Dresden is a fascinating city. It was a long, arduous walk from the train station to the youth hostel. My backpack is quite a bit heavier than when I first left for some reason. And the hotels near the train station that Onkel Werner and Tante Helga had suggested that I stay in were all booked up due to some conferences. So the youth hostel it was. Here’s an observation: Youth hostels aren’t what they used to be for me. It was a very nice one. Quite comfortable and I’m glad they had single room options. But it was packed full with students on class trips running up and down stairs, shouting on the elevator, visiting in each other’s rooms. Though I do appreciate that Dresden would be a great place to take a class on a trip. Funny I rarely saw teachers around. It was nice that they put me on the top floor though with a bunch of elderly people also staying there.
So Dresden is a fascinating city. I walked into town and the old buildings were laid out in front of me. The opera house, the Zwinger, the castle all in one area, along the shores of the river Elbe. It was quite magical. And as the sun started going down the sky was filled with beautiful colours. It was a little bit overwhelming. I walked around the area and came to the Frauenkirche too. People were streaming out of it as a service had just ended. I thought it was a little Christmasy in the evenings. The glow of the lights in the windows is so warm. And the architecture is that stereotypical architecture of old, German Christmas scenes. And then the next night there was a brass quartet playing in the street with the beautiful church as a backdrop. All that was really needed was snow and a more Christmasy selection of music. All of the other ingredients were there. There’s a lot of work still being done in the center of the city. And a lot of excavating of old medieval cellars too. Very interesting.
The history of Dresden, especially post-war is incredible. I had a nightmare the first night of the bombing of Dresden. It resulted in me feeling quite unsettled and having a bit of homesickness, wanting my own bed, in my own place, which of course doesn’t exist anymore, just my bed in pieces in a box somewhere. But I visited the Frauenkirche the next day. And felt much better. I went to the noon service. It was packed. I very much appreciated that it was an actual service, not a little presentation for tourists even though we were all tourists. After the service there was a little lecture/presentation on the history of the church and the story of its rebuilding. It flowed very well.
Two neat things I thought were the idea that the church has become a symbol of forgiveness as well as a reminder of the terrors of war. The other neat thing was the communion table. The bombing had left the communion table split into two parts. They kept it that way. It’s a broken stone slab with a Coventry cross uniting the two pieces. I saw the Coventry cross in the church in Nürnberg too. It’s made of nails from Coventry, beautiful. I think it’s an act of friendship and solidarity from Coventry as that church had been terribly destroyed as well. It’s quite powerful. After the service, a choir it seemed that was sitting up in the balcony, began spontaneously singing. Kind of like what we do on Consort Caritatis tours when we visit a church and sing a little number to hear how it sounds and get the feel. It was beautiful the way it rang out. Speaking of things ringing out, my most favourite moment in Dresden was at 6pm when the bells did their full ringing thing and I was standing in the square engulfed by the sound. It was sooo beautiful.
I did a city tour on a bus, wandered around, sat in cafes, went to a concert one evening. A concert of Bach and his contemporaries, organ and orchestra in the cathedral. The funny thing was that the orchestra played up in the organ loft so the audience couldn’t actually see them because they were facing the other way. But there was a group of us in the section I was sitting in who turned and sat on the wide kneelers on the floor so that we could see the orchestra. It was fun. It was after that concert that I heard the brass quartet playing in the street. I found them the next day playing again in front of the Zwinger. I visited the porcelain museum there. Unfortunately, the Semper opera house wasn’t available for viewing because of rehearsals. And no concert opportunity there. :-( I got to the train station in plenty of time. And so off to Prague. The train followed the river Elbe all the way there. The scenery was beautiful despite the sheets of rain pouring down.
No comments:
Post a Comment