Dresden. Bummer.

For Bosch Seminar II, we, the Boschies and the spouses, set off for Dresden.

I think Dresden was out to get us. For one thing, despite my good intentions, everything seemed to be closed. The major art gallery was closed for cleaning. A docent wouldn't let us in to the opera to take a tour (we think business was slow, and she wasn't in the mood). A Keller that looked promising for dinner was, surprise, closed. I went to a bookstore, saw a book, and left, mulling over whether I would like to go back and purchase it. When I went back the next day, the bookstore was closed. (On a Tuesday no less!? I understand that many businesses take a Ruhetag, or rest day, but I've never heard of Ruhetag on Tuesday.)

But Dresden's true assault on us was intestinal. After dinner with a jovial, albeit long-winded prince, over half of the group got miserably sick. In case you are eating, I will refrain from describing the symptoms. Some people were so sick they headed back to Berlin rather than head on to Warsaw. E. and I made the decision to head back, but felt sufficiently better in the morning to go on.

Our travails notwithstanding, I still think Dresden is a beautiful city. It was flattened in World War II. Some reconstruction took place in the post-war era, but there has been a huge boom in reconstruction since German reunification. We visited--and climbed to the top of--the Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady). Destroyed in the war, the locals stubbornly left it as a pile of rubble for decades until the time was right, and the money was available to put it back together. It's unquestionably the icon of the city, which is saying something in a city crammed with amazing baroque architecture.

Dresden, as seen from the top of the Frauenkirche.


The altar of the rebuilt Frauenkirche. Seeing a brand-spanking-new version of baroque architecture improves my opinion of the style. The radiance helps.


Here I am in front of the Semper Opera.


Silliness on the Zwinger.



The streets were dead at night.

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