I woke up early and after some blah Nespresso in my room, I went for a nice walk through the Altstadt before turning east along the Elbe. Dresden has excellent biking and walking trails on both sides of the Elbe. Considering my little cycling pratfall on Thursday morning, I’ve decided to keep on foot for a few days before jumping on a bike.

Although it’s cloudy now, it was sunny and cool this morning. I walked east to a distant bridge and then crossed over to Neustadt and did a little exploring before heading south back to my hotel. I took some nice pics of the Baroque churches and palaces in the Altstadt from the other side.

I stopped at a bakery in Neustadt and asked for a cappuccino. The grumpy waitress told me take a seat, where I was ignored. She must have been a runner-up in the DDR Miss Congeniality contest when she was younger.

I joined the walking tour at 11. As usual, the guide was a highly-informative university student with the unlikely name of James. He gave a comprehensive overview of the city’s origins, beginning with the Sorbs, a Slavic tribe which was eventually overpowered by Saxons moving southeast. The first capital of Saxony was Meissen, famous for its porcelain, but the ruling Wettin family, from whom the House of Windsor is partly descended, moved the capital to Dresden and ruled until 1918. Their most famous king was Augustus II the Strong, who also wore the Polish crown in the early 18th century. Eventually the Prussians came to dominate Saxony, which became part of the new German Empire in 1871.

The Wettins build much of the Altstadt, especially the Baroque Frauenkirche and many others, including the Residenz, or royal palace, dating from the 15th c.

In contrast to the Baroque masterpieces, many of which lay in ruins until after 1990, the DDR built the modernist Kulturpalast, which remains controversial. Many in the city wanted it torn down, but it remains as part of the city’s legacy.

During the stop at the Kulturpalast, James presented an overview of the Bombing of Dresden in early February 1945. I gave the number of 150,000 dead in my previous post, a number I recalled from reading Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five, based on his experience of living through the bombing as an American POW. The official number, drawn from burial registrations, is 25,000, still a significant death toll. Especially since 2000, the government and private sources have meticulously rebuilt the historic center, which is ongoing. A first time visitor would never know that the Altstadt had been obliterated and rebuilt.

After the 150-minute tour I rode the tram with James back over to Neustadt and then left for the restaurant area to grab a late lunch before walking back to the hotel. The hotel had a sauna, so I took advantage of that before getting ready to head over to the Semper Opera for a performance of The Marriage of Figaro. I was surprised how dressed up the full crowd was. At least I was wearing a collared shirt! My seat was at the end of the row, so I didn’t have to climb over people. I often nod off during performances, but this time I managed to stay alert during the three-hour performance. At least there was a nice intermission. The opera was well staged and enjoyable.

The opera ended around 10:20 and I made a quick exit ahead of the crowd. The weather on the walk back was cool and I stopped by the hotel bar for a quick snack since I hadn’t eaten since early afternoon. I logged in 11.5 miles today. Tomorrow I leave for Prague in the early afternoon.