Dresden, 1; the other parts of Germany, 0.

Ich liebe Dresden!

I don't know if it was because Leipzig paled in comparison to Dresden, or that Dresden seemed all shiny and new (after the US bombed the heck out of it back in WWII) or what, but, I had a nearly perfect weekend in Dresden.

First, there's just the sheer beauty of the place.

Hofkirche, the Roman Catholic church of the Dresden court

Luther statue and Frauenkirche

Opera House in Dresden (uh, I didn't go to see Evita there....)

A pretty building in dusky golden light.

The Zwinger, basically the backyard playground of the nobility.

Then there was all this music. There was a really fine organ concert on a very bright-sounding Baroque organ at the Hofkirche. Sometimes a satisfyingly quick 30-minute concert is all you need.

So Dresden began with a quick train ride, a walk down to the Elbe, an organ concert, and sight-gawking. Yay! More in the next post...