Dresden, Germany

A fascinating geography aspect of Dresden is that most of the city was destroyed in bombings of WWII. I learned that the Allies bombed Dresden when the war basically over to “teach them a lesson.” The Allies (including the U.S.) killed many innocent civilians and they had no reason for doing so—the war was over. Most of the buildings in Dresden have been restored. Many of them look similar to how they looked before the bombing. It is an interesting combination with the buildings that were built more recently. The view from the sky bar in our hostel gave me a good sense of this. I saw many buildings that looked very old (when in fact they were just restores), mixed with newer looking ones that to me, looked more “boring.”


This sideof the chirch is the new, the back side is the original (what was left of it after the bombing)

My favorite academic experience in Dresden was visiting the Kusthof Passage and the walk there. We were told to walk through the area without talking, which I really enjoyed. It allowed me to fully take in the surroundings. I notices how calm and quiet the area was. There were people talking, but it still was a very calming area. I noticed there was graffiti—which is a socially acceptable form of art in Europe (well, in certain areas). Once we got to the passage, we saw a device attached to the outside of a building that makes music when it rains. It was raining while we were there, but not hard enough. I really enjoyed this area of Dresden. It felt like an old little village to me. It was nice to see artwork that was made by the store owners and was completely unique to the area.

 

 

My favorite extra-curricular activity of the city was just hanging out with fellow students in the sky bar of our hostel. It was a nice bonding experience and had a wonderful view of the city.

Hannah and I hanging out in the sky bar of our hostel

I would recommend to future students to eat at Restaurant Zur Franenirche in New Mark. This was a fancier restaurant with a nice view of the old looking buildings.




You can see Frauenkirche in the background!