Hotel breakfast was decent and we checked out in the early morning for our long drive to Dresden. It was a bright sunny day with clear blue skies and warm sunshine. So different from our first day in Germany. The drive to Dresden was nice, accompanied by music from our tour leader's sound track. Watching the large fields as we zip along the highway was amazing. I love long drives and sunshine.
Reached Dresden in time for our pork knuckle lunch at Loewe which was a cozy little restaurant in a glasshouse. The pork knuckle was not bad but too big for my small Asian appetite. Ended the meal with a mug of beer before heading out to explore the small Christmas market beside Loewe. We were given some time to shop around the Christmas market on our own before returning to the bus for our ride to the old town in Dresden.
There is something about blue skies and bare branches in winter that makes me incredibly happy.
The old town of Dresden beside the Elbe River was so so beautiful. The opera house, the Zwinger (former execution grounds in the palace which was also where I lost my lens cap), and the Saxony Wall which showed the rise and fall of the kingdom. The architecture was truly amazing.
We were given some time to walk around and explore the old town. Eva (our tour leader) gave us some suggestions about the places to go in the area and we wandered off in the direction of the shopping mall. Alt Markt-Galerie Dresden was an indoor shopping mall where we ended up doing a bit of shopping and, most importantly, using the toilet. Had to pay to use the toilet (we learnt over the next couple of days that we had to pay to use the toilet almost everywhere in Eastern Europe) but the toilet was clean and well-maintained so that was good.
We wandered off to the Christmas market beside the shopping mall and walked around a little. The feeling of Christmas in the air was so magical and electrifying. We bought a bratwurst and enjoyed the warm sausage as we made our way back to the coach at the allocated time.
Dresden was such a charming place. So glad there was a stop in this town because I doubt I would have visited Dresden on my own.
After a long drive and a stop at Macs (where everybody hopped off the bus to use the toilet and grab some snacks), we arrived at Clarion Congress Hotel Prague where everybody had a buffet dinner at the hotel's restaurant. The buffet was so disappointing though. The selection was extremely limited and, because there were two tour groups queuing for dinner at the same restaurant, we had to wait forever before it was our turn. We finished dinner quickly and visited the shopping center which was located beside the hotel. The supermarket Billa was well-stocked and the Marks & Spencer had such great prices so we bought a bunch of stuff and went back to rest.
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