Dresden is a city that is rebuilding itself daily. There are so many cranes in the city, each put to work to make Dresden the cultural and artistic mecca it was before World War II and the dramatic firebombing of 1945 that made the city a burned out pile of rubble. Our hotel looks out at the Frauenkirche, a symbol of the spirit and tenaciousness of the citizens of Dresden. This exquisite, baroque church was, until 1989, a pile of burnt stone. The people of Dresden saw it as a silent symbol of the devastation of war and a place for peaceful protest. As an outgrowth of the reunification of Germany in 1989, citizens came together to rebuild. In 1994, the first stone was placed and on the 30th of October in 2005, the completed church was consecrated. Dresden is building itself into the city it once was and into a new city for a new age.

Yesterday morning we took the Stadrundfahrt Dresden sightseeing bus for a city tour. Although we are staying in the heart of old town, there is lots more to see in Dresden, and this bus will take you there and be back every half hour to pick you up. Stops along the way include the Albrechtsberg Palace, the “Transparent” Factory of the Volkswagen Group, The Pfunds Dairy, which is considered the most beautiful dairy in the world, the fantastic Zwinger palace and galleries, and much more.

We met Ms Steffi Gretschel, Assistant to the President and CEO of the Dresden-Werbung and Tourism Office, for lunch at the beautiful Kurfstenhof Restaurant. We met Steffi in Portland earlier this year and were impressed by her love and enthusiasm for Dresden. After lunch we visited the New Green Vault in the reconstructed Dresden Royal Palace. Intricately carved ivory, jewels and gold beyond imagination are incorporated into ornate works of art and craftsmanship, all part of the collection of August the Strong.

We visited the Zwinger, a must-see in Dresden for its ornate architecture and formal gardens. And then took a 90 minute cruise on the Elbe on a steam driven paddle-boat. This trip takes you past palaces and beneath bridges, one cheerfully named the Blue Wonder, because of its blue color and the fact that it spans the Elbe with no pilings in the river itself. It was a wonder of engineering, at the time.

For dinner we chose a little Italian-style restaurant called Piazza Nova. After a wonderful dinner, we were ready to call it a day.