Dresden & Moritzburg - December 2014

Every year when Christmas is coming closer, people start to worry about how to organise all the family dinners and get-togethers. My parents live in another part of Switzerland, so visiting them is easy, but Monsieur's parents live in Germany. His family comes from Saxony, where his grandparents still live. Thankfully, they don't expect us to visit for Christmas, but his parents wanted to see us for some days after Christmas 2014 and invited us to Dresden. We decided to fly to Berlin and drive to Dresden, spend a few days there and afterwards celebrate New Year's with our friends in Berlin.

Actually, more or less all I knew about Dresden was from studying history back at university. Of course the images of the burning city as a sad example of what happened to so many european cities during the second World War have stuck in my mind ever since I first saw them. But other than that I did not know much about Dresden. Monsieur has lived there for about a year when he was a student, but had not been there for a while, and he was curious to see what had changed.

Well, first of all it was very, very cold and later even started to snow. Not the ideal weather for sightseeing, but then again there are a lot of things to see and to do indoors, and many nice cafés to get warm again after wandering around. I particularly recommend CAMONDAS, a café which has an exceptional selection of chocolate (it's a chocolate shop, really). Loved it!

The Zwinger

Of course we visited the main sightseeing spots. In winter, the gardens of the Zwinger (pictures above) are not as attractive as they probably are in spring or summer, so we didn't spend much time there. The neighbouring Residenzschloss is home to the famous "Grünes Gewölbe" (green vault), the name is a bit misleading as there are actually two green vaults, a historical and a new one. August the strong, elector of Saxony in the early 18th century, wanted to have a safe place for his collected treasuries, and so the historical vault was constructed. August did not just wish to keep his treasures safe, but he also wanted to show them to special visitors, so they were arranged in a series of decorated rooms. Very impressive! It's not allowed to take pictures inside, but you can take a virtual tour here.

The "Fürstenzug", a mosaic showing ancient rulers of the city.

The building of the green vault has been destroyed in the second World War, fortunately the treasuries had been brought to a safe place long before the bombing of 13th February 1945.

The new green vault shows the parts of the collection which did not find their place in the historical rooms, and is open to the public since 2004. The restauration of the historical rooms has taken a long time and they are open again since 2006. The virtual tour of the new grünes Gewölbe can be found here. I really liked it and could have spent much more time in there - so many things to see, little details and incredible things like a cherry stone with 185 faces carved into its surface!

February 1945, six months after the first allied bombs fell on Dresden, three nights of heavy bombings destroyed 60 percent of the city and killed more than 20000 inhabitants. Many of Dresden's cultural treasures were destroyed, among them the Residenzschloss with the green vault, the opera and the Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady). The reconstruction of Dresden took decades and while the opera and other buildings like the Zwinger have been rebuilt before the German unification, the Frauenkirche was left in its ruined appearance until 1994.
The people of Dresden would have liked to have it reconstructed right at the end of the war, but by then the city was occupied by the soviets. Later it became part of the German Democratic Republic, and the reconstruction was not concluded due to political circumstances. Instead, the ruin became a war memorial, a counterpart for Coventry cathedral in the UK. A huge fundraising campaign started in the late 1980s and donors from all over the world, especially from the UK and USA, helped collecting the huge sum of 180 million Euro needed for the reconstruction which was finally concluded in 2005.

You can see that original material has been used to reconstruct the Frauenkirche.

I have been to other places where the consequences of World War II still are very tangible, I have visited Coventry cathedral and Omaha Beach, for example. Few of these places have impressed me the way the Frauenkirche did. It is a humbling experience to stand in this church. It was destroyed shortly before the end of the war - many historians doubt that the bomb raids on Dresden really could be justified the way the allied forces did, as mainly cultural spots have been hit while bridges or other buildings more vital for Nazi communication etc. have not been affected. Very often when talking about World War II, the German victims, especially the people in the cities hit by the allied raids, are not mentioned. Dresden is an important reminder that war ultimately claims innocent victims on all sides.
In the church today there's an exposition showing the history of the Frauenkirche including the destruction and reconstruction. There are a lot of anecdotes to read about the people involved, and probably the most touching is the story of the cross on top of the church's dome. It was forged in London and designed by a goldsmith whose father had taken part in the bombings of Dresden as a crew member of one of the airplanes.

The Semperoper.

There are other very impressive building you shouldn't miss when you're in Dresden. The one that really amazed me besides the Frauenkirche was the Semperoper. If you want to see it from the inside, you have to go see one of the opera performances - or take part in a guided tour. We weren't lucky enough to get tickets for an opera performance as we visited between Christmas and New Year's, but the guided tour was fantastic!

 

 

Gottfried Semper was the name of the architect who designed the original building. It opened its doors in 1841. In 1869, a fire destroyed much of the opera, it was rebuilt in the following years, again based on a design by Semper. Gottfried Semper himself could not supervise the work himself, as he was exiled at the time (he'd been involved in the May 1849 uprising), so his son built the new opera. The second opera building opened in 1878. In 1945, the opera was destroyed again - this time by the bomb raids. Again the opera house was rebuilt, and re-openend in 1985. Today it looks the same as before the war from the outside. An interesting detail the guide told us about is that after the war, they wanted to rebuild the opera exactly the way it has been built in the 19th century. But especially when it came to decorations on the inside, this was harder than they had thought. For example the columns looking like marble are actually artificial. The art of crafting artificial marble had been almost lost in the German Democratic Republic, so they had to train craftsmen. The guide said because of these circumstances and the long time it takes to make such a column, the columns were actually more expensive than they would have been if they had taken real marble!



In October 2014, a movement calling itself PEGIDA (Patriotische Europäer gegen die Islamisierung des Abendlandes, Patriotic Europeans against Islamisation of the Occident) started organising marches in Dresden on Monday evenings. Every week, thousands came and listened to PEGIDA leaders telling them how dangerous muslim migrants are for European culture. Honestly, I don't know how it's possible that so many are frustrated enough to actually look for this kind of affirmation. I think movements like PEGIDA are dangerous and every liberal and open minded European knowing our continent's history has to stand up and rais their voices against such hatred. Especially in Dresden, especially on Monday evenings. In 1989 and 1990, Monday evening used to be the time when people in the cities of the German Democratic Republic used to demonstrate, in peace, demanding rights such as the freedom of travel. They used to chant "Wir sind das Volk!" (we are the people) - and, ironically, that's what the PEGIDA people now chant as well, historical amnesia at its best. These developments bothered me one year ago when we visited Dresden, and they still do, as Europe faces the huge challenge of welcoming refugees from Syria and other countries torn by war and economical crisis. It's always great to see that there's not only hatred, not only negative feelings, but also people who are very aware of Europe's history and why it's so important not to forget about it right now. In Dresden this awareness was very present one year ago. For example, on the square in front of the Semperoper, the exact place where the PEGIDA demonstrations take place, huge flags were flying showing the opera's official opinion:

It says "Die Würde des Menschen ist unantastbar - Türen auf - Herzen auf - Augen auf", which means "Human dignity is inviolable - Open doors - Open hearts - Open eyes". There's hope, apparently.

We also used the days we had in Dresden to go shopping. I liked the many independent shops in the Neustadt, it's a lively and interesting part of the city with lots of cafés we visited. We loved the Baumstriezel Manufaktur. It's a small place, but with a great atmosphere and - as promised by the name - they serve handmade Baumstriezel. I didn't even know what a Baumstriezel is before we discovered the café. On their website you can see how the sweets are made - it's really nice.

One very special building we visited is the Yenidze. It definitely doesn't look like a building you'd expect in a German city - more like an oriental mosque, including a huge dome and minarets. But why?
In 1886, Hugo Zietz founded his tobacco factory in Dresden, it was called Yenidze from the beginning because the tobacco he used came from the region around Yenidze (today Giannitsa in Greece). In 1907, Zietz wanted to have his new factory building in Dresden, but at the time it was forbidden to build factories which looked like factories. A building that looked like a mosque definitely did fulfill this requirement - and of course it served as a wonderful publicity medium for the Yenidze products! Today there's a restaurant in the dome of the building. We went there to have lunch and it was a wonderful experience!

After having spend a few days in Dresden, we went back to Berlin. But on the way there, we met Monsieur's grandparents in Moritzburg. Moritzburg itself is not a famous place - or do you know why you should visit? I didn't, actually, until I saw the castle - and immediately recognised it. Of course. I had seen it many, many times on TV. Moritzburg Castle has been the film location for "Three Wishes for Cinderella", a film from 1973. Every year around Christmas, TV stations show it again, at least in German-speaking countries. So I kind of grew up connecting Moritzburg Castle to Christmas time. Seeing it in winter - like in the film! - was really nice, although I'm sure it's just as beautiful in summer.

I don't know if I would have visited Dresden or Moritzburg without having a reason to go there like seeing Monsieur's family, but it was really worth a trip! I love to travel to places I don't choose for myself. The chance to discover new corners of the world, most of them beautiful and absolutely worth seeing - that's what I love about accepting invitations from friends who live somewhere else (or even business trips, for that matter =)

Andalusia - November 2014

2014 has been one of the worst years of my life so far, as a popular vote here in Switzerland led to the loss of my job - a job I really liked a lot, a job that gave me the possibility to travel to interesting places and meeting lovely colleagues from all over Europe. During the summer we couldn't go on holidays as Monsieur had to work, and so I sat in my office while the weather was really bad, and thought about my uncertain professional future. It was a tough time, and after things finally became clearer and I knew that my last day at the job would be in early December, we decided to go catch some sun in the south in November.

Andalusia had been on my bucket list for quite a while. This is probably my inner historian's fault, of course the region is one of the hot spots in Europe when you like places where different cultures have melted into one. We had one week and decided to stay for a few days each in Seville and Granada and taking a day trip to Córdoba. The spanish train company offers a good service connecting the three cities, so we didn't need a car.

When we landed in Seville we felt like we had finally found the summer we had missed so badly in Switzerland. It was warm, the sun was shining, and the light didn't give a November impression. A wonderful feeling! We took the train to Granada where we had booked a hotel room for the first few nights of the trip.
The Khu Hotel is in the very centre of Granada, the perfect starting point for exploring the city by foot. Granada is beautiful, and in autum the colours of the trees are a great match for the clay buildings of the Alhambra - certainly a must-see when it comes to Europe's cultural heritage. Many tourists come just to visit the Alhambra, they don't see much of Granada's sights, which is a shame as there are many nice things to see. We really liked the Albaicín quarter, its white houses and narrow streets are worth a stroll. One of the discoveries that only happen when you visit somewhere with enough time and an open mind was El Bañuelo, the arabic bath dating back to the 11th century. The star-shaped openings in its roof create a fascinating light, although the place's purpose has been a secular one, the atmosphere in there is much like you'd expect it in a sacred room.

Of course we didn't miss out on the culinary highlights of Andalusia, ate a lot of Tapas, jamón and olives. In Granada, we ate at the Alameda - "contemporary andalusian cuisine", it says on the menu. Definitely the place to go if you like meat and interesting combinations of food. We loved it, also because of the very friendly service.

We've spent a whole day visiting the Alhambra. Well worth the time, it's probably a once in a lifetime thing to do, and there's so much to see! I recommend to use the really good audio guide which makes it easy to spot the most important sights: the whole area is huge, so it would be hard to see the truly interesting parts without any kind of guide telling you more about the history, the architecture and decoration.
Today, the Alhambra is a big fortress, walls surrounding many different buildings and gardens. Everything started with a much smaller fortress, built in 889 (no, not 1889. It's 889). In the 11th century, the moorish emir then in power in Granada rebuilt the fortress, already close to its actual size. Two hundred years later, it was turned into a royal palace. In 1492, the reconquista won Granada over and the christian rulers kept using parts of the buildings. The following centuries were not as glamourous, and after many decades of neglect and vandalism, the Alhambra was rediscovered in the 19th century. Finally, restauration works commenced until the Alhambra became the beautiful and impressive place it is today.

Back in Seville, we started discovering another really nice andalusian city. We loved the lively atmosphere, walked around for hours, drinking coffee and watching the other tourists. Of course we also did a lot of sightseeing. I remember climbing the Giralda, the old tower besides the cathedral. There are no stairs inside, but a ramp, and apparently it has been built this way because the imam of the mosque (the Giralda has been a minaret) was quite old and could not climb so many stairs anymore. With the ramp, he was able to climb the tower on the back of his donkey!
The view from the top is stunning, but I probably liked the one from Metropol Parasol better. Perhaps because this building made of wood (!) is even more special than the Giralda, I have never seen anything like it before. We had a lot of fun exploring the different views on top of the construction, and of course we took many photos.

Later on that day, we also visited the cathedral. I liked it a lot, especially the orange tree courtyard, a peaceful and calm place. It's a huge church, probably one of the largest I have visited so far (I just checked: it's actually the third largest church building in the world! It covers more than 11000 m2, only St. Peter's Basilica in Rome and the Basilica in Aparecida (Brazil) are larger- so yes, it's by far the biggest church I have visited so far, as I have not been to Rome or Aparecida).

What I also loved in Seville: the Real Alcazár. Originating in another moorish palace, today it is the official residence of the Spanish royal family when they visit. So of course not all the rooms are open for the public, but the rest really is worth being visited. This also goes for the beautiful gardens.

And then of course we also visited Plaza de España - but on that day it was raining very hard and we didn't stay outside for long. The Plaza was built in 1928 for the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929, and I'm sure it would be a great place to spend time and see all the details in the architecture - but the rain and the cold quickly drove us inside. In our case, "inside" meant the military museum located in one of the buildings right at the Plaza. Actually I'm not a big fan of military museums, but this one surprised me and I can recommend it - at least if you're interested in history and/or like tiny models of historical sceneries.

In Seville, we ate at three really cool places, two of them not the most spanish of the city, but still absolutely worth a hungry visit. They are very different, though. The Vantana is  probably the best vegetarian restaurant I know, I LOVED their tabbouleh with yogurt and lime!
The other restaurant was The Merchant - it's a pub, and a good one I think. With real pub food, so probably the opposite of the Vantana when it comes to healthy food, but it was very close to our hotel and it was raining on that evening, so burgers were exactly what we wanted. They were great. And we could watch some football (FC Basel, the city where I still lived back then, playing against a spanish team. I can't remember which one, shame on me!).
The third, more spanish place we went to for dinner was Restaurante Ignacio Vidal. There we had tapas and more tapas, very nice with very friendly service!

 

Seeing Córdoba was one of the highlights of the trip, and for me this has been a dream for quite a while - university lectures about the reconquista and photos my parents took when they'd been there a few years ago had really made me want to see the Mezquita. But first, we took a stroll around the city, discovered the beautiful jewish quarter including the impressive synagogue, built in 1315. We had lunch at the Macsura, where I ate the fantastic "Flamenquín", we really enjoyed the place and its atmosphere!
Afterwards we visited the Mezquita. Basically, it's an enormous mosque - and in the middle of the building, there's a church. But in the beginning, there was only a church - until the year 711, when Muslims conquered Córdoba and divided the church into a Muslim and a Christian part. Later, a muslim ruler had the church demolished and build a huge mosque instead. After the Reconquista, the mosque was converted into a Christian church again, and in the 16th century, they even built a big church inside it! It's incredible on so many levels - the architecture is stunning, and the thought that the Christian rulers didn't demolish the mosque to build a church on that same spot again, but just inserted the church into the building, is fascinating. A magic, sacred place - the only thing I think is sad about it: Muslims are not allowed to actively use the mosque to pray. That would be such a powerful symbol, but unfortunately, the catholic church of today doesn't see the value of such a gesture.

We left Andalusia with a lot of beautiful, inspiring and impressive memories, when I look at the photos now - one year later! - I still can feel the sun, taste the jamón and see the wonderful sights in my mind. I'd love to visit again some day!