It was a pretty rough old night at the Louise 20 Hostel. It was a full house of young tourists who were very noisy through the night. We should expect it although it is never pleasant when you have had a long day on the bike. There must have been plenty of partying and drinking because one of them was violently ill outside our door which was near the men's bathroom. Oh the joys of staying at these cheap inner city Hostels! Our room however was fine, and at least everything was neat and clean.
We had to say goodbye to Sarah-Jane who left us this morning to return home to London. She stayed as long as she could in bed, before quickly dressing, packing her bike and then cycling off to the train station to get to the airport. We have really enjoyed our three weeks together, and will miss SJ's leadership of the pack! We then enjoyed the most superb breakfast at the Hostel. Despite everything said about these hostels, the breakfast was by far the best breakfast of our entire tour! Sadly because of SJ's early departure, she missed the breakfast of a lifetime!
Julie and I had a free day to spend exploring Dresden as best we could. It was a cold and wet day, but at least it wasn't raining very hard. We had previously only booked in for one night at the Hostel, and now needed to extend. The Hostel was booked out, so we had to check out, leaving our bikes and gear at the Hostel while we found a Hotel for tonight.
In the meantime, we set out for the old town of Dresden across the River Elbe. Dresden is built on the large bend in the River Elbe. The original old town started on the left bank, but linked to the 'new town' by the historic sandstone Augustusbrucke (bridge). On the way to the bridge, we passed through the middle of the new town and down through the Neustadter Marketplatz that is closed to traffic, but which leads to the grand statue of August the Strong from 17th century and which then opens out to the Augustsbrucke.
The old town or 'Altstadt' is the site of some of the grandest old buildings of Dresden. The Dresden Palace, the Catholic Cathedral, the Opera House and the centrepiece of Dresden architectural wonders - the beautiful Frauenkircke (Church of our Lady) with its magnificent dome and tower belfry that stands aloft the city from all directions. The 'Alstadt' is the original historical centre of Dresden. The beautiful Frauenkircke was built in the early 18th century under Augustus the Strong. It replaced its 14th century predecessor on the same site, but was much more grand. The stone dome was an unprecendented architectural achievement, with its stone bell tower on top. It stood for over 200 years, withstanding all the wars including cannon balls bouncing off the magnificent dome. It dominated the skyline for centuries and was a focus for the vision of Dresden as the 'Florence of the Elbe'.
In February 1945, just weeks before the end of WW2, Allied bombers wreaked havoc on Dresden. Over 35,000 locals were killed, and a 15 square kilometre area of the city centre was virtually completely destroyed. A firestorm was unleashed on Dresden, and for several days it seemed that the beautiful Frauenkircke would escape destruction. However, after two days and temperatures exceeding 1,000 degrees Cencius inside the church, the stone bell collapsed to the horror of locals, and with it the great symble of Dresden was reduced to rubble as a result. The centre of the city and its beautifully historic buildings laid in ruins.
Dresden, being in east Germany, came under the Communist regime of the USSR. Although some rebuilding was done under the communist regime, the great Frauenkircke remained a pile of rubble until the Communists lost their grip on east Germany and Dresden in partuclar. The once beautiful Cathedral that had lain in ruins for 45 years was reconstructed, using as much of the original materials found on the site, and to its original glory in every finer piece of perfection. This was basically the reason why we wanted to visit Dresden. We walked inside the now fully restored Frauenkircke and were just amazed by the sheer beauty and detail of the now restored Church with its grand dome and bell tower.
The old city is still in the process of reconsruction, but much has been completed and what we discovered was very much like the Dresden 'Alstadt' of old before the devastations of the damage of the 1945 bombing raids. The Dresden Palace and the Catholic Cathedral have all been part of the restoration program.
This photo is the entry into the old town which is part of Bruhl's Terrace. We loved the horse and the golden carriage!
One of the towers of the Dresden Palace. We didn't explore the Palace given the time available. We were interested in the Frauenkircke and then ultimately finding a hotel for the night.
This is the Frauenkircke with its magnificent dome, looking out into the old town square. Notice the lovely 'old' buildings surrounding - they are all new but built on the original patterns prior to the WW2 destruction of the old town.
Every possible block and stone from the rubble was salvaged, computer imaged and stored in massive warehouses, and were as much as possible used in their original position in the reconstruction. We were not allowed photos inside the Frauenkircke, but these photos of the finished product of the Altar and interior, and the dome and roof were taken from the 'net'. We sat inside the Cathedral utterly amazed and speechless at the spectacular vision of this most beautiful restoration.
I could hear the most beautiful baritone singing above the noise of the crowd of people as we approached the city square outside the Frauenkircke. This former Cossack was singing one of the great hymns of the church. It was wonderful especially in this setting. It was great to meet him. He said he is a 'belle Russian' (white Russian). He spoke reasonable English, but I preferred him to keep singing. I bought the CD - a male voice group all Cosacks, all in Russian!
This was our final vision as we headed back to the 'Neustadt' across the beautiful old Augustusbrucke, and also to find a room for the night.
It was a great day of recovery and reflection as we wandered the wet streets of the old town in Dresden. Words cannot capture the immense impact of the sight of the restored Frauenkircke. Sitting inside the church, it was as if the bombing had never happened. It had been restored in every minute detail to what it was before the bombing, as if it had never been bombed. The old town market place, the Dresden Palace and the old township are all in a near state of completion to that which it was prior to the events of 1945.
As we walked away, we reflected on the powerful symbolism of the restoration of the Frauenkircke. This is what God promises to do in our lives when we hand him our fractured lives and broken pieces. St Paul, writing to the church at Corinth said "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he (she) is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come. All this is from God...." (2 Corinthians 5:17)
As we rest tonight in the Park Inn Hotel, overlooking the beautiful Elbe River and the magnificent Dome of Frauenkircke, the Church of our Lady, we rest in the assurance that God can put the broken pieces of our lives together again and restore us even into the image of his son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Tomorrow we leave Dresden and begin a two day journey to Wittenburg, planning to overnight at the beautiful Elbe River village of Belgern.
With love from us.....Kelvin and Julie
No comments:
Post a Comment