On December 18th I woke up in Dresden, Germany. I took the train in from Prague the day before and ended up at my hotel around 7:15. I walked around a little but didn't get a good feel for things in the dark. I headed out to explore a bit. Less than a block from my hotel was the Fürstenzug.
The mural is painted on 24,000 tiles of Meissen porcelain and is longer than a football field.
The work depicts seven centuries of Saxon royalty.
The Royal Palace
So much of Dresden was leveled during WW2 in the Allied firebombing, so a good portion of the city has been rebuilt.
I had a 10:00 ticket to the Historic Green Vault. This is the treasury collection of the royal family. Photographs aren't allowed in the Historic Green Vault but you can see the Amber Cabinet, Ivory Room, White Silver Room that holds a carved rhino horn, tableware, the Hall of Precious Objects and the Jewel Room.
After the Historic Green Vault, I saw the New Green Vault, the Turkish Chamber and the Royal Armory. I didn't take a ton of pics here either because I wasn't sure it was allowed until toward the end of my time in there.
I did take pics of these gigantic dog collars.
This was the outfit worn by August II of Poland at the coronation banquet in Krakow in 1697.
After the museums I walked around some additional Old Town sights.
Theaterplatz with the statute of King John and the Opera House.
Looking at the Hofkirche from Theaterplatz
I ventured into the Zwinger next where you can see the Rampart Pavilion
The Crown Gate
and the Glockenspielpavillon
The 40 bells are made of Meissen porcelain
From here I took the tram across the Elbe River to New Town and the Markthalle.
I looked around at all there was to offer and grabbed lunch here.
After lunch I walked around one of Dresden's Christmas market located nearby.
After walking around that market, I took the tram back to Old Town.
Frauenkirche
Church of Our Lady was completed in 1743 and was Germany's tallest Protestant church. On the night of February 13, 1945 the firebombs came. The next morning it was still standing, but smoldering, and it burned for two days until it collapsed. It wasn't rebuilt until after reunification and opened in 2005.
There is still a chunk of bombed rubble from original.
(and that's my hotel you see behind it)
I took a tram over to the market at Prager Straße, but have no photos from it. I didn't stay very long and then took the tram to the Altmarkt. The Altmarkt was amazing. The decorations were great.
Each of the booths were decorated too.
I got a couple of things to eat here. I got this waffle that was covered in meringue and a plum compote.
I also got a stuffed hand bread. It was stuffed with ham and cheese and topped with crème fraîche and chives.
I walked back to the christmas market located at the Neumarkt and looked around.
That was the end of my sightseeing in Dresden. I stayed at the Hilton Hotel that was in a great location. This was one of the hotels I changed at the last minute to earn points with American Airlines.
As I said, I loved the location, but the room was super dark and could have used a revamp.
That's a wrap on Dresden.
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