Day 4 Dresden

Today we went to downtown Dresden. The Elbe cuts through Dresden and separates the Altstadt from the Neustadt. It also separates the bombed out section from the relatively unscathed section. The preeminent ruler here is Augustus II. He ruled both Saxony and Poland from Dresden. He is credited with bringing great works of art, architecture and culture to Dresden. During his reign it was called Florence on the Elbe, though I am not sure those who coined the name had ever been to Florence. Among the many things that seem out of place is the catholic cathedral, built to appease the Polish subjects by imported Italian workers because the local Protestants would not work on it.

Our first stop downtown was Prager Strasse. This was intended to be a shopping district to rival all others. It was built during the 1960s in the relatively clean slate provided by the Allied bombs of WWII. The DDR put up some very functional buildings with the hope of demonstrating some sort of egalitarian, communist, utopia. Unfortunately, the shoppers never arrived because they couldn't keep the shelves stocked and the products they had were no different than those available elsewhere. Now it has been taken over by world-renowned brands with lots of distinct signage. On this Saturday afternoon the street teemed with shoppers getting their Christmas deals early. I imagined the old communists looking out over the scene with a tear rolling down their cheek like old Iron Eyes Cody in the Keep America Beautiful campaign.

We bought crepes and our first gluhwein of the season before heading to the Zwinger Palace which houses a fairly important collection of by paintings by the Old Masters. We saw works by Raphael, Titian, Rembrandt, El Greco, van Eyck, and Dürer among others. The boys stayed interested far longer than we had imagined. Johnny showed a particular interest in the subject and composition of the paintings. 

After dinner we headed to the Semperoper for a a ballet performed to the music of Strauss. This was certainly a high brow affair with everybody dressed to the nines (except us - but my tuxedo didn't fit in the suitcase). We were awestruck by the opulence.

This is our first time staying outside of the city center. On our 20 minute tram ride we got to see a different side of Germany. This is not the land of lederhosen, but a working class city fighting desperately to regain some of its greatness. That may also have been true of the other cities we have visited but that doesn't feel accurate. Even in the Altstadt, the grip of broken glass and graffiti is strong. We were reminded that this, too, is Germany.