Eastern Germany: Dresden, (Berlin and Leipzig)

Our next destination on our road trip through Eastern Germany is the capital of Saxon: Dresden. Driving from Berlin we do not take the fasted road as we want to make two stops. For our first stop we need to cross the border into Poland and drive to the little town of Boleslawiec. Only a small town but well known for its highly ratted ceramic. We lived in Poland some twenty years ago and Carolina had gradually built up a nice collection of Polish pots and plates but over the years, one piece had gone missing: the lid of the teapot. She visited many shops and websites looking for this piece but without success. Tired of drinking cold tea we decided to visit the factory in a final attempt to find the lid. We succeeded.

Boleslawiec is to ceramic lovers like what are the Scottish Highlands to whisky drinkers: paradise. As the place was overcrowded with visitors we only stayed for a bit. However, in a factory outlet on the outskirts of town, we found what we have been looking for.

A second short stop was in the town Görlitz which is right on the border between Poland and Germany. In contrast to Boleslawiec this town was deserted. Maybe a cultural thing, Poles visit towns on Sundays whereas the German prefer to leave the towns and spend their time elsewhere. Görlitz is an old town preserved in its original state, in fact many people believe it to be the most beautiful small town in Germany. Not sure if that is true but it is very pretty.

Dresden

We are staying in the Hyperion Hotel in Dresden which is right next to the Residenzschloß and in the heart of the city. Dresden is an interesting city. It got heavily bombed and damaged during WWII and was mostly rebuilt during its DDR days. The rebuilding of the Altstadt (old down town) has been gradually done, in fact the rebuilding of the Residenzschloß only started in 1985, thus 40 years after the end of the war. Still parts of this palace are today being restored.

As you can see, the weather was not our friend during our stay. It was very cloudy with more than the occasional shower. Not a good day for walking around and taking pictures. Nevertheless, we took the umbrella with us and discovered the city.

Our first stop of the day was at the opera house. Carolina was excited to see it as the leading soprano of this opera was born in her hometown in the south of Chile and her family is friends with Carolina’s family. Unfortunately we were not able to enter the building.

Close by stands the Frauenkirche with a statue of the reformer Martin Luther in front of it.

At the Frauenkirche we were surprised that there was a long line to get in. Long line in times of Covid-19 seemed something of the past. Especially long lines on a rainy day. No visit to this church for us.

We did visit however, the Residenzschloß (Royal Palace) which is the old home of the Saxon rulers. The palace has been completely rebuilt and it has to be said, it looks amazing. The collection consists of some of the finest pieces of art the Saxon rulers possessed and includes masterworks from the 17th century made by goldsmiths.

The exhibition also included the legendary Dresden green diamond, which the Saxon rulers acquired some 250 years ago.

After visiting this museum there can only be one conclusion: it was good to be king.

In the afternoon we continued our walk and discovered an old cemetery. The graves are around 200 years old and the place is in poor condition but being restored.

Not a day goes by without trying some local specialities. We started the day with a nice pretzel and with the coffee we had a very traditional Eierschecke. We were told that you have not been properly in Saxony without eating an Eierschecke. So we did and we liked it.