Dresden Germany

Stay: Dresden as per last night

Dresden is said to be one of Germany's most beautiful cities. During the 18th century many magnificent buildings were built and most of these were destroyed in a carpet-bombing raid in Feb 1945. Some have since been rebuilt. 
Feeling much cooler today we set out to explore the city. We firstly came across Neues Rathaus with its 70m tower crowned with a gilded statue of Hercules. 

Next was Kreuzkirche, a Baroque/Neo-Classical church. We strolled through Altmarket square and through a modern shopping arcade 

before coming to the Zwinger, Dresden's most famous building. It is a beautiful Baroque structure built for Augustus the Strong with an amazing crown gateway.

 

In front of the  Saxon state opera building in Theaterplatz is a monument to the Saxon Kung Johann. 

We had a look inside Hofkirche, the Baroque Royal Church with its beautiful interior. 

This altar is made from local porcelain to commemorate the dead from the bombing in 1945. 

We also visited the Church of Our Lady with its mighty self supporting sandstone dome weighing more than 12,000 tons. It was only reconstructed in 2005 to its original design. It had a very unusual theatre like interior

 We admired the Furstenzug - the procession of dukes made with 24,000 Meissen porcelain tiles. 

The facade of a wing of the Residenzshloss of the Wettin family.

 After passing the Albertinum which was a royal arsenal we walked along the Bruhlsche Terrasse.This was once part of the town's fortifications but is now known as the 'balcony of Europe' with great views of the River Elbe and several great buildings.

  It was now time to try a local beer. 

Over the bridge in Neustadt we were blinded by the glistening gilded statue of Augustus the Strong on his horse. 

We walked along to have a look at the Japanisches Palais, which got its name because Augustus kept his Japanese porcelain collection here. 

We doubled back over the bridge and walked through Neumarkt before having another wonder through the Zwinger and Theatreplatz area. Then it was time to call it a day, so we walked back through the shopping arcades back to Bluey.