Exploring the Neighborhood

Saturday, Aug. 9, 2014--Prague, Czech Republic, to Dresden, Germany

We took the train this morning for Dresden.  It was a brand new rail car that had good air conditioning for a change.  Not only that, but it wasn't crowded.  The train was crowded but our car was a replacement car for one that was out of order, so everyone had crowded into the rest of the train by the time they connected our car.  We each had a window seat with no one sitting beside us.

The train was already delayed by 10 minutes before it arrived in Prague.  With the change of cars so that we would have a working one, we were delayed even more.  Finally, there was some problem with the connection of our car that caused them to make a special stop down the line for an engineer to inspect it.  We arrived in Dresden about 30 minutes late.

Our hotel is the NH Dresden in Neustadt.  It is north of the old town, but it is in a the very interesting part of town call Neustadt that has many young people, artists, "free spirits," etc.  After checking into the room and cooling down for a few moments, we went out for about 4 hours to explore. 

We walked up and down streets of Neustat.  We stopped at Pfunds Molkerei, a very old, elegantly tiled milk bar--store selling cheeses, milk, milk shakes, etc.  It has been called the most beautiful store of its type in the world.  Near it were 3-4 other unique stores taking advantage of the tour buses that stop at the milk bar--a special broom store, a quaint neighborhood market, etc.

After passing the Martin Luther Church which had a free concert last night, but no others until next Friday night, we investigated the Raskolnikoff Restaurant on Bohmische Strasse, a very different, alternative restaurant nearby.  

From there, we went the well-known Durum Kebab House at Rothenburger Strasse 41.  We each ordered a durum kebab.  They are GIANT ones and so fresh.  The flat durum bread was about 35 cm (14 inches) in diamater, and they filled it with shaved meat, fresh tomatoes, fresh onions, sauce, and seasonings.  After being rolled and tucked in at the ends, it was about 15 cm (6 inches) in diameter and about 25 cm (10 inches) in length!!  The quality was outstanding.  The tomatoes tasted as if they were fresh from the garden, and the bread was toasted so that it was slightly crisp and very warm.

After eating, we went to the nearby Kunsthofstrasse, a twisting lane of back alley art shops and restaurants in the connected back yards of various buildings between Gorlitzer Strasse and Alaunstrasse.  The buildings are decorated with various art projects including one that has a funnel/drain system that plays music when it rains. 

Tired from a day of travelling and walking, we went to Alaunpark, a large park filled with many people relaxing and visiting.  Some were playing various games including soccer, American football, frisbee, and a stick-toss game.  Others were drinking and/or eating while sitting on the grass and visiting.  We watched a bottle lady working her way through the crowd collecting their beer bottles so she could return them for the 25 cents Euro deposit each.  We saw a group of four friends playing a game with a soccer ball where each bounced it until they missed and then passed it on to the next player. 

We returned back to the hotel about 20:00.  Tomorrow, we will explore the old town and other areas.