A Year In Lisbon: Berlin -> Dresden -> Prague

May 23 – May 27, 2012

My friend and former office mate at CU Boulder, Michaela, is now at Technische Universität Dresden, Germany. So, of course, we planned a visit. She is working with Roland Deutsch and he was kind enough to ask me to present my work to the group while I was visiting.

Michaela picked me up in Berlin where we went and had a great lunch. I have spent some time in Berlin in the past and still find it to be one of my favorite cities. This was just a weekend trip, however, and was about catching up with Michaela, and seeing Dresden and Prague. Thus, after lunch, we were on our way to Dresden.

Dresden was my first true experience of former Eastern Germany. Dresden is an absolutely stunning city. The architecture, its history and its location on the River Elbe make it a must see. Michaela showed me around the old historical area where much has been restored after the massive destruction of WWII. Many buildings appeared to have been recently cleaned but many of the statues were still sooty. Not sure why though it made for some interesting photos such as the one below.

I love the gold gilded statues everywhere.
They make everything look surreal.

After the tour, we headed to TU so I could meet Michaela's colleagues and give my talk. After the talk we went out to dinner where I thoroughly enjoyed the food and the conversation. Of course, the day would not be complete without visiting a beer garden and that's what we all did to cap off the evening.

The next day I got to see the other side of the river where Michaela lives. There were many great little finds in the streets. The following row of buildings were awesome.

Yes, that is an elaborate copper gutter system.

The next day, Michaela and I were off to Prague. The views of the mountains from the train were spectacular. We then arrived in Prague! Wow! What a beautiful city! ( I have to thank Michaela for booking our hotel, the Red Chair Hotel. It was perfectly situated in town. We could walk everywhere and walk we did!!)

Prague is absolutely beautiful and a dream come true for any fan of architecture. If I had taken the time and had the energy, I'm sure I could have learned a lot about architecture, but alas, I just enjoyed the views.