New Favorite German City

I spent Easter weekend with Boyfriend's family. His family lives just north of Berlin. As we were driving south, down to Dresden, where Boyfriend currently lives and studies. I mentioned that I think of Berlin as my favorite German city.

"Just wait." Boyfriend said, "You haven't seen Dresden yet."

I explained that I had. I had spent one week at the end of January 2009 in the smaller city of Dresden. It was bleeping cold. I was sick with an undiagnosed thyroid issue, and the most I remember from Dresden is falling asleep once I sat down in all the museums.

I remembered it as a grey, rich with history, freezing cold city.

We entered Dresden by car, and came down a hill that overlooked the city. The rooftops were shiny in the sunlight, the church spires tall, and there were blooming lilacs on every corner. I took as many blurry pictures from the car windows as my dying iPhone battery allowed.

View from Boyfriend's apartment.

The next day was a three hour cruise down the River Elbe, stopping and turning around at a grand palace partway down the river. The Elbe is now a resort area for Germany's rich and famous, and the old chateaus and palaces are cleaned up and stunning with vineyards and gardens.

 Oh look, just another castle. 

 The "Blue Wonder Bridge" an engineering miracle. 

Dresden was horribly bombed by the allied forces towards the end of WWII, and lost majority of its amazing architecture. During the war the city was a refugee center for women and children, and is where the Germans hid most of the valuable art. When the bombing began, many people fled to the large church, the Frauenkirche (Church of our Lady). The church was also destroyed. Rebuilt years later, the cross on top of the church was created and welded in Britain, and given as a gift to the city. While rebuilding the church, many of the same bricks were used. Which creates the patchwork architecture.

 Frauenkirche 

 Semperoper (Semper Opera House) 

 Zwinger, a palace in the city

 That was full of tourists (like me) I got trapped in an Italian travel group for a bit. 

Both of these buildings (the one in the back to the right is the Frauenkirche) are part of the Art Academy. The gold winged statue to the left is the goddess Nike, goddess of victory. Reminding everyone that art triumphs over all. 

 View of the Old City from the top of a church 

Just another street. 

Wednesday Boyfriend took me to the Grossergarten (the translation is simply, Big Garden) a huge park with a lot to offer. We had a picnic next to a kiddie train that ran around the entire park. 

Then started exploring. The flowers were blooming, ducks quacking, and more people than I realized were stuck in the nineties and rollerblading everywhere.

And as German custom has it, you turn a corner and there is a palace. 

Which had just been a simple summer home for some German king.

In true European Romantic fashion the sun began to set, and everything was beautiful and perfect. 

I spent all Thursday wandering the city. Going through the old buildings and palaces that I remember touring with my university. Then I headed to the new city, primarily the Kunstpassage, or art walk. I had a map, and directions, but wandered down one street and up another before seeing anything. Then I saw a man with a fanny pack and a large camera and followed him. The passage was between the two streets, in a courtyard. And was one of my favorite sites in the entire city. 

The buildings had been designed with cool facades. The buildings themselves housed apartments, and cute cafes and artsy shops. I loved it.

It happened to be garbage day on that Thursday. And the air smelled like warm cheese and old paper. I wandered the streets, covered with graffiti that was poignant and expected; a silhouette of Audrey Hepburn, a mouse eating a cat. 

I passed young men slurping ice cream cones as their frayed MC Hammer pants swayed in the breeze. An old woman grumbled as she shifted through a newspaper her pumpkin orange hair slightly greying. Artists shove cards depicting their pottery or felt necklaces into your hands, and they soon litter the sidewalk, reminiscent of Las Vegas. The tram stopped too soon. The beer garden started selling fish sandwiches at noon. Children hid in the lilacs, squealing.

Dresden had captured my heart. It had the sensibility of Frankfurt, the art of Berlin, and the chill West Coast vibe of San Francisco.