Berlin Day 7: A Trip to Dresden

Today we awoke with an early start to catch a two hour train ride to Dresden.

Many of us used this time to catch up on some much needed rest. Arriving in Dresden, we traveled by S-Bahn to reach the Bundeswehr Museum of Military History.

Here we learned about the influence of warfare on German culture from the 1300s to the modern day. One painting depicted a period of the Wars of Liberation with the tagline of "The Prussians are Coming" signaling the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo, on June 18, 1815.

In addition to the chronological examination of German military history, various thematic exhibits that included a depiction of how animals -- such as elephants, horses, dogs, cats, and even bees -- were used in warfare or for scientific advancement were found throughout the museum. Further on we were exposed to exhibits that showed how warfare influenced culture in the form of music, clothing, multimedia, and even toys as well as ones that highlighted the theme of suffering and how cultures deal with the loss of loved ones inherent in war. A central theme to this museum was the idea that war has served as catalyst both for protection and destruction, a contrast which can be seen through the various bunkers and bombs.

On the top floor of the museum you could look out across the city of Dresden and take in the magnificence from afar of what we would soon see up close.

Following a short S-Bahn ride into the city we walked to the Frauenkirche, which had been destroyed by allied air forces during the Second World War.

The East German government left the church in ruins as an example of British and American barbarism. The rubble itself had been left untouched and as much of the original building as possible was used in the reconstruction. Like many old churches in Europe, the grandeur of Frauenkirche far surpasses that of anything found back home.

After this, we were free to explore Dresden for the remaining four and a half hours that we had. Unfortunately during this day trip out of the Berlin, the weather decided to take a turn for the worst and we were caught up in quite the thunder storm! There was heavy and persistent rain for the better part of the day, but we braved it nonetheless and discovered a taste of what Dresden has to offer. Even the could not ruin the splendor that is the city of Dresden.

Some of our group went to see the Otto Dix exhibition in the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden. Dix was a soldier during the war and portrayed his experiences through his paintings and drawings. His most famous work, The Dresden Tryptich, served as the exhibition's centerpiece.

Others chose to partake in some of the shopping that Dresden had to offer. Here one could find shops filled with beautiful but expensive goods, such as ceramics, fine scarves, cuckoo clocks, and intricately detailed figurines. Of course a trip to Germany would not be complete without picking up a Christmas ornament or two! Supper was also enjoyed by most at various different restaurants. Personally I had a coffee macchiato with a few bits of Toblerone chocolate to sweeten it up, and a flat bread pizza-like thing with Hollandaise sauce, asparagus, ham, and cheese on it.

It was all extremely delicious and the atmosphere of the restaurant was great! We would once again end the day with a train ride, though this time it would take three hours! Some fun R&R occurred on the train ride back to Berlin when everyone took time to have some fun, visiting each other’s cars, singing, playing games, or discussing the relative small size of our accompanying super-hero.