27 Apr 2014

The First Big Break - Pt 3, Dresden

Day 5 - Tue

Following our enlightening trip to Colditz, we made our way to the next overnight stop in Dresden.  At 14 euros, it wasn’t the cheapest, but being Dresden, we had expected the price to sneak up.


We were guided easily to the stellplatz by our trusty sat nav and parked up in our chosen spot.  Payment could be made at the parking machines so I went over to get a ticket and left Pete to set up.  Unfortunately there was an error with the machine and although it ate my money, it didn’t give me a ticket.   I had noticed that a sign said you could also purchase your ticket at the hostel down the road, but what it neglected to say was that you HAD to, because the machine is goosed.  Luckily for me, I speak enough German to get by and when I explained what had happened, the nice man at the hostel took pity on me and only charged me for kur tax (tourist tax), taking my word that I’d already paid for the parking fee – happy days.


As previously mentioned, we’re not really city folk, but I love looking at old buildings; I like things that have a history; new builds just aren’t my thing.  Unfortunately, 75% of Dresden was destroyed during WWII, but they have done a beautiful job of restoring their city, including the amazing Frauenkirche (Church if our lady).  I imagine the biggest issue has been funding.  The Frauenkirche alone cost around 180 million euros to restore and took 12 years to complete.  Rebuilding Dresden really has been a genuine labour of love, but from what we saw of it, so completely worthwhile.











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