Still driving through lots of crop country; wheat, some
barley being baled or silage, oil seed rape and fodder beet. Still no stock
visible to feed it to though.
Arrived at our hotel in a suburb of Dresden around 6.30 pm,
a lovely guest house from late 1800’s. We had our evening meal on the patio at
the guest house, Noel a Wiener Schnitzel (nicest so far) and Caro just ordered “something”
as could only decipher a couple of words. Turned out to be a very nice Chicken
casserole dish.
The guest house has a tram stop just outside the door and it
is a direct line to the centre of Dresden so makes for easy access. We took the
tram early the next morning and walked around a little on both sides of the
river Elbe filling in time before our pre-booked bike tour. Beautiful buildings but lots of
construction.
No, not us wandering around Dresden.... we think they were American's....
Unfortunately, our bike tour guide didn’t turn up! we met at
the bike rental shop where they confirmed the bikes had been booked however the guide
never showed and was not answering his phone… disappointing.
We then took the tram back to the South bank of the Elbe,
and managed to find a walking tour that was about due to begin, an ideal
alternative. So along with our fellow walkers; Australian, Dutch, English couples and 3 from the USA and our Dresden born guide, we set off. It was
very hot, 30 C+, but our guide was experienced enough to stop in the shady
spots around the old town area.
Dresden was originally settled in the late 12th century
and grew from there. The city became the capital city of the eastern Germany
state of Saxony and is built along the banks of the Elbe, one of the major
European rivers, running from the Czech Republic through upper Germany and
hitting the North Sea at Cuxhaven in Germany.
Dresden was the capital and royal residence of the electors
and Kings of Saxony in the 15th and 16th centuries. It
has elaborate Baroque and Rocco buildings from the 1700’s. During the early
1900’s the city became a major economic centre with banking, food processing
and medical equipment manufacture. The city was known as the Jewel of Saxony.
Between the 13th and 15th February
1945 722 British and 527 USA bombers dropped more than 3900 tonnes of bombs (staggering numbers!) which combined with the resulting fires destroyed 85% of the old town and resulted in 22,000 to 25,000
deaths. This was a controversial attack and there has been debate as to whether
it was necessary or more a “show of strength” from the Allied forces as they were slowly gaining the upper hand.
After the war under the Soviet Union satellite state, the
German Democratic Republic (GDR), a plan was made as to what buildings would be
restored and what would be replaced. Zwinger Palace, part of the original Dresden
Fortress, saw restoration completed in 1963, whilst the Cathedral (Kathalisake
Hofkirche) restoration was completed in 1962. The Semper opera house was
rebuilt to match what was lost and completed in 1985.
Clean up and rebuilding
was hence occurring slowly but with the reunification of Germany in the early
1990’s there was a push to rebuild more. First was the Frauenkirche, whose
remains had been left as a memorial to the 1945 bombings, and this restoration
was completed in 2005.
With the reunification, international money started pouring in with hotels
etc springing up and numerous other notable buildings earmarked for restoration/rebuild, nowadays it looks like an old town still undergoing
restoration. Our guide told us to come back in 3 years time as the construction/restoration
phase would be complete….. but…. ??
Dresden had been awarded UNESCO World Heritage status in 2004, but this has since been removed as the city constructed a 4 lane bridge through the heart of the cultural centre.
Dresden had been awarded UNESCO World Heritage status in 2004, but this has since been removed as the city constructed a 4 lane bridge through the heart of the cultural centre.
It is an amazing feat to see and a fascinating walk through
a beautiful part of Dresden. We walked from theatre place to the Opera House,
to the Palace and around to the town square and back to the Frauenkirche (church of Our Lady). After the tour finished we crossed the river, climbing another church
tower for the views (recommended by our walking guide ahead of the more
expensive tower climb in the centre city).
Random old Goat
Another one?
We headed back to the hotel to get out of the heat for a
while. Around 5 pm we headed back into the city for a cooler look around and
dinner. The town was buzzing, a Friday night, with lots of groups on the tram
carrying milk crates of beer and many impromptu gatherings on the riverbanks.
Such a warm evening, and a bit of a party town obviously!
Back to the hotel by tram again, a great way to travel.
After a lovely breakfast the next morning we checked out and
on our way to Prague.
Leaving Dresden we took a scenic route along the east bank
of the Elbe. Winding through farmland (more wheat and maize) and forest whilst passing
by more castles to reach Saxon-Switzerland (Sachsische Schweiz) National Park.
We stopped at Bad Schandau, a town on the outskirts of the park, and took a
tram ride 8km into the park. There were on/off stops along the way and lots of
families out for hikes as it was a beautiful hot Sunday.
We walked up a track to a lookout point above forest and rocky outcrops. Unfortunately a little hazy (heat) but still a nice
view. We hurried down to catch a tram back so had to forgo the café and apple strudel
at the top!
Soon after leaving Bad Schandau we crossed the border into
the Czech Republic. A line was all there was, no stopping/passport control etc.
So auf Wiedersehen Germany!
Stopped for fuel… at 1174 koruna to fill ... sounds hugely expensive but it was cheaper than
Germany, and purchased the necessary road toll sticker and were off.
Wound our way through pretty villages and minor roads for 2
hours. Lots of hops being grown in the area, looks like a growing industry. We had
forgotten we had earlier set the GPS to avoid toll roads… so a very slow trip
compared to what it should have been, with a thunderstorm threatening nearby.
Arrived at our Prague accommodation around 6:45 pm. Took a while to find the building and no code to enter had been provided, and with no one answering the phone number provided we did think we had been
scammed. Noel finally got someone on phone, who was away on holiday, but promptly provided the code and we were into a lovely modern apartment in a very
non-descript neighbourhood…. All’s well that end’s well!
Our next trick was to find something for dinner that would
take our credit card, as we had no Czech Koruna's, and for our short visit it was going to be easier to use cards. This type of transaction turned
out relatively easy as all establishments happily do so.
However, a drive attempt to try
and find a restaurant followed by a walk attempt to find a supermarket (closed) had no luck so back
in the car and we found a sign to McDonald's… if all else fails then needs must we thought! Luckily there
was a hyper-store next door so we opted for that and took food back to our
apartment to eat.... the Big Mac is safely off the menu again. Both pretty tired after a reasonably big day! A huge thunderstorm
overnight.
A tram into town stopped near our apartment but due to our
lack of local currency and language skills Noel was happy to drive in and we
found convenient parking in the central city. With the GPS it was relatively
smooth helped by fact it was a Sunday morning so not much traffic.
We were in the city by 9:30 and after a bit of wandering (no
google maps as no Spark roaming in Czech) we found our bike tour shop.
Anyway it had been drizzling a little but as we were about
to leave it really started to pour! A consensus decision was made to delay the tour
until 1:30 pm. Filled in our time with a bit of verandah sheltering and then with the
rain easing we walked part of an alternative second bike tour route as seen on the agency map… so up Letna
Park which is on Letna Hill above the Vltava River and overlooks the city.
The
park has Hanavasky Pavilion (1891) and then we passed the Belvedere (Royal Queen Anne summer palace) that was fenced off and highly guarded, and beyond that the church St Vitus Cathedral. This area was a lovely view over the city and with the rain
clearing the heat was coming on!
Dropped down from the park, over the river for lunch and met
again for the bike tour. Our guide, Greg, was a very unlikely fit for the job…
not exactly athletic looking he was a lifetime Los Angeles resident who had
been in Prague for a month. However he was very good, as he had swotted up on all
the facts and was still seeing things with fresh eyes.…. there was 6 Dutch clients and 2 kiwis (us).
We did a 2 hour tour,
starting through the Powder Tower and the Old Town Hall plaza (teaming with
tourists). The town hall has a Glockenspiel and the whole area gets packed just
before it is about to “ding”. Through the Jewish area, across the Vltava River
via Manesuv Bridge and through the west side of town.
Many, many sights visited, including but not limited to the area where Czech student Jan Palach burnt himself to death in protest in January 1969 following
the Soviet crushing of the Czechoslovakia reforms of the time. A subsequent 20
year commemoration protest (1989) has been viewed as one of the main catalysts
of the freeing of the Eastern bloc countries from communist rule.
Lennon Wall.... very obviously an Instagram spot going by the jostling for position!
Statue signifying urinating on Czechoslovakia and ignoring the population
Passed sculptures by Czech artist David Cerny in various spots,
a visit to the Lennon wall which is a graffiti wall originally prompted by John
Lennon thoughts as a protest against the regime, through a film set (unintentional).
The memorial to those that perished or affected as political prisoners or by communism was visited
and we saw the flood heights of 2002, along with the installed (automatically
rising) flood banks should it happen again. The day got progressively
hotter.
The tour wasn’t totally historical, with a lot of quirky
things thrown in which made it fun.
In Prague we also saw a gigantic busking Polar Bear, a
gigantic busking Panda Bear, many Bubble making buskers, musicians of various sorts, a completely naked lady
walking down the street accompanied by a couple of minders and photographer (Noel tried to get photographic proof but they came out shaky, no idea why...),
and the mentioned film set (1800’s period).... and, tourists, lots and lots of tourists!
After the tour we wandered a bit to the Charles Bridge and
the east side. Grabbed a meal and then found the car park and back to our flat.
Left Prague… could probably stay for a month and not see it
all. Drove through more crop country, wheat and maize, as we followed the
highway south. We arrived at the city of Cesky Krumlov around lunchtime and the
pre booked hotel kindly let us check in early, as well as leave the car in the
supplied parking.
A small attic room with 2 single beds, one on each side of the
apex, and an even smaller bathroom… perfect for one night, any longer and you
would get a bent neck!! It was up some 6 flights of stairs, the last more like
a ladder but a bit of a laugh, clean and cheap!
Cesky Krumlov is a UNESCO World Heritage site (isn’t
everywhere in Europe?!) since 1992. It is overshadowed by a castle built in
1253, with Gothic renaissance and Baroque elements along with an 11 hectare
garden. A 17th century theatre, still in use today, forms part of
the castle complex. And, bizarrely, a real live bear to guard the entrance
moat.
The city has the Vltava River winding through with lots of
people rafting and canoeing along its course. Exceptionally pretty town. It has had several ownership changes
over the years: during WWI it was declared part of the German Austria pact but
by the end of 1918 the Czechoslovakia army had control. The city was annexed by
Nazi Germany in 1938. After WWII all German speaking people were expelled and
it reverted back to Czechoslovakian rule.
During the communist era the town was forgotten and
fell into disrepair, largely due to its geographical isolation by being at the bottom of Czechoslovakia and wedged between the 'western countries' of Germany and Austria. Since the Velvet Revolution of 1989 much of the town has
been restored and has become a major tourist destination… particularly popular
with Asian tourists.
This is partly due to a strong, reverse and strange, Chinese
link….. The Chinese Telecom and Electronics company Huawai (yep, been in the news
a bit lately) apparently focuses on building replica European buildings for its
work spaces. The current construction for 25,000 employees is to replicate Cesky Krumlov
which brings a whole new meaning to “Made in China”. As such, a lot of Chinese
tourists are making trips here, both staying overnight and day trips from Prague,
to see the ‘real thing’!!!!
We walked downtown and lunched by the river, wandering
around everywhere including through the castle, gardens and tower to get a view
over the surrounding country side. We booked a night walking tour to get more
information. Back to our attic for a breather… the guest house is now full,
seems like a Skoda convention with 8 red and 1 white Skoda’s in the carpark!
Our red Pug is holding it’s ground in the corner park however…
After a meal we met up with our guide for the night tour, it
was just us so full attention required in case there was questions at the end,
led by a young local chap. Walked around learning about the town history, it was
nearly wiped out by the plague during the 1600’s which is commemorated by a statue in the town square. The German castle owners and German population originally
came for Gold mining.
We walked up through the castle which has a central passage
way open 24 hours. Lovely views. The moat bear was too hot to come out of her
lair… our guide told us that her 2 companions had died during the last year
so they are going to replace her with 3 young bears once she dies (seems
pretty cruel, including leaving her by herself although there would be trouble in the house if new were introduced).
An interesting aspect of the city is that it is pretty much
all dedicated to tourism with few locals living within the city itself. This causes
issues as far as tourism versus locals having to provide/maintain
infrastructure as well as loss of social balance/soul. One large building in
the main square is obviously empty, when I queried our guide it belongs to
overseas ‘investors’ (Chinese) who are not doing anything with it presently.
All sounds scarily familiar to places closer to our own territory?
This was a great look around the city and we will leave
straight after breakfast tomorrow.
