Friday 10 June We caught a morning train from Bad Schandau to Dresden this morning, only a 45 minute trip. On the was we passed two of Bad Schandau’s attractions that we didn’t visit: Festung Königstein (Castle Konigstein), purportedly the biggest castle in Europe and the Bastei mountains and bridge, 194 m above the river Elbe. There’s so much to see and do that we have to be selective. By the way, Bad Schandau town and surrounds were used in the filming of Quentin Tarantino's “Inglourious Basterds” in 2008.
Dresden is pretty unimpressive until you get to the old city centre. The city was famously bombed in 1945 and a selection of historic buildings have been reconstructed from original remnants and similar materials. As Michael Palin said “they’re building a Disney World façade of old Dresden”. To some extent that’s true, the quite small central district is full of tourists marvelling at the architecture. However, Dresdeners are proud of their city and I think it’s important to maintain a link to the past, even it is a little manufactured.
On Phil & Lyn’s recommendation, we went to the top of the Frauenkirche (Lutheran Church of Our Lady). It was reconstructed in 1994-2005 with money from an international fund-raising campaign, and the original dark stone parts can be seen throughout the lighter new stone components. A notice at the entrance says that the building does not conform with current building regulations and has warnings for people with claustrophobia and vertigo. The interior is pretty spectacular, with ornate altar decorations and interesting circular seating. The view from the top was worth the climb, although a lift goes part of the way. We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the old city, before returning to our quite nice BnB for a rest.
We are absolutely spoiled for coffee in Australia, especially in the CBD where city workers complain if the barista hasn't made the perfect cup of coffee. We haven't had a decent cup of coffee since Prague, and that was only OK.
Most places we've been to use automatic push-button machines for coffee, and you only get the coffee written on the button - no specials. The cappuccinos are weak and watery, and espressos are strong but bitter. The best compromise we've found is to order one of each, and pour the espresso into the cappuccino. Voila, one drinkable coffee to share.
We went to an exhibition On the Aesthetics of Racism at Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden. The exhibition detailed the research by European researchers in the 19th and 20th centuries who tried to prove that biological differences defined cultural and intellectual characteristics.
A feature of the display was a sculpture of an ape abducting a woman by Emmanuel Fremiet which caused a scandal in the 19th century.
The exhibition presented the research material including hundreds of photographs, news clippings, casts and notebooks of the Dresden Ethnologist and Anthropologist Bernhard Struck. This type of data was used to justify the racism that arose, not only in Germany, but other countries at that time. As interesting as the exhibition was, it’s also interesting that the Germans are still trawling over the past in this way.
Anyone watch Game of Thrones?
We headed out a bit late for dinner, and thought we’d go to Neustadt (New City) across the river for dinner. We were surprised at how few restaurants were open, and finally found a café that served food and drinks. Apparently the European Cup starts tonight and everyone is home watching the game.
The menu was limited, but had a reasonable selection. Frances ordered Wurzfleisch vom Vuhn, the same dish I had in Bad Schandau of chicken and mushrooms topped with grilled cheese.
Her verdict was good, but not as good as the first version. I had quiche with salad – dressing on the side this time, actually bottles of oil and vinegar so I could make it myself. It was actually very good, a nice variety in the salad and the quiche, although small, was tasty with a range of vegetables including leek.
The accompanying glasses of Prosecco and rosé we ordered were just right. To finish, Frances ordered a hot chocolate and a slice of Dresden pie – a type of cheesecake with more cake than cheese. Both were good, and the hot chocolate came in a bowl!
It was a very pleasant evening so we walked the couple of kilometres back home.
Here are some night photos of the old part of Dresden with the new moon.
There was a pianist and trumpeter playing in the square near the Frauenkirche which was very nice.
There’s also a photo of a car we were going to ‘borrow’, a classic Corvette Stingray, but it was a bit late, so we gave it a miss.
Dresden is pretty unimpressive until you get to the old city centre. The city was famously bombed in 1945 and a selection of historic buildings have been reconstructed from original remnants and similar materials. As Michael Palin said “they’re building a Disney World façade of old Dresden”. To some extent that’s true, the quite small central district is full of tourists marvelling at the architecture. However, Dresdeners are proud of their city and I think it’s important to maintain a link to the past, even it is a little manufactured.
On Phil & Lyn’s recommendation, we went to the top of the Frauenkirche (Lutheran Church of Our Lady). It was reconstructed in 1994-2005 with money from an international fund-raising campaign, and the original dark stone parts can be seen throughout the lighter new stone components. A notice at the entrance says that the building does not conform with current building regulations and has warnings for people with claustrophobia and vertigo. The interior is pretty spectacular, with ornate altar decorations and interesting circular seating. The view from the top was worth the climb, although a lift goes part of the way. We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the old city, before returning to our quite nice BnB for a rest.
We are absolutely spoiled for coffee in Australia, especially in the CBD where city workers complain if the barista hasn't made the perfect cup of coffee. We haven't had a decent cup of coffee since Prague, and that was only OK.Most places we've been to use automatic push-button machines for coffee, and you only get the coffee written on the button - no specials. The cappuccinos are weak and watery, and espressos are strong but bitter. The best compromise we've found is to order one of each, and pour the espresso into the cappuccino. Voila, one drinkable coffee to share.
We went to an exhibition On the Aesthetics of Racism at Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden. The exhibition detailed the research by European researchers in the 19th and 20th centuries who tried to prove that biological differences defined cultural and intellectual characteristics.A feature of the display was a sculpture of an ape abducting a woman by Emmanuel Fremiet which caused a scandal in the 19th century.
The exhibition presented the research material including hundreds of photographs, news clippings, casts and notebooks of the Dresden Ethnologist and Anthropologist Bernhard Struck. This type of data was used to justify the racism that arose, not only in Germany, but other countries at that time. As interesting as the exhibition was, it’s also interesting that the Germans are still trawling over the past in this way.
Anyone watch Game of Thrones?
We headed out a bit late for dinner, and thought we’d go to Neustadt (New City) across the river for dinner. We were surprised at how few restaurants were open, and finally found a café that served food and drinks. Apparently the European Cup starts tonight and everyone is home watching the game.
The menu was limited, but had a reasonable selection. Frances ordered Wurzfleisch vom Vuhn, the same dish I had in Bad Schandau of chicken and mushrooms topped with grilled cheese.Her verdict was good, but not as good as the first version. I had quiche with salad – dressing on the side this time, actually bottles of oil and vinegar so I could make it myself. It was actually very good, a nice variety in the salad and the quiche, although small, was tasty with a range of vegetables including leek.
The accompanying glasses of Prosecco and rosé we ordered were just right. To finish, Frances ordered a hot chocolate and a slice of Dresden pie – a type of cheesecake with more cake than cheese. Both were good, and the hot chocolate came in a bowl!
It was a very pleasant evening so we walked the couple of kilometres back home.Here are some night photos of the old part of Dresden with the new moon.
There was a pianist and trumpeter playing in the square near the Frauenkirche which was very nice.
There’s also a photo of a car we were going to ‘borrow’, a classic Corvette Stingray, but it was a bit late, so we gave it a miss.
