From Prague we headed to Dresden initially for 3 days which then turned into a week. The campground was on the outskirts, only 15 minutes away by bus. We had thought about going to Leipzig, but the temperature soared to 37C so we decided to stay where we were, a grassy shaded area with a pool.
The following day we had a huge thunderstorm. I had walked down to the local supermarket and saw the ominous clouds rolling in quite rapidly as I headed back. Unfortunately I was 100m from shelter (the bus stop outside the campground) when the storm broke. Hail came pelting down then rain so heavy that within 30 seconds there was a river flowing down the road and I looked like I had been swimming fully clothed. Within 5 minutes the storm had passed leaving behind lots of debris.
Dresden's historic area was almost completely wiped out during World War II. This included Frauenkirche ( Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Saxony) built in the 18th century and was rebuilt between 1994 and 2005.
Other famous landmarks include the Zwinger, a palatial complex built in 1709 and reconstructed in 1950s and 1960s,
and the Semperoper.
After the fall of Communism and German reunification the decision was made to restore the Neumarkt to its pre-war look.
We then headed to Berlin. We covered a lot of ground on foot, averaging about 14kms every day. Here are just a few sites
Templehof fields memorial
Templehof fields where the airlifts took place at the end of the 1940s
Anti aircraft placements
On top of the old anti aircraft placements
From Berlin we drove north to Peenemunde, the proving ground for the V1 and V2 missiles, amongst others.
We said goodbye to Germany and headed for Poland and the Baltic coast to resume the trip we had planned last year.
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