Last-Minute Post #1 - Dresden

Hi there, everyone!

I know it's been a while since I posted (oops!), so I thought I'd try to skim over everything before I head on back over the Atlantic. :)

A few weeks ago (weekend of July 4th), I went to Dresden. This was another of those "Blind Booking" trips from germanwings. It was certainly an interesting city. On the one hand, it's an old European city famed as the "Florence of the Elbe". On the other hand, it was bombed to pieces in WWII. The city has now rebuilt some of its former splendor, and the result is a very, very odd mix of old and new. In most cities I've been to, the Altstadt (old town) is generally kept looking as much like it used to as possible (here in Tubingen it really is almost all original!). But as a result of the destruction and the way it was rebuilt, you can wander around the old part of Dresden and find a super-modern glass building right next to, say, the Marktplatz (which is generally one of the main squares). Oh, speaking of main, Dresden was also unique in that the Rathaus (town hall) was not the center of the old town, but rather I actually had to go out of my way to find it. So in that aspect it breaks the rule of thumb when sightseeing in a German city (that is, 3 things that you can count on being important to see are the Rathaus, a river, and a church). But continuing on with the strangeness. I have also walked into a church that, on the outside, looks old and beautiful, only to find that the inside is completely modern, except for the remains of the old alter displayed in its usual place. Another of the churches was left unfinished on the inside on purpose (I suppose they got tired of redoing it after about 5 times?), which also resulted in a relatively modern look. Then there's the Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady), which was rebuilt from the ground up and supposedly looks exactly like it once did. It was finished in 1992 and is now one of Dresden's main tourist attractions.
Ah, here's a funny surreal experience: First, I should explain that street musicians are a relatively common thing. And I rather like them. They tend to enhance the mood of whatever area they're playing in. For example, there might be a guy playing some classics on an accordian in the Altstadt, or someone playing some laid-back jazz on a tenor on a modern shopping street, or (a specific example from Dresden) a guy playing fanfares and similar music on trumpet in the courtyard of a palace. It's really nice. So: One day as I was walking around the Altstadt, I look over and there's a high school band setting up one some steps leading up to a garden/cafe area. Okay, no biggie, kind of like when we went to DC, right? Well, this is what I thought until they started playing. It took me about 10 seconds to realize that what they were playing was "Gonna Fly Now", aka the theme from Rocky. I was completely bewildered. (P.S. when I happened by again later they were still in the same genre) They were playing pep-band music in the Dresden Altstadt. With a cobblestone square and an old Catholic church that used to serve the palace stretched out in front of them. It was the grandest clash between music and the surroundings I had heard to that point. On a similar note (that of street performers) there was a very dedicated pianist who hauled a BABY GRAND PIANO out to a cobblestone square in the Altstadt to play for a few hours.

So, I mentioned that I was in Dresden on the 4th of July. Now, being in Europe on the 4th was a bit of a dilemma, and traveling only made it more of one. Of course I want to celebrate, but there are several obstaces: 1) One of my specific goals in travel is to avoid being the "obnoxious American tourist", 2) my access to fireworks is extremely limited (read: non-existent), and 3) I am alone in Germany. So I settled for the best thing I could come up with: I wore all red, white, and blue (except for my brown flip-flops) that day, and I had lunch a Burger King--a cheeseburger, fries, and a Coke. So there ya go. That was my 4th of July celebration.

Now, I could go one about the sites I saw in Dresden, but really, you're probably going to see pictures soon enough anyway. Besides, it was one of my less exciting trips in terms of sightseeing. There were several churches, a palace, a crazy art passage, a milk store (yes, I am serious: it is called "The Prettiest Milk Store in the World"), and a very large garden with a mini-palace. It was a nice trip, but really I was still exhausted from traveling the 3(?) previous weekends. 2 1/2 days back at the dorm, which include going to class and doing homework, are really not enough time to recharge, I have discovered. ;) Anyway, don't worry, I did get around and see stuff. But I was thankful that there didn't seem to be too much to see, and I ended up relaxing at the hostel for a couple hours most evenings. Overall, I guess I just didn't quite get the "feel" of Dresden like I have for other cities. It happens, I suppose, and that's why people have favorite cities.

My hostel, though, was FANTASTIC. It was called the "Kangaroo Stop", and, yes, it was Australian-themed. But it was really cool. It was very spacious and seemed almost new. I was in a 6-person dorm and everyone seemed really good about being quiet and having the lights out when people were trying to sleep. The lounge and kitchen were both quite large, and there were HAMMOCKS in the lounge. Okay, so the couches were more comfortable, but it's still pretty awesome. Also, there was a tree, or rather, a giant floor-to-ceiling log making it look like a tree was growing through the roof. Lol. The bathrooms were also large and new, with separate sink, toilet, and shower areas, but here's where the one negative mark came in. There were no curtains on the shower stalls. There was one with a door, and the other two were open, but even in the one with a door there was nowhere to put your stuff inside it without it getting wet. So they were essentially community showers. Awkward. (I handled this by wearing a swimsuit into the one with a door before getting ready to shower, because I'm uptight, lol) Anyways. Oh, did I mention that this hostel only cost me 9 euros a night?!??

So yeah, that was Dresden.