Home.

The suitcases are unpacked and put away. What’s next?

Hello ~ I’m Scott and welcome to your 5-minute vacation for August 23rd. I share these snippets of our travels in the hope that my photos and stories will allow you to go on a vicarious vacation and “get away from it all,” if only for a moment. I appreciate you inviting me into your inbox today.

The previous 5-Minute Vacation is here if you missed it.

And also: I’m getting the “this post is too long for email” warning, so you might want to read this on the web.

---

I was fortunate to have warm, sunny days during my visit. The Elbe, the Augustus Bridge, and Dresden Cathedral in the early morning light.

Hello, Friend ~

I’m writing this during August in the Texas Hill Country, which means it’s sunny and hot. Thank goodness for air conditioning.

Last month, we checked two major tasks off our to-do list: signing the contract to install solar panels on the roof and moving over 10 cubic yards of soil (I never dreamed we’d learn to drive a Bobcat skid loader) into the backyard to finish the back porch terrace. Now, it feels like our home is “done.”

Of course, I know that we’ll never be “done.” For example, the aforementioned terrace still needs a lot of work. Maybe it’s more accurate to say that it feels like we’ve concluded the “home building chapter” of our lives and can begin the next chapter.

Speaking of concluding “chapters”…

We left Europe over a year and a half ago. It’s time, perhaps way past time, to conclude our “Spirited Travelers” chapter. Over the next couple of posts, I’ll wrap up Spirited Travelers by reflecting on why we moved, what we thought would happen, what did happen, some lessons learned, some favorite memories, and what’s next.

Speaking of favorite memories…

One of my favorite memories is my visit to Dresden in August 2023. We’d been there twice before, but I wanted to revisit this city ~ its art, waterfront, old town, and history ~ once more before we left Germany. For today’s 5-Minute Vacation, please join me on a walk down memory lane in Dresden.

Art is a very good reason to visit Dresden. Left: “Portrait of a Gentleman,” 1518, by Paolo Cavazzola, in the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister. Right: “Self-Portrait,” 1923, by Oskar Kokoschka, in the Galerie Neue Meister. All Rights reserved to the respective institutions.

We first visited Dresden in 2002 to see art, specifically the art in the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister (Old Masters Gallery). This time, I returned to that museum (I can’t pass up a chance to see my old friends Rembrandt, Raphael, Vermeer, and Caneletto!) and I visited the Albertinum, home to the Galerie Neue Meister (New Masters Gallery)¹. The two museums, barely a half mile apart along the River Elbe, together hold masterpieces spanning the 15th to the 20th centuries. These two institutions themselves are enough of a reason to visit Dresden.

I did a lot of walking and always smiled when I saw Dresden’s playful “walk” signals.

The left bank of the Elbe at Dresden features Brühl’s Terrace, once known as “The Balcony of Europe,” plus a handful of ships that offer river cruises.

The opposite bank is undeveloped. It’s a prime spot for picnicking, hanging with friends, or just wading in the summer heat.

I was fortunate to have warm, sunny days during my visit. This garden on Brühl’s Terrace offered relief from the midday sun.

Leaving Brühl’s Terrace and wandering into the old town in the direction of the Frauenkirche, you might pass by these two colossi guarding the Georgentor.

At street level, you’ll be lucky to enjoy a song or two from one of the accomplished street musicians.

Looking up, you’ll see the many decorations gracing the Renaissance/Baroque buildings.

The narrow roads will lead you to the Neuemarkt, which is usually busy with (other) tourists, buskers, and restaurants.

The early morning, when the Neuemarkt is almost empty, is the best time to see the reconstructed Frauenkirche.

It’s quite a change from 1958, when only the statue of Martin Luther had been restored. Credits at the end.

The view from my comfortable hotel room. Most of the city has been rebuilt as a modern city.

We’ll finish our stroll down memory lane here, at the equestrian statue of King Johann of Saxony and the Dresden Cathedral. Thanks for joining me.

Until next time,

Tschüss!

Photo credit: Dresden, Luther-Denkmal, Ruine der Frauenkirche, November 1958, from Wikimedia by consent of the German Federal Archives. Accession number: Bild 183-60015-0002. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Germany license. Attribution: Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-60015-0002 / Giso Löwe / CC-BY-SA 3.0

1. The Galerie Neue Meister contains works by Caspar David Friedrich, Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Vincent van Gogh, Max Liebermann, Edvard Munch, Otto Dix, Gerhard Richter, and Paul Gauguin, among others.