Dresden by night

Because I lengthened my time in Prague and when I wanted to be in Berlin was basically set in stone (I could never forgive myself if I missed out on New Years in Berlin), Dresden got the short end of the stick.

I arrived in Dresden late in the day after the sun had completely set and had an early bus the next day, but I was utterly determined to give Dresden a chance.

Although Dresden was almost completely destroyed during the bombings in WWII, you may forget that as you walk into the old town. Dresden is one of those cities that decided to rebuild its buildings to their former pre-war style. The result of which is truly spectacular.

I walked into the alstadt (old town) across the River Elbe and was pleased to see a wonderful riverfront scene. Across the Augustus Bridge (oldest in the city), which connects the neustadt to the alstadt, lies the Schlossplatz which is home to the cathedral, the Dresdner Schloss (castle), and a few other pretty old buildings (sorry I can’t be more specific!).

As it was late, I couldn’t go into any of the buildings, but I was able to marvel at the architecture, albeit not that old.

The main square, or neumarkt, still held onto a few remaining Christmas market stalls as well as being home to the Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady). This church was completely bombed in WWII and later reconstructed in full.

Interesting fact, though, is that Dresden is one of only 2 places in the world that has had its UNESCO World Heritage status revoked.

Why?

The city decided to build an ugly 4-lane bridge over the Elbe Valley, cutting into a previously scenic view over the river valley and into the town.

I have read Dresden being compared to an Italian city (Florence perhaps?) so I would love to give it a proper chance and view it in the daytime to see the city really come to life.

I would love to see the reason it had UNESCO World Heritage status in the first place.

To me, as of now, it was one of those “meh” destinations. More of a “take it or leave it.”

If I’m near Dresden again, I’ll try to give it another shot as I have seen truly gorgeous pictures of the city. As of now, though, I won’t be rushing back, despite the amazing architecture.

Prague

Coming off the bus from Vienna, I was still a little bummed about being away from family on Christmas and everything being closed etc. etc.

I had high hopes for Prague, thus allotting it the most amount of days in my Christmas/New Year’s itinerary. I had seen the pictures and read the guidebooks and blogs and was overflowing with excitement to go there.

Then we get out of the bus and I was immediately underwhelmed.

The buildings surrounding the area were a little dingy and the metro station was a wasteland (plus nearly impossible to navigate…it took us at least 5 minutes to buy tickets and 10 minutes to find our line).

Once we made it into the actual city, though, I was blown away. Prague quickly became one of those cities that lived up to my expectations.

My first impression of the old town came after sundown (despite being only 4 in the afternoon) and consisted of Christmas markets, tasty treats, and an amazing folk band blasting their hits.

I know that we saw the Christmas markets in Prague after Christmas, but I wasn’t impressed for the most part. Sure, there was great food to be had and some neat trinkets to buy, but by and large most “gift stalls” (as opposed to food stalls) were selling things that you would find in any of the numerous souvenir shops around the area. I didn’t get that authentic feel that I have grown to know and love from so many other Christmas markets.

So, I won’t be rushing back to Prague at Christmastime.

Instead, I’ll maybe head back in warmer weather!!

Prague is, by far, the coldest city in Europe that I have ever visited. Well below freezing most days we were there plus a wind that cuts through you and literally chills you to the bone.

Need I remind you, I was wearing 3 pairs of pants, at least 8 layers on top, and as many socks that would still allow my foot to have circulation in my boots. Even still, I was somewhat miserable after about an hour of being outside. Then we had to retreat to a café to thaw out and then give it another go.

On the plus side of that, though, is that you don’t have to worry about rain because precipitation brings snow and snow brought out such a beauty of the old town. I got to view this my last day and a half in the city and it truly felt as though the city came to life from a fairy tale.

We allotted time to do a free walking tour of the city (something I ALWAYS try to do whenever I visit a new city) and finally got a better sense of where everything was and what it was all about.

We started in the Old Town Square which is actually still intact. Only one major building was bombed and removed from the destruction in WWII. Compared to all the heavily bombed and rebuilt cities I have seen recently in Germany and Austria, I enjoyed seeing the original architectural beauty of the city.

We made sure to see the Astronomical Clock which was ridiculously disappointing. I mean, for the time that it was built, it was really revolutionary. Even compared to the Glockenspiel of Munich, which is considered to be the most disappointing tourist site in Europe, I would say that this one was even lamer! (Don’t get me wrong, though. The clock itself was neat. It was the “show” that played on the hour from those little windows, if you can even call it that…)

Wenceslas Square, the largest “plaza” in the city (I use quotation marks because I would not call the large majority of it a plaza…just a road) is/was home to a lot of major demonstrations in the city, especially during the last 60 years or so with the Nazis, Soviets, Velvet Revolution, etc.

One area that I found really interesting to see was the old Jewish Quarter. This small area lies a short distance away from the Old Town Square and was (and still is) the home to hundreds of Jews in the area. The Old Jewish Cemetery sticks up above the street for a singular reason: space. It was impossible to acquire more land, so when they had filled the plot of land with tombstones, their only option was to build up and very tightly together.

A short walk away from the Jewish Quarter, we came across the Vltava River. Across the way is the other main touristed area in Prague, principally the Prague Castle.

The favorite way to get over to the other side of old Prague is via Charles Bridge, a half millennium old bridge decorated with statues and images (that you have to rub for good luck, obviously) and filled side-to-side with tourists, vendors, and (I’m just guessing here) pickpockets. I would have loved to stroll the bridge at sunrise (in warm weather) to get it a little bit more to myself because it was hard to completely enjoy waddling like a group of penguins across the river.

Once on the other side, we wandered the gorgeously old streets and made sure to check out the John Lennon Wall.

*Sad Story Time*

A couple of months ago, some art students decided to completely paint over the John Lennon Wall with white paint and left the message “wall is over” in order to spike a wave of artistic talent from the new generations.

If you look in my pic, where it says “war is over” was where it said “wall is over.” I’m glad that it’s not like the wall is bare (had we come a month and a half earlier, it would have been devastating!) but it was still sad and barer than it should have been.

I decided to take a tour of the Prague Castle in order to learn more about the history of it all. Sadly, because it was so cold that day and the wind at the top of the hill was atrocious, I had a difficult time fully concentrating on the stories being told.

I do remember that it was a beautiful and huge castle. It was like a city inside the city. The cathedral, St. Vitus Cathedral, had the most breathtakingly intricate stained-glass windows I have ever seen.

As we walked through the castle’s grounds, we also came across the Old Royal Palace, the Basilica of St. George, and the Golden Lane (gorgeous old houses) among other buildings I’m sure were pointed out to me. My brain was just frozen.

As you leave the castle, you are greeted with the most spectacular view of Prague.

Seriously, look at this!

I ended up loving Prague, just as I thought that I would. I only wish that it was warmer thus I could have enjoyed it a bit more!! I actually extended my time there (and then remembered that I set my itinerary so I would be back in Germany before my 90 day visa expired. Oops! They didn’t check my passport, so thankfully it didn’t end up mattering) and know I’ll be back again.

The beauty of Vienna

Vienna truly is a beautiful city. It has many parks (which are much more enjoyable in the warmer months of the year, I would imagine) and architecture that makes you question if you are actually in Paris.

As every blog and travel guide out there seems to note ad nauseam, Vienna is a “wonderful mix of old and new” or “sits so amazingly between the present and the past.” As tired as you and I are of hearing that, I have come to know it to be true.

I think that this is because there isn’t really a compact “historic center” of Vienna like most comparable cities in Europe.

The Ringstraße (ring street/road) encircles the inner city, but we found that all of the main sights/sites are quite spread out within this circle. Very different than Munich, let’s say, where everything seemed to be in one spot.

One of the best examples of this mix of old and new was in Stephansplatz, which is the home of the old gothic cathedral as well as modern buildings for shopping.

A short distance away from that, there’s Peterskirche which seems to be an island of a church surrounded by major shopping streets.

From there, we quickly came across the Prunksaal state hall, which is part of Austrian’s National Library. Had I seen pictures of its interior sooner, I probably would have tried to take a peak inside. So, no entry for us.

Just across the way, we came to Michaelerplatz and Josefplatz. Here, you can find the Spanish Riding School, the Albertina, the Opera House, and Hotel Sacher among other historical buildings.

From there, we managed to find the Hofburg, which was the home of the Habsburgs. If you know anything about Austrian history, you know a few things, but mainly Marie Antoinette, Hitler, and the House of Habsburgs. The Hofburg Palace is also the home and office of the Austrian president today.

Right across the street is the Naturhistoriches Museum (Natural History Museum) and the Kunsthistorisches Museum (Art History Museum). The open space between these two mirrored buildings is where we came across one of the Christmas markets.

Right across the street again is the MuseumsQuartier which is right next to the Volkstheater.

In the other direction from the Natural and Ary History Museums is the Parlament (I think that you can figure out that that means Parliament). Right in front of the building is the Athena Fountain. Athena, being the goddess of wisdom, stands above others in the fountain showing her power.

From there, you see the Rathaus (city hall), which looks very similar to the New Town Hall of Munich. This was the home of the main Christmas market in Vienna.

As I mentioned before, we also went to the Schloss Schönbrunn, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This palace was also a residence of the Habsburgs.

Because our time in Vienna was so limited, we didn’t go inside any buildings/museums apart from the cathedral. I have hopes of returning to Vienna in the summer sometime in order to get a better feel of the city and its offerings. However, it isn’t the highest on my list of cities to which I want to return. It was a pretty city and its architecture amazing, but I didn’t like it as much as I thought that I would. It just didn’t grab me the way that say, Prague did (post to come!).

Christmas in Vienna

I think for most Americans abroad, there are two days in particular that make it difficult to be away from home: Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Thanksgiving is always filled with family, food, and, for my family, decorating for Christmas, which is one of my favorite past times. My first Thanksgiving away from home was when I studied in Spain, but my program tried to make it special with a fancy dinner that attempted to be like an American Thanksgiving with everyone in our study abroad group getting together to spend the evening together. This year was my second away, and I honestly didn’t do anything except draw a hand turkey! I missed putting up the Christmas decorations, and I really craved some turkey, cranberry sauce, and apple crisp, but I managed.

Christmas, however, I knew would be more difficult. Especially as this was my first Christmas not spent with family.

We left Munich very, very early on Christmas Eve in order to get to Vienna a bit before noon. Once there, we had to hit the ground running, as we figured that basically everything would be closing in a couple of hours on the 24th through the 26th (they celebrate Boxing Day here).

First, though, we wanted to find our hostel to ease our backs from our backpacks, which was very much easier said than done. The directions were horrific but we found it after wandering an hour and asking who knows how many people for directions. As we were wandering, I got this sinking feeling in my stomach, noticing that the Christmas market stalls along the streets where we were were completely shut down and being packed away.

Thankfully, after setting our things down, we made it to the Rathaus, where there was a most romantic market set up, backdropped with the huge and gorgeous gothic Rathaus (city hall). The market itself was bustling with tourists and locals alike, sipping glühwein and tasting Christmas treats.

There was so much to see and eat, but we wandered through the market for a bit, knowing that we’d come back later that night in order to sample all the more treats and maybe do a little shopping.

Just a couple of hours into our first day in Vienna, the sun was already setting (one of the biggest downsides to traveling in the winter…it gets dark at 4pm!). We wandered the streets and found a cute little church to look around in before warming up (another MAJOR downside to traveling in the winter…I never want to be outside!) at the hostel and wishing our respective families a Merry Christmas before venturing out again.

There was supposed to be a big Christmas tree lighting in front of the Rathaus followed by Christmas carols starting at 7pm. We got there a bit early only to be supremely disappointed that not only was the Christmas tree already lit up, but that there was no singing and all of the Christmas market stalls were already being packed up and taken down. If that didn’t damper our Christmas spirit, I don’t know what would!

There was so much food left to sample! And so many shops that needed further exploration! (I was in search of a music box which I never had the chance to get…)

Instead, we walked around, looking at the Christmas lights that were thankfully still up.

Unfortunately, an especially hard part about traveling on Christmas is that everything shuts down. I was so looking forward to some amazing Viennese food, like apple strudels, Sacher torte, and Wiener schnitzel. Sadly, most of the restaurants that we came across were either closed or had a “special menu” for Christmas that included 6-courses, cost 100+ euros, and required reservations.

No thanks.

We decided to go to midnight mass at Stephansdom (the cathedral) which was a beautiful service despite being insanely packed and neither of us really understanding anything except a word here or a phrase there.

My tip: If you plan to go to the mass, plan to go early. Then go even earlier. We got there at 10:15 and there were already between 100-200 people waiting in line for the doors to open (at 11). If you want to sit, get there no later than 10:30.

Despite a bad start to our Christmas Day (cold, wind, rain, and terrible homesickness on my part), our Christmas Day in Vienna turned out lovely. We walked around the city, taking in most of the major sites from the outside and actually came across two Christmas markets that were still open!

The first one that we found was in the Museumsquartier which was, on my personal Christmas market scale, average. I’m sure very charming for many, but to me, it felt empty.

Not to mention it was fairly empty (for Christmas market standards…especially on Christmas).

The other Christmas market was situated right in front of the Schönbrunn Palace which was so gorgeous and is actually a UNESCO World Heritage Site along with its garden (which I am certain is magical come spring or summer).

This actually turned out to be one of my favorite Christmas markets that I have been to. The handicrafts and decorations were all handmade and the food was to die for. Plus it was Christmas and it lifted my spirits after encountering some disappointments earlier on Christmas Eve/Day. 

I know that there are a lot of people that regularly spend Christmas away from home and think nothing of it. But for me, coming from a family that loves getting together to spend Christmas with all of the traditions that we have, it was hard to spend my first Christmas away from home. At the same time, it was a good experience. Especially in such a beautiful city such as Vienna. I can thank my friend for sharing the day and memory with, as it would have been a lot more depressing without her!

Here’s to my insane picture abilities. Either looking in the wrong spot or having my eyes closed in 50% of all photos.

Not even exaggerating.

(And technically that’s from Munich on Christmas Eve’s eve, but who’s really counting?)

Munich, round 3: Beer halls and Christmas markets edition

I’ve made it to December 23rd now, which was just the beginning of my Christmas break.

Early in the morning, I set out from Bremen on an ICE train crossing the country to get to Munich in just about 5.5 hours (just for reference, driving would have taken 7 hours and a bus would have taken 14…)

I got into town right around 13:00 and got to my hostel where I saw Heidi, a friend that I had made while studying in Spain two years ago and that I haven’t seen since Spain two years ago.

After a few minutes of catching up, we went across the street to the Augustiner beer hall which, for a Tuesday afternoon, was packed. Unfortunately, there was no singing like I found during Oktoberfest. We enjoyed half liters of their lager and some get-your-hands-dirty grub. I got a pork knuckle, not knowing neither why I got it nor how to eat it in a slightly proper way, so I just hacked away at it.

After an hour or two in there, we went back across the street to check into our hostel room, snatched ourselves the bottom bunks, and were off to walk into the city center, enjoying the beautiful weather outside, especially because this would be the warmest day of our trip.

Again, from my previous two trips to Munich (here and here), I have spent a fair share of time wandering around the old town, but I didn’t see everything, of course. Plus, it was fun to walk around the area with a friend.

We looked through the Christmas market in Marienplatz as well as found ourselves a Medieval Christmas market not too far away, where everyone dressed in old-time clothes and sold old-time things.

After filling our stomachs at the markets, we walked through the Hofbrau beer hall but didn’t find anywhere to sit (it’s a Tuesday still, but it was Christmas week, so I guess it made sense that it was packed). It would have been fun, though, considering that there was an oompah band playing.

Instead, we found ourselves in a Paulaner pub, another one of the “big six” breweries in Munich (the ones that have tents at Oktoberfest), in order to sample a half liter of their lager.

Afterwards, we walked around a bit and called it an early night because we had to be up by 5 the next morning to catch our bus to Vienna.

Even though this was my third time going around Munich, I am determined to go back, as I have barely scratched the surface of what there is to do in this amazing (and to my surprise, not really that big) city. Like certain things that would be more enjoyable in warmer weather (parks.).

‘Til next October perhaps…