and very filling – I truly love German cuisine!

It was then time to head back to the train station and, at 18:55, our train departed for Berlin. Mom again napped during the train ride and I watched more NetFlix. When we returned to the hotel, we checked in on dad, who had spent the entire day at the hotel (he had briefly gone out to get something to eat). He was still not feeling well, so mom again stayed in my room with me. She and I watched “Dateline” as we relaxed before heading to bed. Our time in Berlin was quickly coming to an end, with just one more half day of sightseeing left. Even though dad had not been able to get out much to enjoy it, mom and I were both thoroughly enjoying everything.