Dresden

I was surprised by the beauty of Dresden.  The large buildings and churches that look so attractive are reconstructions completed mostly in the past 20+ years.  The result is a pleasant looking city on the beautiful river Elba that has the stature of the 19th century and the conveniences and freshness of a 20th C. city.  But if you look back at old photos of Dresden - and Leipzig - you will see that for the most part, the grand open plazas are not the pattern in which the old cities lived.  Those gaps are mainly urban renewal caused by WWII.
There are many nice buildings, but my interest this time was the Semperoper - shown in the top photo.  It is a large building in the style that is what most people think of as a traditional opera house.  It is attractive on the outside and comfortable on the inside.  I saw La Boheme there and it was as good as any opera company in the world.  The audience was nearly feral over it and I don't recall any performance anywhere, where I have witnessed more curtain calls.

One of the most dominant features in Dresden is a mural 30' x 300'.  It was originally painted around 1589, but the dampness from the nearby river and other problems caused it to deteriorate.  Over time, several repairs and solutions were attempted until finally the Meissen porcelain company suggested that it make the mural in small tiles.  This worked well, and less than 700 were damaged in WWII.
The title of the work is "Procession of Dukes," and shows all the dukes that ruled in the palace (this is on the exterior wall of the palace).  Some were not terribly distinguished although one is said to have sired 300 children.  No, I did not notice Arnold Schwartzenegger's portrait there.
One of the great pleasures of Dresden, was the Staatliche Kunst Sammlungen - the great art museum.  I had read a good deal of specific Euro histories and wars this past winter.  I was surprised at the looting by Napoleon of the lands he invaded.  He hauled back to Paris just about anything that could be transported.  But he showed a particular interest in art and relieved individuals, cities and nations of vast amounts of sculpture and paintings.  Then the Russians and allies came along and were not shy about their gratis shopping habits.  Some of the treasures were adequately hidden to evade looters.  But this collection and others I saw are so immense, and thorough in breadth and depth, that I think there must have been a lot of negotiations which resulted in the return of many collections (but I doubt that happened with the French and Napoleon).
The Dresden museum has the slightly quirky asset that some director liked sculpture and went crazy buying it.  As a result, there is so much of it that busts are shown on racks like a fancy Price Club.  But the painting collection is amazing.  There are so many major artists and works that it is overwhelming.  Additionally, there is one room of Caspar David Friedrich's work, which we usually see only one of - if any at all - in collections.  He was a local artist, so it is natural for them to feature his work.  It is kind of mysterious - look it up on Google.
While I was on this trip, it seemed that China was spoiling for a war to show its new prowess.  I think every Chinese ought to be given a copy of the Otto Dix painting - in five panels - entitled "War."  It reminds all of WWI, and I think it is an even more powerful anti-war statement than Picasso's "Guernica."  It is simultaneously horrifying and yet the message and images are perfectly painted.  You can also see this on Google images.
There is a bronze Degas (ballet) Dancer statue in the same room that I did not know existed.  Oddly, this incredibly beautiful dancer about 3' tall has a tulle dress on over the bronze.  As you would imagine, the tulle is pretty dirty and worn and is an odd combination of a delicate material against a nearly indestructible one.  I so wanted a photo of that statue, but the guard absolutely forbid it and said to buy a postcard of it in the gift shop.
I really liked Dresden, and like all my stops on the whole trip, the food was wonderful there.