Why is Dresden, Germany on the rebound, you may ask? Well, today, some 66 years after it was basically totally leveled in one of, if not
the most, controversial bombing raids of World War II, Dresden is hard at work rebuilding much of its historic city center, and it really is impressive.
These are my photos from the city - Dresden was my first stop with my family, after the exchange program was over. We were there for two days:
1 Arriving in Dresden, an old factory disguised as a mosque.
2 The Dresden Hauptbahnhof
3 on the way to our hotel. Much more of this to come...
4 view from our room
5 The Frauenkirche sticking her head out from beyond our hotel's courtyard. More of her later as well...
6 on the streets again. our hotel, the Innside, is the only modern looking building here. it was reaally nice.
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8 many of you may be familiar with Dresden's Neumarkt. For those who are not, all these buildings (and the ones previous) are NEW! They are part of the city's reconstruction efforts and most have been built within the last 6 years or so. More info here: (
It's in German)
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10 who could that be, casting such a large shadow and such?
11 This guy! (or shall I say gal?) The Frauenkirche, or Church of our Lady.
12 the church was recently reconstructed and re-opened in 2005. The stones on the left are the originals, black from the war, while the other ones are new, quarried from the same quarry as the originals.
Here's an image to show you how the church looked, prior to reconstruction. (found
here)
13 inside of the church
14 And to think that, even though it is a reconstruction, THIS was built in the 21st century.
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17 back outside...
18 ...
19 ...and around the corner from the Frauenkirche
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22 we will go down that way later.
23 a fairly large door:
24 now up on the riverwalk
25 what's this way?
26 getting closer...
27 oh, this.
28 (and without the red picture frame)
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31 i have no idea
32 The fairly massive Frauenkirche with the New City Hall peeking out on the right
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34 more of these guys later, when the lighting's better. But for now, the old city hall on the left and a cathedral on the right. (can't remember its name)
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36 to the riverwalk
37 see that tunnel on the right?
38 view from that tunnel:
39 that's an art museum up there on the left
40 here we are again, the old city hall!
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43 i wish i knew what this is called, but its a really famous thing in Dresden
44 now only if they had stuck with historic reconstructions for that row of buildings...
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47 inside the church on the left:
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51 The State Opera House, reconstructed in 1985
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54 yeah, I liked this building
55 The Zwinger Palace, still being reconstructed (far right)
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61 statues, statues everywhere
62 I'm pretty sure you can't go inside, and if you can, well then we missed it. It would have been really cool seeing the inside of this place though
63 it has a moat! (well, kinda. it only goes around one side of the complex)
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65 back inside the Neumarkt area. Lots of construction going on! It will be really interesting to see how this area looks 10 years from now...
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67 walking from the New Market to the Old Market (Altmarkt)
68 The Altmarkt.
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70 inside the Altmarkt Galerie, a, quite huge actually, mall in the middle of the city. Perhaps the largest foosball table in the world?
71 back at the Neumarkt. The setting sun made for some nice picture taking
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76 Now for something entirely different: The Transparent Factory! Just about a 15 minute walk from the Neumarkt is the factory in which Volkswagen makes its most luxurious (and priciest) car: The Phaeton. It was really neat.
77 They don't let you take pictures of inside the manufacturing area, but this is the lobby, with the tower that holds most of the completed cars, awaiting their owners to come pick them up.
78 Really doesn't look like a $150,000 car on the outside, I don't think
79 now into the park, which is right next door to the factory
80 another palace!
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82 about the only flowers you're gonna see in Dresden:
83 They are still restoring it
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85 There was one of those little trains you'd see running through disneyworld or something running through the park because its so big.
85 Dresden was hosting the Women's World Cup while we were there. It was America vs, of all countries, North Korea. Guess who won? WEEE DIID!
86 we went on a boat ride up and down the River Elbe. This is what we saw:
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88 another palace
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91 After the boat, we walk back to our hotel.
92 Dresden Skyline
93 across the bridge...
94 They have streetcars! (or strassenbahn, as they're called in German)
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96 Can't say i'm very fond of the new building going up
97 Back at the Neumarkt - this was a palace at one point
98 The sun is setting again...
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100 That was our hotel in the middle. They are going to build something here, but not for a little while. I'd be interested to know what it'll be, if anyone happened to know?
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104 We have reached the end of the Neumarkt. This is what
most of the city looks like.
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106 I said we'd get here eventually! I don't know what it is, but its a nice building.
107 still some work to be done...
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And that's Dresden! To me, what was most impressive about Dresden was all the rebuilding going on in the Neumarkt area. It just goes to show how passionate the citizens of Dresden are about their city. Unlike any other city in Germany right now, Dresden is really hard at work returning its inner city to the former glory it once was. And I find that really cool! And so next time you are standing in front of a beautiful historic building and find yourself thinking, "They just don't build them like this anymore" just remember, they do! In Dresden, at least.
And now with my little spiel over, I will leave you with one last picture:
Up next, Prague!
Hamburg, Part 1
Hamburg, Part 2
Lübeck
Berlin
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