There’s one German city that you surely don’t want to miss. While you might be thinking of Berlin or Munich, I’m actually not talking about either one of those wonderful cities. No. I’m talking about the enchanting city of Dresden. In early March, I had the privilege of spending two days in Dresden, Germany.
In this post, I’m going to lay out all the things that Alex from East Coast Contessa and I did during our time in the city. Here you will find all the places we visited and ate at.
Where is Dresden and how do I get there?
Unless you’ve spent some time in Germany, it’s likely that you haven’t heard much about this city. That’s because back when Germany was divided, it was apart of East Germany, It wasn’t exactly open to the outside world. It is located in what is now the free state of Saxony.
However now that travelers can visit, Dresdener’s love to share their city with the world. Everyone we met over our two days there was nice, helpful and excited about their city.
Dresden is only a few hours away from both Berlin and Prague. You can take the train or bus. If you’re on a budget, I would highly recommend the bus. We took a Flixbus from Berlin to Dresden, and the tickets were 9€ each.
On the last day, I had to catch a flight back to Spain out of Berlin. I found a bus that went directly to the airport from Dresden, making catching my flight so much easier. To make travel arrangements, I highly recommend downloading the app Omio. Here you can compare different modes of transport, times and prices.
Day 1: Exploring and Eating
We arrived in the mid afternoon. After checking into our hotel, we decided to check out the city. The cobble stone streets and architecture of Dresden remind me of that of Bruges, Belgium. Our first stop was the Zwinger Palace.
This space can be entered from the street at several different points. Just across the street from the Royal Palace, you can climb up a set of stairs and see the palace grounds from the top.
It is said that Augustus the Strong used this space to host parties and celebrations. It was built between 1710-1735.
Exploring the galleries
After we explored the palace grounds (which are free and open to the public), we decided to explore the Porcelain Gallery. This space, like it’s name might suggest, has all things porcelain. It was so cool to explore!
In this gallery, you can find over 20,000 pieces. It’s truly amazing. According to their website, it all started with August the Strong and his love for all things porcelain.
After our visit here, we made our way across the palace courtyard to the Old Master’s Picture Gallery. This gallery contains all sorts of classic European portraits.
After exploring the museums, we were hungry! So we headed off to eat at quite a nice restaurant!
A traditional dinner from East Saxony
I really like German food. Every time I travel to Germany, I want to drink a nice beer and eat some meat with sauerkraut and potatoes. The Sophienkeller did not disappoint!
Our first impression was the amazing interior design. As we descended into the main dining room and were led to our table, I knew that we were in for quite the treat! After ordering our food, we didn’t spend much time at the table since we were too busy photographing it all (such is the blogger life).
It was so hard to choose my main entree. Our lovely waiter recommended the pork knuckle, so I decided on that. Alex got a turkey schnitzel.
They had a man playing the guitar. He was serenading different tables with classic German folk songs.
Day 2
Our second day started off with an early morning stroll around the city. Whenever Alex and I travel together, we always attempt to wake up early to capture those sunrise shots! While these aren’t exactly from sunrise, the lighting was still pretty great!
After our stroll and shoot, we headed back to the Vienna House for breakfast. You can read more about our Vienna House experience here.
After a hearty breakfast, we headed out to explore Dresden! We had tickets to this hop-on hop-off bus called the Stadtrundfahrt. This bus includes 22 different spots. The bus driver gives the tour in German, however other languages are available on headsets.
The Pfunds Milkery
One spot you don’t want to miss is this famous milkery. This famous space dates back to the late 1800’s. According to their website, Paul Gustav Leander Pfund wanted to create a space where people could get quality and clean milk. So he established this milkery.
Also a quick note: the milk is not self-serve. I learned this the hard way. It looks like you can help yourself, but there’s a sign I missed that says it’s not self-serve. So don’t make the dumb mistake that I did.
The Royal Palace and Opera
After a quick bite to eat in the city center, we walked over to the Royal Palace. This space was once a castle. It is now used as a museum space.
The Dresden Opera House
The Semperoper (opera house) was probably my favorite part of our two days in Dresden, Germany. This historical building dates all the way back to 1667. The space went through many different changes. It sat vacant from 1945 to 1985 when it was reopened to the public!
Where to stay
As mentioned above, we stayed at the Vienna House. If you’re looking for somewhere cozy and in the center, this hotel could not have been more perfect. I have a full blog post about it: Vienna House: A Dresden Historic Center Hotel.
If you’re looking for something a bit more budget-friendly, Lollis Homestay is a hostel across the river in the trendy new part of town. I stayed there for a night several summers ago.
Have you traveled to Germany? Would you like to visit Dresden?
Thank you to Dresden Marketing for sponsoring our trip. All opinions are my own.
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