Wander About

One and Done

Greetings from Hong Kong!

In the dying days of November, I wanted to maximize the utility of ability to travel through Germany using my D-Ticket that would expire at the end of the month. So, I set my sights on Leipzig and Dresden. Two cities to the south of Berlin that would set me on course to visit Prague, Czechia as soon as the calendar changed pages. To meet that deadline, I would only be able to give each city a single day.

I didn’t have much of a conception of either city. Leipzig was just a point on the map and a name I’d heard. And, I only knew Dresden as the site of the infamous fire-bombing during WWII, as depicted in one of my favorite books, Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut. Otherwise, they were complete mysteries to me. But, I intended to make them less so.

Leipzig

• Not to totally give away the plot, but I didn’t really like Leipzig all that much. In the city’s defense I know that I need to spend some time with some places before I start to understand their charms, and Leipzig didn’t get afforded that opportunity.
• I arrived in the mid-afternoon and headed directly to my hostel, which was located outside of the city center in a kind of grungy part of town. The hostel itself was fine but by the end of my time there I had some interesting experiences.
  • I ate breakfast while listening to another guest speak openly to their mistress on speakerphone in the kitchen. How did I know it was his mistress, multiple references to his wife and how he was a bad husband. Not that he seemed to feel particularly guilty.
  • One of my socks went missing when I handed my laundry to the staff to be washed. It didn’t turn up even after I had them check for it twice. As I had a limited number of pairs, I eventually replaced the missing set when I was in Dresden, though I had to buy a pack of five to do so. It was only after doing so that I found the missing sock inside one of my clean t-shirts. Whoops.
  • Someone stole the sliced turkey and cheese that I left in the fridge and intended for my lunch on my way to Dresden.
  • I eavesdropped on a couple in the hostel bar that were talking about the guy’s job. From what I heard, it sounded like he was a pilot and that they, the couple, had been recently wed. They also had English accents. Oddly enough, these points well enough with my recent brother-in-law’s brother, who I hadn’t yet met that I needed to check. It wasn’t him. But we all had a good laugh.
• The day appointed for my exploration for Leipzig was relatively warm, at least compared to my time in Berlin, but it was grey, overcast and dark, with the sun struggling to climb in the sky as winter drew closer.
• I started my wandering at the Neues Rathaus (New City Hall), a beautiful building built at the turn of the 20th century in a revival style that was somewhat unique in my experience of German architecture. It features a ‘Rapunzel’ tower at the center of the building complex, an ode to the older Pleissenburg building that once stood in the same place. The walk leading to the square at the foot of the building is striking, giving the impression of walking through the gates of a massive medieval castle as you pass under the arched bridge that connects City Hall to the adjoining registry office.
• The remainder of my wandering was largely uneventful, as I chose a path out of the city centre that turned out not to yield much fruit. Turning back, I made my way through the campus of the University of Leipzig and particularly to Augustusplatz. This square is surrounded by a fascinating combination of new and old buildings. Many of the historical buildings were destroyed during WWII, leaving the Cold War GDR government to change the face of the square. On one end of the Platz is the Leipzig Opera House a stately, if understated, socialist neo-classical building. Directly opposite, and standing in stark contrast, is the Gewandhaus, a concert-hall built in socialist modernism-brutalist style, all glass, steel and concrete. Rounding out the architectural curiosities is the Paulinum. Once Paulinerkirche (St. Paul’s Church), destroyed under the East German regime, the Paulinum is now a secular university building raised in 2007. It preserves its history with a front facade representing the old church. While the silhouette of the structure recalls a cathedral sheathed under glass and steel, as though placed under a bell jar for protection.
• Just past Augustusplatz, I came across the first of the Christkindlmärkte (Christmas markets)that would be a regular fixture for the remainder of my time in Germany and its neighbouring states. This one was relatively small and unremarkable, but it was just a portent of what was to come.
• The remainder of the afternoon also proved relatively fruitless as I explored the north end of the city. Though, I did learn a little too late that Leipzig has one of the best zoos in Europe. I wish I’d had more time to be able to visit.
• All in all, after the hustle and bustle of Berlin, the quiet streets of Leipzig were somewhat underwhelming. I have a feeling that late autumn isn’t the city’s strength. It’s a place known for its strong association with music, the home of Bach and Wagner, and hosts music festivals throughout summer. It’s my guess that that’s when it really shines.

Dresden

• Dresden stands an hour by train southwest of Leipzig, on the shores of the Elbe River, within spitting distance of the border with Czechia. 90% of its historical centre was destroyed by Allied carpet-bombing that led to a firestorm that raged for days, killed roughly 25,000 people and destroyed some 75,000 homes. Despite this, you would have a hard time knowing that the city was afflicted by such destruction today. The skyline from the banks of the Elbe is one of the most fantastic that I’ve seen in Europe. The south side of the river is lined with gorgeous, baroque buildings that can only leave you wondering about the splendor that must have preceded the bombings.
• My hostel was in the Neustadt district on the north side of the river. A vibrant, artsy area of the city filled with tight alleyways and corridors lined with boutiques, antique shops and other fun curiosities. The Hostel Mondpalast was tucked away on one of these streets and it was one of my favorite stays on this trip. It was a comfy, cozy vibe that suited the cooler season and the shorter days.
• I spent my first evening in Dresden walking along the northern bank of the Elbe taking in the dramatic skyline on the opposite shore. I crossed the Augustusbrücke (Augustus Bridge) on a large sidewalk that felt tight with the enormous number of tourists that filled it beyond capacity. I moved with the crowd through the gates of the Georgentor (George Tower) that marked the entrance to the Altestadt (Old City). Following the stream of people deeper into the city, I soon found myself at the Altmarkt where the Striezelmarkt, reputedly the oldest Christmas market in the world dating to 1434, was in full swing.

• Walking through the market was an endeavor in itself. It was only 4:30 in the afternoon, despite the settling darkness, but the entire square was filled with people, vendors, carnival rides, stages and the traditional Weihnachtspyramide (Christmas Pyramid). The Christmas Pyramid is a large tower-cum-carousel that displays a rotating nativity scene along with other Christmas characters and the one is Streizelmarkt was the largest that I would see amongst all of the Christmas markets that I would visit. I very slowly made my way through the market, pushing through tiny cracks in the otherwise solid mass of bodies that filled the alleys between the stalls. The air was full of all sorts of smells, mulled wine, fried meats, fresh bretzels and all kinds of sweets. Families and friends mingled taking food, talking and laughing, and shopping at stalls hawking toys, decorations, and clothing. It was a very jolly atmosphere, but the tight quarters quickly had me pushing to the edge where I could observe from a more comfortable distance. Thankfully, the Culturpalast across the street offered an elevated balcony that was the perfect venue for observing the festivities.
• The following day, I set out on a wandering exploration of the city. I started in the Neustadt area around my hostel, working north towards the Museum of Military History. The museum is housed in a very neat building that explicitly presents the intersection of the old and the modern, with a graceful neo-classical building that is neatly bisected by a triangular shard of glass and steel, like a piece of shrapnel slicing through the old facade. The exterior grounds of the museum displays several pieces of military equipment from both the Cold War and modern eras of the German military.
• From the museum, I headed back south towards the Elbe river, coming upon the second of the large Christmas Markets in Dresden, Augustusmarkt. This market was less busy, partially because it was still mid-morning on a Sunday, and because it was less physically constrained. Standing along a long pedestrian promenade, the Augustmarkt was capped off by a massive Ferris wheel with a bright a LED display that shone like a beacon down the Augustusbrücke, in the opposite direction that I had walked the previous night.
• Stopping for some photos along the banks of the Elbe, I eventually made my way back into the Altstadt, though I veered away from the Altmarkt this time. Instead, I made my way to the Dresdner Zwinger, a palatial walled garden surrounded by hundreds of, what appeared to be, unique statues. Surmounted by a golden crown standing over the south-western gate, the entire complex is incredibly ornate. I ate lunch amongst the garden before climbing the walls to walk the perimeter of the square. The Zwinger was one of the most fantastical places that I visited in my time in Germany.
• I finished my day in Dresden walking out of the Altstadt and into the more modern areas of the city to the south. I was in search of a shopping centre where I could replace both my missing sock and my gloves, which had begun to open holes where my fingertips poked through. Eventually, I found what I was looking in a couple of malls near the train station. Which led me to my final discovery while I was in Dresden. The malls weren’t playing Christmas music. This was basically inconceivable to me. In Canada, the stores and malls barely wait until Halloween has passed to break out the Christmas tunes. But here in Dresden, there wasn’t any music to be heard at all. As someone with little to no fondness for Christmas music, I was pleasantly surprised.
• Overall, Dresden was a really pleasant place to visit. Lots of interesting history is available at the street level and a good mix of old and new keeps things consistently interesting. The high energy of the Christmas markets and the mass of tourists that they attracted made the city feel buzzing and alive in my time there. In contrast to Leipzig, it really shone and even in isolation, it showed very well.

What’s Next

From Dresden, I headed off to the fairytale city of Prague, Czechia. Despite some subpar accomodations, I loved my time in Prague and I’ll you all about it next time!