Scars

It’s a gloomy day in Praha, so I’m taking this opportunity to hole up with some coffee, my bff and our thoughts on last Sunday’s trip to Dresden, Germany (disclaimer: they’re about as dismal as the weather outside).

Ten of us departed Prague early Sunday morning bound for the capitol of Saxony and what was once one of the cultural, educational, political and economic centers of Germany and Europe. From the second we hopped off the train, it was evident that we had not done our research. We were immediately confronted with an extensive corridor; glassed in strip malls as far as we could see. We wandered toward a tower in the distance that looked more indicative of the old town we’d seen in pictures.

As we got closer to the centre, an eerie feeling fell over us. The whole town was empty and quiet. The main town square was absolutely massive—probably about the size of a football field—but no feet tread on its cobblestones. There was only an odd, crooked light post in the center with an inscription in German a few feet away. Kirstie took a picture and we made a mental note to translate it later.

We kept walking and discovered the buildings and monuments that put Dresden in the travel books. There were some gorgeous cathedrals, an opera house and a palace; but they were all locked against curious travelers.Going in, we knew that Dresden had been bombed during WWII. I suppose I just hadn’t considered the repercussions. I had one moment when it all clicked: the ugly, cold modern architecture juxtaposed harshly with centuries old buildings, the black char that characterizes the older ones, the emptiness, the feeling of complete desertion—WE did this. 

February 13-15, 1945. The United States and England blew Dresden to smithereens. I learned that the off kilter pole in the middle is a memorial to the 25,000 people (mostly civilians) that were killed in the bombing. When the war ended the communist East German government rebuilt the city in the socialist style—hence the cold, characterless buildings that comprise much of this historic city.

Since the reunification of Germany in the early 1990s, some of the beautiful buildings have been restored, and to be fair, the ones that survived are worth the trip to see.

I understand the role the US played in WWII, and of course I fully support our country. But experiencing the loss of humanity and the brokenness of this city first hand sort of rocked my world. I think we were all pretty happy to get back to Prague late that night. We spotted Zizkov tower from a distance and celebrated being back in our sweet city.

Home Sweet Home

Fun Fact: Dresden both invented and named the coffee filter.