Day 11

So, we have WLAN in Dresden as well!

We left Berlin this morning around 10am and headed for Dresden. We both agreed that we'd spent enough time in Berlin and were ready to be out of the big city. The road trip only took 2 hours and we arrived at our hostel too early to check. No worries! Ready for lunch, we quickly shuffled ourselves into a corner cafe-bistro and spent an hour or so people watching from the cafe's large glass windows. Our hostel's located in the Dresden "New City", a center for young people with lots of bars and artsy-fartsy kinds of places to explore.



After lunch we decided to trek into the "Old City" (about a 30 minute walk). On February 13, 1945 the "Old City" was heavliy bombed and hardly anything was left standing. After the iron curtain fell in 1989, the city of Dresden started a massive restoration project. Much of the city center has been rebuilt in the original baroque style and is absolutely beautiful. We walked along the Elbe River enjoying the view, then made our way back to the hostel to check in.

Around 4pm we walked, once again, from the hostel to the city center. This time we had our cameras with us. Our plans were to further explore the "Old City", grab a bite to eat and then catch an outdoor concert. For dinner we scarfed-down 2 sausages each, accompanied by regional beer and for dessert Nutella crepes. Oink! As the concert drew nearer the sky seemed to darken. Fortunately, we were sitting under a canapy/tent. Just minutes before the concert was to begin, buckets of water came hurling from the sky. People quickly swarmed under the tent and within seconds we were surrounded by fellow beer-drinkers and concert-goers. The water didn't want to let up and after a quarter of an hour someone announced that the orchester would not be playing, but a small gospel choir would perform under another small tent on stage. We listened for about an hour, or until the rain let up, and then headed back to our hostel.

Heather's sleeping...we were going to go out tonight, but I think those plans are scratched. I don't think she's used to all the walking. My first impressions of Dresden have been great. There's something fasinating about this city with it's small town feeling and jam-packed culture. It's too bad we're only here for 2 nights.