2015 Tour of Poland and Germany: Dresden by day; then a Night at the Opera!

It's hard to expect anything but bleakness as you head into Dresden. The center of this city, the oldest part, was firebombed by the Allies in WW II and nothing was left of it. It's referred to often in history books, in literature. We picture the horrible destruction and somehow think that maybe time has stood still and we will see the tragedy before us. But, yet again, we arrived in a city stunningly resurrected into its former glory!

Augustus II (Augustus "The Strong") was both Elector of Saxony and King of Poland (twice). He is largely credited with establishing Dresden as a center of the arts and architecture in the late 17th and early 18th Centuries. At that time, when Dresden became the Capital of Saxony, it was referred to as "Florence on the Elbe," the river on which the city's beautiful baroque landscape is situated.

Dresden as seen from a bridge over the Elbe River

A golden monument to Augustus the Strong, considered the Father of Dresden art and architecture

Our tour guide was obviously bursting with pride and stories about her city, but our time was limited so the tour was short. And yet we were able to spend time at some of the most monumental buildings and gathering spots before the evening opera we'd be attending.

Storytelling by our guide at the "Zwinger," a group of buildings built originally for ONE party! Now houses museums and theaters.

Not a bad spot to calm a baby!

Zwinger roof. All was destroyed in the 1945 bombing and reproduced exactly as it had been.


Clock at the Zwinger surrounded by porcelein bells that still ring on the hour.

Our dinner was in a historical vault under the Zwinger called the Taschenbergpalais, a series of rooms above and below ground where Augustes the Strong entertained the King of Prussia and held other festivities. The food was Saxon (beef, cabbage, soup, dumplings), the wine and beer plentiful.

Carol Oldemeyer, ready for a Saxon beer

As in Augustus the Strong's time, happiness is food, drink and friends -- and then some music!

Candy Hare, Voices West, gives a Saxon toast.

And now, to the opera!

What a treat to have tickets waiting for us to attend a performance of Johann Strauss's Die Fledermaus at the Semperoper Dresden. The opera house, named after Gottfried Semper, the architect who designed and built the first opera house on that site, is an excellent example of "Dresden Baroque" architecture. It is in the Theatre Square, on the bank of the Elbe River. In 1945, in the final months of World War II, the opera house, built in 1870, was largely destroyed by the bombing of Dresden. Only the exterior shell was left standing. In 1985 the reconstructed opera house was completed, rebuilt to be almost identical to its pre-war appearance.

Our tour group was enchanted, by the surroundings and then by the visual feast of the opera staging, the acting, singing and the orchestra. But we admit to one big failure on our part: we should have read the plot before going. Surprise, surprise, the program was NOT in English! Oh that's right... we were in Germany.