With Jana off at work we were able to bum around Dresden for a day without a plan. So, a short walk from her apartment up to the Grosser Garten (Big Garden). It is rather huge, taking up several city blocks. Dresden is not a huge, busy megopolis but it's nice to have a big park in which to walk the dog and feed some ducks. Still, even in a big public garden in these parts, you cannot go far without seeing some massive Baroque piece of architecture. Smack bang in the middle of the Garten is yet another one of August the Strong's residences. According to Sharon, with some very nice windows.
August the Strong's, um, garden residenceI marvel at how these historical characters were so presumptuous, giving themselves names like August "The Strong" or Freidrich "The Great". Still, I suppose you don't conquer and rule countries with names like "Herbert the Sufficient" or "Johann the slightly annoying but reasonably good with kids".
We then familiarised ourselves with Dresden's excellent public transport system. I have to say that because Jana's Dad is the director of Dresden's public transport system. On our last overseas trip we maxed out on taxis. On this one, not a single taxi was required.
We headed up to the Blaueswunder, (or "Blue Wonder") Dresden's much liked bluey-green coloured bridge (There is no word in German for "bluey-green", but if there was I'm sure it would be ten miles long). By the way, the word "Blaue" is German slang for ridiculously drunk. There's no real significance in that, I just thought I'd mention it.
Bluey-Green wonder
From there you can catch a sort of cable car up to a lookout and take pictures of nice views of Dresden. So we did. From there you get a horrific impression of how bad it must have been in 2002 when the floods hit eastern Europe.
This was pretty much how we spent Monday and Tuesday. Monday night after work Jana whisked us off to a little village in the Ore Mountains. We dined at a restaurant with lots of Christmassy things, including a highwire cycling Santa and a shop full of classic Saxon crafts, such as those funny little smoking men. It was kinda cute, but I what I remember most about the evening is that Jana drives like a maniac. Maybe she was showing off..!? If she was, it worked..I am impressed.
Dining out in the Ore Mountains
Hofkirche, Dresden
TUESDAY OCTOBER 11TH
Another day in Dresden...I never tire of the Aldstadt. The ongoing construction work is a little intrusive but it tells you that Dresden is growing and rebuilding. All the magnificent baroque sights, street buskers, and amazing history... I could spend weeks there.
Theaterplatz
Zwinger's moatThat night we met up again with Jana's Dad and Chrystal, a bubbly woman who is so excited to see us every time, for a meal at the Saxon-themed SophienKellar. This restaurant is built upon the site of the Sophienkirche, the only old 1945-bombed church which was not rebuilt (perhaps because the Communists really didn't like rebuilding churches). The restaurant is underground, within the remaining catacombs of the Residenzschloss, the castle of August the Reasonably Muscular. We had the fortune of sitting at the merry-go-round table, with chairs suspended by chains around a revolving table. You had to swing forwards to grab your beer.
Funny but annoying novelty swinging chairs
A veteran of novelty swinging chairs
It was our last night in Dresden. Jana had arranged a "Melbourne 2003 footynight" reunion after-dinner, or at least, as much as was possible with Marko being in Stuttgart and Claudi having another round of chemo and not feeling well.
But, with her rather likeable boyfriend and protector Jörgy (smarter than the average bear) Claudi still managed to pop into the SophienKellar to say goodbye, knowing we were off to Berlin the next day. At least it wasn't Auf Wiedersehen, it was Bis Später...her January 2006 Australia trip was a go-er, she had paid for her flights that day.
Great news, but still, it was hard to let go of her. What a wonderful friend.
Off to the pub district of Neustadt where we met up with Katja and the last missing footynight link, Sophie. It was a tough night for me, surrounded by four gorgeous women. I went to the loo and some guy thought he'd get lucky, joining these four apparently-single women and giving them a long, German pickup line. Sophie showed the most initiative . She just looked at him blankly and said "...in English please" which scared him off.
Hanging out in the Neustadt
We even had the talented Katja speaking almost-perfect 'Strine "I would like to speak proper English" pronounced "Oi wood loike to spook...etc" Not a bad effort for a European. Sophie and Sharon and Jana just laughed a lot. But it was all a closing chapter.
And that was just about all the socialising I had come to Germany for. Quite a fitting end to our relaxing time in Dresden, and it may well have seemed more appropriate to fly home after that. But there was still this interesting city called Berlin...
