Dresden - 2/11/2008

Hi there! It is unfortunate that I couldn't update my blog as regularly as I would have loved to. I am currently very busy with my assignment write-ups and project papers. Anyway I guess I would be writing a little bit about Dresden as I have mentioned last week.

We went to Dresden on a day which I was supposed to be celebrating someone's birthday. I hope she loved the roses which I ordered through the internet, which was safely delivered a day before Dresden's trip. Don't worry, I'll bring back lotta goodies for you, ok? :)

The weather was my greatest enemy on that day. Visibility was poor, and my photos turned out crappy. The weird thing is that, my exposures were perfect most of the time and even the preview in the camera looked great. Somehow the results are a little disturbing for my own liking. Yes, I refuse to admit that I'm not good in my photographic skills!!! =D

Five of us went to the trip on our own on that day. We were fortunate to have similar off days. Usually on Sundays, there would be 2 shifts resting, while another 2 more working.

L-R: Chu, Lingam, Fang Fang (in her usual cheeky pose), me and Hizzatt. This photo was taken by a Japanese dude strolling around with his little muse.

Just a little introduction about Dresden. During the olden days, Dresden used to be the royal town for the Electors and Kings of Saxony. Rich with awesomely grand looking ancient architecture, Dresden was controversially bombed by the British Royal Air Force and also United States Army Airforce during World War 2 in 1945. The total number of casualties were estimated to be around 35,000 people, and 90% of the city centre destroyed. I managed to see through the photos from postcards and books in Dresden on the devastation caused to the beautiful city during the bombing. Interestingly, there were quite a number of photos in the books on certain point of the city which shows the bombing aftermath, and the current condition of the specific location. It's a marvel how they managed to restore the conditions of the buildings around the city. Search for 'Dresden' in Google, and read on a chapter on 'Bombing of Dresden' in Wikipedia...

The journey from Leipzig to Dresden by the normal train took about 1 and a half hour. It's just like our good old KTM Komuter. It stops at each stations in between the journey. We took the 7.59am train and reached at about 9.30am. It was a Sunday, and 90% of the shops there were closed.

We wanted the name 'Dresden' to appear in our photo. This was while we were walking to the old Dresden town.

Lingam and me. We're gonna be housemates back in Malaysia! Always trust a 'macha' to look out for you!

The first point of destination was the Zwinger Palace.

There is a wide view of beauty behind the gates of the Zwinger palace..

Can't wait to get my hands on my own PC. I'll Photoshop this shot to be straight and nice!

Zwinger has loads and loads of statues on the walls. Most of the time, naked.

Rows of fountains to be seen within the walls of the Zwinger.

Us posing around a pool inside of the Zwinger..

Achtung!! Boobies alert!!! :D

Outside of Zwinger, we bumped into a group of school girls practicing on their recorder performance. I guess they would be performing a there as well.

I guess I will have to stop posting for tonight. I will continue with a second part of Dresden soon. There's a whole load more for me to show, but the uploading rate of the photos are annoyingly slow, and it's getting to my nerves already. Anyway, do check out the blog regularly. I will try my best to update it at least once in a week. Till then, take care!!