Dresden

Hey, everyone!

Amy and Jesse here.  We want to tell you about our trip to Dresden a couple weekends ago (Nov. 23-25).  Amy had Monday off of school, so we knew we wanted to go somewhere, and Jesse was interested in taking a trip down to Dresden, so that's what we did.


Jesse: We got up early on Saturday and took the 5 1/2 hour train ride down to Dresden.  We actually did a good job of looking at a map ahead of time, so we actually knew where to go to get to our hotel.

Amy: It was also nice, because our hotel was right by the main station.

Jesse: Yeah, and it was just centrally located in general.  Very easy to get everywhere.

Amy: We got there a little early, so we got some lunch...  American food.  I had stuffed crust (!) pizza, and Jesse got a nice "American" steak.  Then we checked into our hotel.  On our way out of the American restaurant, I stopped to look at a rack of brochures, and I saw that there was a dance exhibit at the Hygiene Museum.  We decided to go check it out.

Jesse: The main selling point of this dance exhibit, at least for me, was La Valse, a statue by Camille Claudel Rodin.

Amy: We heard about this statue from our friend Gretchen, who is absolutely in love with it, and I can see why.  It was beautiful, and I couldn't resist taking some photos, which got me in big trouble with the security guard.  I guess I missed the "no photos" sign at the entrance.

Jesse: The exhibit looked at dance from all different cultures of the world and even had a neat program that would teach you a dance and then record you doing it, so you could see yourself doing the steps.

Amy: Then we walked around and did a little sightseeing even though it was already dark out... and raining.  We bought some postcards and then went to a little Italian restaurant for dinner.  It was so good.

Jesse: The last thing on our agenda for the evening was to watch Catching Fire in the English movie theater.  We had reserved tickets online and we went to pick them up.  When we got there though they told us that we didn't have any tickets and we wouldn't be able to get in, because the movie was sold out.

Amy: I guess we were just too late to pick them up.  So we just went back to the hotel and watched some TV before going to sleep.

Jesse: Turns out the Twilight movies are just as angsty in German.

Amy: On Sunday we grabbed some breakfast at a cafe and then immediately went to buy our tickets for that evening's showing of Catching Fire.  We weren't going to miss it this time.

Jesse: After we purchased our tickets we went sightseeing, and we got to look at some of the beautiful architecture.

Amy: Yeah, I think Dresden is one of my favorite cities in Germany, because it is just so pretty.  We saw the Frauenkirche, the Zwinger palace, and other sights around the Altmarkt.

Jesse: After a few hours of walking around we started to feel a little peckish.  My hunger for steak not yet sated, we went to another restaurant that served American-style food, which played lovely music videos, including Africa by Toto.

Amy: I felt right at home.

Jesse: We also got a great banana split for dessert.

Amy: Then we went back to the hotel and took a nap before heading out to the Alte Meister gallery, which is located in the Zwinger palace.  The highlight of this museum, I think for both of us, was the Sistine Madonna painting by Raphael.  I didn't take any photos this time around though...

Jesse: I couldn't believe the sheer size of it.  I have developed a new love and appreciation for Renaissance oil paintings.  I think oil is my new favorite medium.

Amy: Yeah, when we were in the museum we talked a lot about how lifelike some of the paintings looked.  There was one with two goblets, for example, that looked like a photograph, even up close.  It was incredible.

Jesse: After we got done at the art museum, we were walking towards our hotel, and we found a tapas restaurant.

Amy: I love tapas.  I love that you can get several different little dishes and are able to try a variety of foods in one sitting.

Jesse: The food was wonderful.  I was particularly proud of Amy's willingness to be adventurous.  She tried both quail and rabbit.

Amy: The quail was ok; it tasted like chicken.  I didn't care for the rabbit though.  I also ordered some fried cheese, stuffed mushrooms, and crab cakes.  They were all awesome...  Oh my goodness, then we had a chocolate souffle for dessert that was to die for.

Jesse: After dinner we headed to the theater and finally got to see Catching Fire.  This is one of the few times that I thought the movie actually out-shined the book.

Amy: I really enjoyed it, too.  I found myself completely caught up in the movie, even though I had read the book and knew what was going to happen.

Jesse: After the movie we went back to the hotel and crashed for the night.

Amy: The next morning we got together with my friend Kaylee from Nebraska for brunch.  It was so great seeing a friendly face and getting to chat about life as a teaching assistant.  The brunch buffet was also good.

Jesse: It was really nice to meet Kaylee.  She is super nice.

Amy: Then we checked out of our hotel and headed back...  It was a 7 hour trip with layovers.

Jesse: But we finally made it home.  I thought that this trip was a lot of fun.  There was only one thing I didn't get to do that I wanted to: the Vonnegut tour.

Amy: That just means we'll have to go back sometime!