Changes

==== Neumarkt and Downtown ====

Dresden is my home town, when I was living as a kid in East Germany. It's still amazing to me what transformation this town has gone through in the last 25 years. When I was 10 years old, most of the downtown area was still in ruins, including the '''Frauenkirche''' right in front of the hotel. Make sure you go inside for a visit, and go to the top of the dome for a look around Dresden. The church is partially reconstructed from existing pieces that came from the rubble, and were reinserted into their original spots. That's why parts of the outside looks like a mosaic. On the way out of the church, you'll notice a crumbled metal cross at the exit. It's the original cross that was found in the rubble. The new cross that is now on top of the church was donated by a gold smith from London. His father had taken part in the air raid. The church was entirely reconstructed out of private donations, the largest donations coming from the US.

The area around the '''Frauenkirche''' is called the '''Neumarkt''' and has some good shops and restaurants. On the southern end is a small alley called '''Muenzgasse''', at the lower end (towards the river) is a bratwurst stand that has some of the best grilled brats that you can find in Germany.

Walk through the gate and back into the old city, and head back towards the church. Along the way is the '''Fuerstenzug''', a 300 ft long mural entirely made of porcelain that shows all the ancestral portraits of the Wettin Dynasty, the ruling family of Saxony in these days. The creator of the mural has a cameo in the procession, it is the last figure depicted.

==== Altmarkt ====