Dresden & Berlin - April 2025
After a night at the Premier Inn, Heathrow Terminal 5, and a 1-hour, 25-minute flight on BA 992, we arrive at Berlin's Brandenburg
Airport on Sunday, April 20th.
The Riviera Travel courier (Rosey) puts us on the coach for Dresden (above) - unfortunately it's
the wrong bus and we're soon transferred to the correct one.
A 2-hour drive on Autobahn A13 gets us to Dresden just after 7pm
Our accommodation in Dresden for two nights is the splendid
Steigenberger Hotel de Saxe, excellently located in Neumarkt.
We eat near the hotel at the tapas-based Bodega Madrid
- good food but very slow service. After our meal we walk to the
River Elbe to admire the floodlit buildings.
The next morning (Monday, April 21st), Rosey takes our group of 20 on a walking tour of Dresden that provides views of
the Fraurnkirche
(a Lutheran Church); the Verkehrsmuseum (Transport Museum); the Academy of Fine Arts; the Stallhof (Stable Courtyard) with
its Furstenzug (Procession of Princes); Residenz-Schloss (Dresden's Castle) with its Museums (the location of the Green Vaults); the Semper
Opera House; and the Zwinger Palace.
Our route covers a small area of Dresden's centre, close to and south of the Elbe River.
Crossing Neumarkt, with its recently planted trees, we pass the Transport Museum (above); last night's restaurant (left); a statue
of Martin Luther; the Fraurnkirche (which we return to later); and an interesting "block of stone".
This "block of stone" in the Neumarkt consists of some of the original stones of the Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady),
retained after the devastating Allied bombings of the Second World War. The city's historic Neumarkt area was largely destroyed during
the bombing, including the Frauenkirche. After the church was rebuilt, some of the original stones, blackened by the fire, were kept,
representing a symbolic connection to the past.
A cannon outside the Pulverturm Restaurant (below),
near the Frauenkirche, that we pass on our walking tour.
One of the many examples that we see in our trip that celebrates Easter.
John takes a photo of the Coselpalais cafe.
We return later to sample its cakes.
Our walking tour takes us to the Bruhlsche Terrace, alongside the
River Elbe, passing the very large building of the Academy of Arts.
The
building's central dome (known locally as the "Lemon Squeezer")
is topped by a golden statue that represents Pheme.
The Academy has a number of golden statues.
"State Academy of Fine Arts".