OMG, what a day to forget

Well, we arrived in Dresden almost three hours later than planned. We tend to think in Australia of countries like Germany being ruthlessly efficient. Forget it, they are as disorganised and chaotic as we Australians, at least as far as their trains go. Our trip to Dresden was supposed to be composed of two legs, separated by a five minute interlude where we got off one train and boarded another. Little did we know, however, that DB trains had another plan, which they emailed travellers once we were already on the train - how clever. It seems that due to bridge work, our second train would be terminated somewhere we'd never heard of, and we'd be completing the journey by bus, us and a hundred odd other passengers, almost exclusively German (although we did befriend a couple from Melbourne who'd been in Nuremberg for the Rock in the Park concert). Unfortunately, I don't think anybody from DB head office had informed the bus company. There we were, all hundred or so of us, standing in the middle of nowhere waiting for a bus we didn't know would be arriving or not. Add to this, we speak very little German so we couldn't even ask anybody what was happening.

Neumarkt Square, which is where we're staying

Frauenkirche Church, also in our square

Same square

Lovely little street

Alison walking under a lovely arch

A word here about the Germans. Would there be a ruder nation? Unlikely. Would there be a more acquiescent nation, a nation more accepting of authority? Unlikely. Yes, I know, gross generalisations, but there is just a little truth to both of these statements. Nobody knew whether we'd ever be picked up, and even if we were, when or how we'd get to our destination, but not a single person complained, they simply accepted what they were told and went with it. Try pulling a stunt like this back home, and people would be onto the mobile phones to VLine head office in an instant. Don't read too much into it, but could a propensity to blindly follow authority sometimes be a bad thing?

The Zwinger, a palace built in the baroque style. Construction started 1175.

In any event, a bus eventually arrived, but with far too many people and their luggage to fit, many had to stand in the isle with suitcases for the thirty minute trip to who-knew-where. Interestingly, Alison and I were one of the first in the queue, but one of the last on the bus. People simply pushed past us like we weren't even there. So much for manners (they seem to not exist over here). I guess we just have to get a bit pushier or be trampled on.

The bus eventually drop us off at another station where a train was awaiting. No information was ever forthcoming, and we never knew what was happening next. It certainly made for a very long day, and a few strained tempers.

The Hochschule fur Bildende Kunste (be careful how you pronounce this)

The square at night

Once again, we are right in the middle of the old town, and once again it is beautiful. Dresden is a very old city, but it was almost totally destroyed by the allied firebombing in February 1945. Almost everything has been rebuilt, but faithfully in the old style (unlike Frankfurt, which was also destroyed but decided to rebuild modern). We're in our room now watching a brilliant lightning display which is illuminating the square below. It is truly beautiful.