We arrived in Dresden with a traditional German dinner waiting for us. We got meat and potatoes. There were several different kinds of pork. We then got free time to explore the city and prepare for a full next day.
Our first and only full day in Dresden was a packed one. The day started off rough when our fearless leader, Gabe, had an appointment. He set up us with a walking tour all morning with his friend, in which we learned several different things about the city. We learned a lot about the bombing of Dresden in 1945. The bombing was done by Americans so we discussed how the bombing was used as propaganda for the Nazis. Our tour guide also mentioned a quote from a German Jewish survivor stating how the day of the bombing, February 13 1945, was her second birthday because it gave them another chance. The bombing destroyed parts of the city and few people or buildings survived. The buildings that did partially survive were at times destroyed and few were restored. We saw the Semper opera house, Zwinger Palace, the Church of our Lady, and the Procession of Princes. All of these places were restored except the Procession of Princes, which is one of the only things that survived the bombing. We observed these places from the outside, however, it was still beautiful. The Zwinger palace was my favorite because the different sculptures and statues along the building. The building had turned a black color, which we learned was due to the material it was made of. These buildings were made of sandstone which contains magnesium. The magnesium apparently turns the buildings black. Some of the statues had been painted over white, but this is debated because once painted over, the texture of the building is lost. We then got some free time to go into the mall for food and to look around.
The afternoon we went to the Military Museum to explore the different exhibits for several wars. They had an interesting section with animals and how they were used in wars. Surprisingly elephants, Dolphins, and lions were used for different tactics. Finally, we finished our evening together with a Turkish dinner.
I have also included a few pictures from the day.
