Located close to the Czech and Polish borders in the far east, Dresden is easy to overlook when travelling through Western Germany. It’s home to over 500,000 inhabitants and has a completely re-built centre. Dresden is also one of the greenest cities in Europe as 63% of the city is made up of green space and forests.
The peaceful Grober garden.
Dresden is a 2 hour train ride south-east of Berlin, a 2.5 hour train ride north of Prague and about an hour and a half from Leipzig, Germany. It is also very close to the Polish border.
The pictures above are part of the centre of Dresden that was 90% bombed on the 13th and 14th of February, 1945. 18,000 to 25,000 civilians died during the bombing along with a large portion of German culture in the area.
From 1945-1989, Dresden was re-built in a new communist style and it became a major industrial centre.
These are pictures of the Zwinger, also reconstructed after the bombing.
Some street art found in the Neustadt area.
This plate of roasted potatoes and herring cost 7 euros. Apparently herring is very popular in this area.
Today, Dresden is a centre for arts and it’s an important location for software development and micro electronics. Coming from Western Germany, I found there to be quite a bit less English here in Dresden. It definitely has a similar vibe to Berlin and it is probably a little rougher and more authentic in certain areas. Like many cities in Germany, there is a lot of nice graffiti in Dresden and there is a nice blend of alternative culture. The Neustadt area is full of bars and obscure shops that are worth checking out! I would recommend spending a few days in Dresden but I wouldn’t say it’s a must visit location if it takes you too far off route!
canadianglobetrotter 
Hi Nate! I’m Marzena, from your Polish family:) I got this link from Cyndy a couple of days ago and now we read your blog regularly. It’s really interesting and we even have two of your photos (with falls) downloaded as wallpapers on our computers:) I wonder when you are going to Warsaw – because I will be there with my kids next week: Tuesday to Thursday (30.06-2.07). Big hugs for you!
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That is very nice of you to say. Thank you! I will be visiting Warsaw, but not until early September unfortunately. I am looking forward to meeting you and the rest of my Polish family then! I am excited to hear your suggestions for places to visit in Poland : )
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I’m looking forward to seeing you all in September. I’m afraid Warsaw could be a dissapointment for you – it’s a place with very dificcult and sad history, it was almost fully ruined in WW2 and rebuild during the time of communism and socialism. There are some places to see, like Wilanów Palace (it’s far from a centre), University and the old town. But there are also many unsuccesful ventures, eclectic buildings – not everyone likes our capital. I would strongly recommend such towns like Wrocław (Breslau), Poznań or Gdańsk. They weren’t so much destroyed during wars and I think these places are awesome. Especially Wrocław, near German border, is – in my opinion – the most beautiful town, with long Polish-German-Czech history and muliticultural climate. It was chosen for the European Capital of Culture in 2016. I studied there and I love it 🙂 There are some photos from our visit in Wrocław (colloquially, in Polish-English called: Wroclove) last year (you should see it even without logging) https://www.facebook.com/marzena.walinska.37/media_set?set=a.1480164632239960.1073741837.100007393114666&type=3
bye:)
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Wow, Wroclaw looks amazing! I am excited to visit there. I am also planning to see Poznan for sure and hopefully Gdansk, although it is pretty far in the North. I would also like to possibly go over the border to Lviv for a few days. It looks like a nice city : )
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