Dresden, Prague and Leipzig

Our site near Dresden was at Radeburg. This was an excellent lakeside site in the country from which they operated a number of coach trips. The first was to a gorge on the Elbe. This has spectacular sandstone cliffs that are reminiscent of the Blue Mountains in NSW. There is a stone “Basai” Bridge which joins a number of these outcrops. The sheer drops would have made construction an interesting challenge.

It is a climbers paradise and also quite exhilarating for those watching.

We slowly made our way down a stone path to the river

Which, as we dropped, changed to a timber path through a magnificent forest. Real Robin Hood territory (or Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones).

We arrived on the Elbe in a little town called Rathan. Here we had a great lunch overlooking the river awaiting our 1886 built paddle steamer named Pillnitz to take us down river to the Shloss with the same name.

Given the time available we could either visit the Shloss or its garden. We opted for the latter and I think we chose wisely. They were very colourful despite the overcast day.

Just as colourful but much more intricate was the porcelain which abounds in the area. Within the Schloss were some shops where this lady was hand painting a vase. Beautiful, expensive and (thankfully) just too delicate to pack up and take with us.

The next day we drove the half hour into Dresden. It has a great feel to it and is relatively compact and easy to walk around. Just off the main square is a monumental mosaic made of Meissen porcelain tiles. It is called the Procession of Princes and shows the progression of rulers of the House of Wettin.

It has subtle lighting so it can be viewed 24 hours.

The city is very photogenic. Although it was largely flattened during WWII many of the buildings have been carefully re-built so as to try and maintain the city’s heritage. As a result you can see many new pieces of sandstone interwoven into the fabric of older blocks. Here is a view of the Catholic cathedral (left hand tower and the rectangular building) with the tower of Dresden castle (right hand tower) looking across the Elbe from the gardens of the Japanese palace.

And the Dresden of Fine Arts with one of the numerous paddle steamers that ply the Elbe.

In the evening there is quite a light show. This certainly helps to diminish the impact of what are generally quite black buildings and sculptures. A good clean up wouldn’t go astray but maybe that would detract from the old look of the city.

When I was looking at the map in Potsdam I noticed that just down the road from Dresden is Prague. Another country and a bucket list city – we just had to go. The site also offered a weekly coach trip so all was laid on. We started at the top of the hill overlooking the city on which has been built St Vitus cathedral.

Substantial refurbishment has occurred. This was particularly noticeable in these adjoining stain glass windows where the different styles and sizes of the pieces of glass was pronounced.

The patio just below the cathedral that overlooks the South West gardens was also flattened during the war. It was rebuilt to a smaller size and then rebuilt a second time to reflect the grandeur of the original veranda. It has great views of the city and the gardens.

Some of the churches have unusual features. These towers have menacing looking points. They would look quite in place with a row of spikes with heads on. (I have been reading Game of Thrones this trip so the imagination has been sparked.)

What works well is that the newer buildings have been planned so that they are of the same scale and fit with their neighbours. With plenty of pedestrian ways, where the only vehicles are trams and bikes, it is an enjoyable city to walk around.

One snack that I had not seen before was Trdelnik (you can work out your own pronunciation). This is a bread that is kneaded into a long roll and placed around a stick. It is dipped in sugar, cinnamon and other spices and is slowly migrated across increasingly hot coals. One end of the “oven” is warm which allows the dough to rise and the other end bakes the bread into a golden brown. It is then sold in rings to anyone who succumbs to the delicious spicy bread smell.

At the bottom of the town is the packed Charles bridge built in 1357 which links the old and new towns. It is claimed to be the most attractive bridge in the world. It wasn’t bad but that is quite a claim.

The end of our guided tour (in German but at least we saw the sites) was the astronomical clock installed in 1410 which makes it the third oldest in the world. We arrived (with many others) just before midday to see the hour chimed in. The top two doors open to show figures that revolve and represent the 12 apostles. Either side of the clock are representations of four despised traits; vanity, death, greed and entertainment. Each figure shakes its head on the hour.

There is clearly a theme going on in Europe but in Prague they go one better than the earlier versions that we had seen.

Just before we travelled to Prague Helen caught a Facebook message from Kate saying they were in Prague. We did not know that this was on their itinerary and it was only part of out trip two days prior. The timing was brilliant given that K&A were leaving the following day. Needless to say this called for a catch up and some drinks.

With drink promoting a bit more bravado than normal and Alan clearly feeling deprived after my experience with Martin and Steve in the Caribbean we decided that a Segway ride was essential. Alan’s retired life philosophy is “what could possibly go wrong?” so the challenge was fitting. The cobbles added a new dimension to my earlier experience but Alan was completely un-phased by the ride. This has got to be the way to see inner cities.

Helen and I then had to make a dash for the bus and our return to the caravan site. Still we would be catching up with K&A within the week at Cats Abbey. 6 degrees of separation is probably overstated….

Leipzig was next on our list. We parked at the railway station which is the largest in Germany. There are two levels of shops below the main railway concourse. It is HUGE.

As with Dresden Leipzig had been flattened during the war, however it had taken a different approach to rebuilding the city opting in many cases for new designs to replace the demolished buildings. The new Church of St Paul was a prime and attractive example.

Mind you the Museum and related shopping arcade in the main square had been carefully refurbished in line with its previous designs.

Whereas the Burgeramt Stadhaus (Civic building) was built with huge sandstone blocks that look like they were a new version of an older design.

Travelling in September after the school holidays had considerable merit with much more space and tranquillity especially on the caravan sites.

We had a two day trip back to the Hook of Holland and our ferry back to Blighty in which to reflect on Germany.

The country is a series of contrasts. Well educated people and financially quite strong but with smokers everywhere (are they immune from cancer?). Many also with a death wish hell bent on going as fast as possible on the motorways (do they not realise travelling at 200 kms and hitting a truck doing 90 kms (their limit) still gives a mighty 110 kms impact?). Helen was also taken aback by the constant advertising using blond hair and blue eyed people. Seeing a black person or someone in a hijab was a real rarity. Not surprising given the large anti Islam rally we saw in Dresden on our last evening. At least some German observers commented that it was of concern and reminded them of the anti – Semitism rallies of WWII.