Dresden, Germany

When asked which German city is my favourite I’d always say Dresden. Even though it had been bombed flat in WWII the spirit of the people there were not destroyed and the city was rebuilt as it looked before the war. In a stunning effort between artisan builders and modern machinery the city’s buildings are almost brand new but look centuries old.

The centrepiece of Dresden is its Frauenkirche on which construction began only in the 1990’s in its spectacular Baroque style. Situated in Neumarkt, the entire square was only completely rebuilt in the early 2000’s. Still, if you go to the square adjacent to the Dresden Transport Museum, which has an impressive cache of antique automobiles, trains, and aircraft, you’ll find construction workers continuing to rebuild the city.

On the more classical side of town, there are a huge number of museums housing the jewels of the former German royal family. These museums are situated in former Saxon palaces, many still with their original interior decorations on show to the public. For the best value, buy an annual pass – I loved Dresden so much I’ve been there six times in four years!

Near the cluster of museums is the Dresden Opera House with its expansive square. Right across from it is the north bank of the beautiful blue Danube where you can visit the Bundeswehr Military History Museum. As a military history buff, Tim totally loved the place and spent hours examining each exhibit much to the dismay of my feet.

Like the Pinakothek of Munich, the new and old Gemäldegalerie of Dresden is home to works of masters like eubens to later works of Monet. My favourite is one by Otto Dix called “The War”, especially chilling when placed in the city flattened by firebombing. Other works in the gallery depict Dresden in the 19th century, but if you look outside, most of it still looks the same.

Behind the castle, the largest porcelain artwork is plastered on a 102 meter long bit of wall. The Fürstenzug contains over eight centuries of history, but unless you’re a history major you probably can’t tell who’s who. After Chemnitz, Dresden probably has the second prettiest Christmas market so do enjoy a hot dog under a brightly lit Christmas tree.

You can take a tram to the northeast of Dresden to the site of rare Ampelmädchens in Germany, crosswalk signals. There are also two historical Bergbahnen; a rack railway like in Stuttgart and a hanging railway like in Wuppertal. 

On the newer sides of town there’s the glass and steel clad Volkswagen factory that produces electric vehicles and Bentleys. I booked a tour with Tim to see the production facilities, but the insides are off limits to cameras so you’ll have to go there yourself to find out what it’s like.