{"id":11728,"date":"2015-07-15T08:45:14","date_gmt":"2015-07-15T08:45:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/arjunkarthaphotography.com\/?p=11728"},"modified":"2020-07-24T08:27:19","modified_gmt":"2020-07-24T02:57:19","slug":"things-to-do-in-dresden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arjunkarthaphotography.com\/things-to-do-in-dresden\/","title":{"rendered":"Dresden Dreamin’: Top Offbeat Things to do in Dresden"},"content":{"rendered":"

Off-beat things to do in Dresden – A Travel Photography Story<\/h2>\n

Dresden, Germany<\/a> is capital of the state of Saxony, and is situated along the banks of the river Elbe, on the eastern side of Germany close to Poland and the Czech Republic. I wanted to call this post “The Top 5 things to do in Dresden<\/em>” or the “Top 10 things to do in Dresden<\/em>” but truth be told, it’s hard to summarise everything into lists! I spent a little under a week in Dresden, and came back to India fascinated by the city’s rich history and culture. There are tons of lists that list out the typical “touristy” things to do – go see this, go touch that and so on; but I’m always fascinated by the off-beat – so here goes my personal recommendations and photo-story on what you should there! <\/span><\/p>\n

I’m broadly going to split this travelogue into two parts – off-beat and fun things to do in the main city of Dresden, and if you have a little more time – places you MUST go outside the city and what you should do there!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But first, here’s a short gallery with some of my favourite images from in and around Dresden. Use the fullscreen expand option (the third button from the left) to view them in higher resolution!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n[juicebox gallery_id=”39″]\n

The City, and Where to Stay<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

I stayed at the QF Hotel in NEUMARKT 1<\/a>, which is a great home base if you’re looking to explore the old and new town. Almost everything in Dresden is walking distance (when the weather is good) – and walking about the city is a great way to explore it. I highly recommend staying close to the city centre, anywhere in Old Town. I arrived at Dresden with little or no baggage on what the city was all about. I’m a serious World War II history buff, and was fascinated (and horrified!) to learn how the city was carpet bombed during the late stages of WW II, which resulted in almost the entire city (along with most of it’s people) being destroyed. After the war, Dresden along with most of the cities along the east found itself part of Eastern Germany, under Russia. It’s remarkable how the city and the people joined forces after the war to rebuild it – brick by brick, tile by tile. Most of the city was built along the baroque style – which is visually dramatic. Read more about the baroque style here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This travelogue and recommendations are in two parts – Things to do in the city of Dresden (for instance, if you’re short on time) – and if you really want to explore, read on to Part 2 – Things to do AROUND the city of Dresden!\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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PART 1: THINGS TO DO IN THE CITY OF DRESDEN<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

1. The Church of Our Lady<\/a> (or, The\u00a0Dresden Frauenkirche)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

This Lutheran Church is a great example of Baroque architecture was completely destroyed during the allied bombing during the great war (though you wouldn’t know it looking at it). It lay in rubble for a great part after the way and was only put back together after reunification of Germany at the end of the cold war. As a photographer, I love grand open spaces to shoot in – and the church is no exception. What’s even better though – is the trip to the dome up top. An entrance ticket of EUR 5 or so will allow you access to the top of the church, from where you can shoot breathtaking panoramas of the city of Dresden! <\/span><\/p>\n[box title=””]Fun Fact: a massive funding campaign was run in 1995 to cover the costs of rebuilding the church. The cross on the tower was\u00a0<\/em>funded by England and\u00a0was made by a British blacksmith whose father was one of the bomber pilots who were responsible for the destruction of the church.<\/em>[\/box]\n

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Our Lady Church – at night<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0 Panorama of Dresden from the top of the Church.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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I was lucky to get there just at sunset<\/p><\/div>\n

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The excavation down below are old pre-war buildings just got forgotten. How exciting!<\/p><\/div>\n

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Insider Tips:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n