11 August 2013.
Our last day in Prague. For now. We almost find it hard to believe that we have only been here for just over two days now. It also feels weird that we will be back here in just under three weeks.
Our first plan today is to return to the Church of St James. We knew that there would be an organ recital before their morning service, and because it is considered the best organ in Prague, we figured it should be well worth the visit. It was, although I would have loved to hear more familiar works being played on it.
Our final aim was to get to the station, in order to get ourselves across borders into Germany. But first, Niel wanted to see one more church. The Church of the Lady of the Snows. This church, founded by Charles IV in 1347, was supposed to outshine the St. Vitus Cathedral, but somehow the Hussite war put a stop to that, and it was never finished as intended. Still, today, it looks like it is built on top of the surrounding buildings. It’s quite unique, I think.
It was time to figure out the national railway system. Something we would have been able to accomplish easier, had we bothered to pay more attention in Czech language classes at school…. We were also feeling rather idiotic, having spotted those hungry statues across the road from where we had eaten the previous day! In the end, we managed to get ourselves on a 14h30 train to Dresden, and fell asleep almost immediately after the wheels started rolling. 🙂
Finding our hotel in Dresden was simple. And we are ecstatic. We have a one bedroom flat, with kitchen, entrance hall and lounge area. And once we set foot out onto the street, we are meters away from the Frauenkirche. As I sit and type this, I can hear a beautiful cacophony of sounds floating up from the street. A violinist is playing Ave Maria. The sound of the horses’ hooves on the cobblestones, while eager tourists are being shown the sights of Dresden by horse-drawn carriage. The sounds of a variety of restaurants, greedily feeding the idle. It all spells vacation. And we’re part of it.
We walked around for a while, had a light supper, and decided to call it an early night. Our first impressions of Dresden are mixed. I was initially disappointed at seeing all the modern buildings. And the inside of the Frauenkirche is way too modern, almost. It was only when we remembered a little more about the history of Dresden, that we understood things a little better.
On the night of 13- 14 February 1945, the British and American forces mounted a vast carpet-bombing raid on Dresden. Most of the city’s beautiful buildings were completely destroyed. Flooding in 2002 has renewed efforts to restore Dresden to its former glory. To me, it can never quite be the same. As for the 6865 people who lost their lives during those two frightful days in 1945 – may they rest in peace.
