A Day in Dresden

Anyone who has read Kurt Vonnegut knows about the small German town of Dresden. Almost without fail, he manages to give some credit to this village in all of his novels. I guess being present while the “cultural capital” of Germany is nearly leveled during a WWII British air raid is one of those life events you want to tell people about. Unfortunately, only Americans and Englishmen look for the site where Slaughterhouse 5 was actually located, so the Germans will give you confused looks if you ask where to find it. It is only a 45-minute walk away from the #11 bus Magdeburger stop to get you to the Ostagehege that dominates the former POW camp, home of the Slaughterhouse 5. Morgan and I found the site and took pictures as each of us climbed on a statue of a pig being butchered as homage to the late author we love so much. Since WWII, Dresden has made a full recovery and is really a cool place to visit…if you get the chance.

Dresden was probably the best transition from powerful, informative Berlin to Prague, the city called “the new Amsterdam.” Separated by the Elbe River, Neustadt (New Town) and Altstadt (Old Town) seem to be of different worlds. Spiked belts and dyed black hair are on every post-punk local as they walk in and out of record shops, head shops, pubs and cafés. Imagine if Williamsburg, Brooklyn suddenly became obsessed with the Dead Kennedys and crammed it all into 20-square blocks and you wouldn’t be too far off from new town Dresden. The only thing lacking for the young punk or 25-year-old hipster is a bar that serves you after midnight.

Trying to decide where and what to eat is probably the hardest part of Neustadt. Bautzner Tor is an original GDR-style pub that takes you back to Communism behind the Berlin Wall. On the sweeter side, Teegadrom is a cozy teahouse where you can snuggle into a sofa while you read and sip. Café Combo is the better choice for a poppier, more alive drink. This 70’s style café seats you in chair probably stolen from Austin Powers’ house with cushions emblazoned with authentic Lucky Strike logos while locals stroll past the opened floor to ceiling windows.

To get a real feel for what Neustadt stands for, go through the alleyway between Alaunstrasse and Gorlitzer Strasse to look at what they call simply “Arty Backyard.” Bright yellow and pink walls are covered with alligators, giraffes, monkeys and plenty of other animals (sometimes blowing kisses at each other). When the Wall fell, Dresdeners crossed to the Western side to buy different colored paints that were unavailable for so many years under Communist rule. The result of decades of suppressed imagination, Neustadt has more than made up for its lost time.

Altstadt is almost a complete 180! The wild hair-dos and blaring music slow down across the Elbe as tourists flood the Theaterplatz while medieval attired guides show off the historic 13^th century district. As far as sightseeing goes, this area is a must! The Semper Opera House, the Prince’s Armory Collection, the Nymphs Bath, the Green Vault and the Royal Zwinger are all located within 50 meters of each other. Within each of these extravagant buildings can be found different treasures. The Opera house still holds performances on a regular basis; over 10,000 weapons lie on display in the Prince’s Armory, and the largest rare gem in the world is home in the Green vault.

You could spend days in Dresden and not have enough history, culture, food or fun.