A Zwinger of a Day

We have come to realize that Dresden gives a very upbeat and alive vibe.  Almost all the old town area was incinerated in the Allied bombing of February, 1945.  Not much got rebuilt during Dresden's days behind the Iron Curtain.  But that has all changed.  Many of the old classic buildings have been or are being rebuilt.  Dresden has been a rich city through most of its history and was the capital of Saxony. We decided to spend the day wandering this beautiful city.  Our first stop was the historic Green Vault. The Historisches Grünes Gewölbe is actually a series of 9 treasure rooms, each one having a theme based on the treasures it contains, for example, the Amber Cabinet, the Bronze Room and the Hall of Precious Objects.  Unfortunately, like a lot of museums and some churches, no photography is allowed.  On top of that security is the tightest we have seen anywhere.  All bags and cameras and purses must be stored in lockers and entering and egress are through a series of double doors.  Thoroughly overwhelmed we left the vault and began our walking tour of the city.

 Everywhere you look there is another amazing building, the Semper Opera House, the Royal Palace and the Zwinger complex.

 Although the Zwinger looks like a palace to those of us who don't know any better it was never lived in.  It was only a place to hold royal parties.

 One feature of the Zwinger was the Glockenspiel, but instead of the regular tubular brass bells it has chimes made of porcelain.  

Probably the most interesting thing we saw was the 250 meters long ceramic mural depicting the royal history of Dresden.  Because this mural was made from ceramic tiles it survived the firestorm intact.  

Wandering through the Old Town we came upon a promenade along the banks of the Elbe River and decided to sit in the shade and enjoy some ice cream.