After leaving Krakow, our group split up for a short period before meeting back up in Berlin. Natalie went off on her own to Prague and Amanda and I went straight on to Germany's crazy capital. However, we stopped for a day in the charming little city of Dresden - which was more or less "on the way" from Poland to Berlin - and we did not regret the decision! Although Dresden was almost completely destroyed by bombing during World War II, it has been carefully rebuilt and reinvigorated with new life since. Now, it gives off the air of being a very trendy, artsy town with lots of delicious restaurants and cafés and beautiful wall murals and paintings everywhere.
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| Some of Dresden's main sights |
A day was really perfect to see the main sights in Dresden. The city is lovely, but quite small, and aside from walking around and appreciating its beauty, there didn't seem to be too much to do. Above (from top-left to bottom-right), you can see the Town Hall, one of the largest tile murals in the world, a museum and the main church in town.
Perhaps what we enjoyed most about Dresden, though, was the food! Unlike in Spain, where vegetarianism and other health-food movements, such as farm-to-table, do not exist, Germany seems to be on the same page as the U.S., with many restaurants offering vegan or vegetarian options and a handful of places which pride themselves on only using local, organic ingredients. Above you can see the two delicious meals we had - a vegan curry-wurst, or sausage with curry on top, and a potato-vegetable bake with goat cheese. And, of course, we had to try some delicious German beer, which was very affordable and oh-so-delicious!
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| The Kunsthofpassage, or Art Courtyards |
Another interesting stop on the Dresden itinerary was the Kunsthofpassage, a series of courtyards which have been converted into stunning works of art. These once ugly, grey and uninviting buildings were built during the Soviet era, when Germany was divided into two countries, one under Communist rule and the other under Democracy, and Dresden was deep inside the Communist terrain. The same chunky, austere, impersonal buildings, which were intended to do nothing more than pragmatically provide housing, can be seen throughout the former Soviet bloc, from Berlin to Warsaw, as ugly reminders of a conflicted past. However, the courtyards here in Dresden have now been transformed into something truly special and magical, with murals, sculptures, and plenty of trendy boutiques and cafés. They are a great example of one of the many ways in which Germany has tried to grapple with and overcome the tumultuous experiences of the twentieth century. We were about to see many more manifestations of this struggle in our next and final stop, the complex and contradictory city of Berlin.
