Dresden Christmas Market
Last Sunday, on December 4, I went to Dresden with my parents. There was this amazing deal on internet to go visit the Dresden christmas market for about 10 Euros a person, it would be shame to not go. My dad has never been in Dresden before so I bought the trip as a birthday present for him.
It´s well known fact that Dresden is crowded by czech people every christmas. It´s very close to our border and the stuff in shops is actually cheaper. So it wasn´t a very big surprise to see that MANY people took on the cheap offer. We were leaving at 7am from Prague central bus station Florenc. 7 buses and 3 of them were doubledeckres. Eek. Like a freaking caravan in a desert.lol
I was little afraid of what services we would get for that little money but everything was surprisingly ok. Modern buses, guide and even our fellow travelers were classy and not „cheap“.
The trip to Dresden was without problems and we arrived there at 10am. Our guide was telling us about the city history one the way. It was hardly my first trip to Dresden but I actually learned something new, too. We drove through the center for a bit before the bus parked behind the Zwinger gallery. From there we walked through the historical center, through the Zwinger, along the Samper Opera House, Brühlsche Terase, pass the Frauenkirche and to the Altmarkt where the oldest christmas market in Germany is. Unfortunately it was raining on and off. We met Ele at the corner of the Market and she stayed with us and guided us for the rest of the day. It was time to hit the christmas market but it started to rain heavily so we decided to postpone it and went to search for some Cafe to hide and warm up. My favorite Cafe was full so we ended up in the restaurant in the Mall. Not that romantic but at least we were dry.In Dresden (and the whole Germany) it´s allowed for the shops to be open on Sunday only twice a year and luckily it was this very Sunday when the shops were open so when we were done with our coffees and punches, we parted our ways for hour and half and went shopping. I and Ele only had time to visit 2 shops but even then I spent more money than I wanted. Bought two sweaters. By the time we met with my parents again it stopped raining and so we finally went to stroll through the christmas market. We were pretty hungry at that point so we searched for the food stands first. Classy. We all ended up eating a half meter long sausage each. Uh, so much meat. And, of course, I had to have the strawberries on the stick dipped in chocolate. Yummy. We walked around the market some more, bought some ornaments and tried to not lost my dad, more or less successfully.
Then we went to visit inside of the Frauenkirche, the dominant of the town. I can´t help it but the church looks like a wedding cake from inside.:) They were playing some music on the organ every 15min so we sat down and listened, happy to be resting for a while. When the music stopped we went to the christmas market right next to the church and I had my mandatory hot wine. We still had a little bit time so we went to C&A and spent some more money and then we were lucky to get free seats in my favorite previously mentioned cafe where we spent last minutes of our time in Dresden. We left the town at 6pm and I fell asleep on the bus almost immediately and woke up when we were almost in Prague.
My dad liked the trip so I was glad. My mom was in Dresden 20 years ago and said that she wouldn´t even recognize it. I visited the christmas market last year and I´m heading back to Dresden for the New Year´s eve again.
It´s well known fact that Dresden is crowded by czech people every christmas. It´s very close to our border and the stuff in shops is actually cheaper. So it wasn´t a very big surprise to see that MANY people took on the cheap offer. We were leaving at 7am from Prague central bus station Florenc. 7 buses and 3 of them were doubledeckres. Eek. Like a freaking caravan in a desert.lol
I was little afraid of what services we would get for that little money but everything was surprisingly ok. Modern buses, guide and even our fellow travelers were classy and not „cheap“.
The trip to Dresden was without problems and we arrived there at 10am. Our guide was telling us about the city history one the way. It was hardly my first trip to Dresden but I actually learned something new, too. We drove through the center for a bit before the bus parked behind the Zwinger gallery. From there we walked through the historical center, through the Zwinger, along the Samper Opera House, Brühlsche Terase, pass the Frauenkirche and to the Altmarkt where the oldest christmas market in Germany is. Unfortunately it was raining on and off. We met Ele at the corner of the Market and she stayed with us and guided us for the rest of the day. It was time to hit the christmas market but it started to rain heavily so we decided to postpone it and went to search for some Cafe to hide and warm up. My favorite Cafe was full so we ended up in the restaurant in the Mall. Not that romantic but at least we were dry.In Dresden (and the whole Germany) it´s allowed for the shops to be open on Sunday only twice a year and luckily it was this very Sunday when the shops were open so when we were done with our coffees and punches, we parted our ways for hour and half and went shopping. I and Ele only had time to visit 2 shops but even then I spent more money than I wanted. Bought two sweaters. By the time we met with my parents again it stopped raining and so we finally went to stroll through the christmas market. We were pretty hungry at that point so we searched for the food stands first. Classy. We all ended up eating a half meter long sausage each. Uh, so much meat. And, of course, I had to have the strawberries on the stick dipped in chocolate. Yummy. We walked around the market some more, bought some ornaments and tried to not lost my dad, more or less successfully.
Then we went to visit inside of the Frauenkirche, the dominant of the town. I can´t help it but the church looks like a wedding cake from inside.:) They were playing some music on the organ every 15min so we sat down and listened, happy to be resting for a while. When the music stopped we went to the christmas market right next to the church and I had my mandatory hot wine. We still had a little bit time so we went to C&A and spent some more money and then we were lucky to get free seats in my favorite previously mentioned cafe where we spent last minutes of our time in Dresden. We left the town at 6pm and I fell asleep on the bus almost immediately and woke up when we were almost in Prague.
My dad liked the trip so I was glad. My mom was in Dresden 20 years ago and said that she wouldn´t even recognize it. I visited the christmas market last year and I´m heading back to Dresden for the New Year´s eve again.