Monthly Archives: July 2013

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Vacation officially started last night for Steven. It is a good feeling to both be on vacation. I received a text that night from Steven that he and John had been suggested a restaurant from work and I was to rent a bike and meet them by the third bridge.  I rented a bike from the hotel and biked down the path along the river, through the beginnings of a rock concert, and met up with them. It turned out this restaurant was not easy to find at all. We biked up cobblestone alleys and onto a main road. The restaurant was not visible from the road; the road had a tiny sign for the restaurant. We travelled down a dirt road and around a path until we finally found the restaurant. It offered an excellent view of the city. We felt like true locals and there was not a tourist in sight. It was an old famous castle converted into a restaurant and Biergarten. The food was similar to what we had been eating in Dresden (with even more sausage) but the atmosphere was awesome. It was very laid back. People take their time to eat as the Germans do not rush you in the restaurant. You have to ask for your bill because the servers do not wish to be rude.

After dinner we started our bike ride home and the rock concert that had been just beginning when I first went through was now in full swing. We walked our bikes through swarms of people that were along the banks of the Elbe. Back at the hotel we called it a night.

After breakfast we said goodbye to John and decided today was the day for laundry. We have seen most of the sights of Dresden and need to regroup since tomorrow we fly to Milan.

Day 4 in Dresden (Day 11 for Steven)

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Steven has been working for the past week and a half and I just joined him on Wednesday. I successfully managed to negotiate the airports and taxis from Seattle to Dresden and along the way found that apparently I look quite German (The stewardess on the flight kept speaking to me in German before realizing her mistake).

John (Steven’s Seattle co-worker), Steven and I took a stroll through Dresden upon my arrival. The city has a tragic history and very different feel from other German cities we had been. The entire city was destroyed by firebombs from the US and England in 1945. What was once the jewel of the Saxon empire had been burnt to the ground. The famous Frauenkirche (our lady church) burned for three days before crumbling. After the war the city became apart of the Soviet occupied East Germany. Many of the buildings have the utilitarian feel of communism. The beautiful Old Town, Altstadt, is still in the process of being rebuilt to its original appearance. The Frauenkirche has been rebuilt and pieces of the original structure have been used in the reconstruction. The cute coffee shops, bakeries, and local shops are not present here but it seems hopeful that in years to come the area will be revitalized.

The city is located right on the banks of the Elbe River. Along the river there are several Biergartens and locals are always hanging out. There is a path that follows the river and John and Steven use it to bike to work. The amount of bikes here is incredible. People are constantly biking from place to place. John and Steven use Nextbike, a bike rental system in which they check in/out bikes on their phones. There are several drop spots they can leave the bikes when they are done.

The food of the area is a mix of Saxon and Czech. Steven and John have been here long enough that they are now craving vegetables.  The traditional food is a lot of pork, potatoes, bread, and beer, which is good in small doses but gets a little tiring after a while. All three of us have experienced major Maalox moments (thank goodness for the Apotheke woman who spoke excellent English).

Steven and John have tried most of the restaurants within walking distance, so we relied on our never-fail Rick Steve’s guidebook for a recommendation. We found a great restaurant off of the main tourist area a little into the New Town (Neustadt). The Brezel (pretzel) was fantastic; a crispy crust, warm middle, and bits of butter mixed in. Steven and I split Spätzel with a spiced sauce and chicken and a Wasser mit Gas. We walked around the city more and of course ended with ice cream.