This section is dedicated to take away all your "I wish someone had told me that before I went!" experiences. This way, you can spend less time settling in, and more time making new friends in your chosen hostel.
Dresden is visited by many tourists every year due to its controversial past. There has hardly been a major war in the region that did not involve a battle in or around Dresden for the last three or four centuries. Dresden was also heavily attacked during WWII -- it was bombed by the Allied forces and occupied by the Red Army and its center was almost entirely destroyed (its geographical location has caused it to be partially destroyed several times). Nonetheless, many buildings in the city were saved. After WWII, Dresden became a major industrial center in the German Democratic Republic, with the corresponding Communist infrastructure.
That unique combination of old buildings and communist buildings in Dresden was later enhanced by large-scale reconstructions after the Reunification. All that makes Dresden a city with very interesting architecture and its citizens can tell you many interesting stories -- ask your Dresden hostel owners for such stories. Today, Dresden is a pretty city with several nice clubs and many spacious Dresden hostels. There are many things to see and visit such as the Dresden Elbe Valley, the Dresdner Frauenkirche, the Katholische Hofkirche, the Augustus Bridge, the Saxon State Opera, the Militärhistorisches Museum der Bundeswehr, and the Festung Dresden. There are more than thirteen thousand cultural monuments in the city.
Dresden has also good connections by train and bus to the Czech Republic and Prague is just a three-hour trip away. Dresden hostels are very cheap and you can easily find a nice hostel in Dresden in almost all quarters (most Dresden hostels are located in the Altstadt). It is very nice despite its small size, and in December, it has a pretty Christmas Market. Generally, Dresden is a great place to visit for a few days. And, unlike many other German cities, there are great and cheap hostels in Dresden.
Written by local expertz for Dresden
George Traveller
