I've long been curious about the city of Dresden - primarily from its mentioning in the book, Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut (one of my all-time favorites), in which Vonnegut describes his experiences as a POW during WWII.  Vonnegut survived the 1945 bombings of the city, but more than 25,000 folks did not.  The city is littered with images taken post-bombing to provide visual realization of the complete devastation experienced here.

Despite the city being destroyed by 75% during the bombings and then falling under communism until 1989, Dresden has blossomed and recovered beautifully.  It's easily walkable, has stunning Baroque architecture and is just a delight to explore. For some odd reason, it's not overly touristy, making it an even more enticing place to visit. 

 

We stayed at the Art'Otel in Dresden. Perfect location, good rooms. We've stayed in several Art'Otels throughout our years in Europe and they never disappoint.  One of our favorite eating (okay..and drinking) spots in Dresden was along the Munzgasse (a busy touristy street we'd normally shy away from, but this restaurant had some rave reviews, so we went with the suggestions). The name of the place is Las Tapas (http://www.las-tapas.de/) and oooh, it was good. We drank plenty o' Spanish wine and nibbled on numerous tapas for hours, all the while listening to some Spanish musicians.  As if the tapas didn't fill us up (which they did), we still had to try the paella. Best paella I've EVER had (sorry, Dad).  It was deeeelish.  For many of you, it might sound bizarre to go Spanish whilst in Deutschland, but honestly, after 4 years here we have found the some of the best French, Spanish and Italian restaurants around. And one can only endure so much schnitzel.  Viva Las Tapas!!

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