The second stop on our journey through Germany is the beautiful city of Dresden.
We were lucky enough to stay with our friends Nadja and Nadine, who both study at the university in Dresden.
Dresden is the the most beautiful city I have seen. Despite being torn to shreds by Allied bombings in World War II, the centre of Dresden is a fantastic showcase of art and architecture.
Dresden was the target of one of the most controversial attacks in World War II, in which the historic centre of the most beautiful city in Germany was leveled and burnt by Allied bombs, while the suburbs and military installations of the city were left untouched. The attack took place in the final weeks of the war in Europe.
One of the central buildings of the Dresden 'old town' (altstadt) is the Church of our Lady (Frauenkirche). It was completely destroyed in World War II, and was rebuilt. The dark stones that you see on one side of the church are from the original church, and show what remained of the original structure after the bombing.
The churches in Germany are quite different to those we have seen in England so far - the interior is often very bright, painted white and gold, contrasting with the dark, wood, gothic look of the English churches.
Other great buildings we visited were the Semperoper, which is a famous opera house in Dresden, and the Catholic Court Church and the Zwinger Palace.
Dresden is also home to some of the most fantastic art and treasures, which we saw in the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister and the Grünes Gewölbe. The Gemäldegalerie has on display many famous paintings, including the Sistine Madonna by Raphael, and the Grünes Gewölbe is the the largest collection of treasures in Europe. The Grünes Gewölbe was definitely the most amazing exhibition I have seen.
The old town also has fantastic Christmas markets, so of course we took advantage of glühwein (mulled wine), bratapfel (baked apple) and bratwurst.
We also made it over to the 'new town' (neustadt) which is the newer, funkier side of town. There are heaps of cool little pubs and bars, and we had a really good night out there one night.
