By some act of literary coincidence, Dresden made an appearance in two of the books I read this year: Slaughterhouse Five, by Kurt Vonnegut (finally) and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, by Jonathan Safran Foer.

That, plus a friend’s rave review of the city, and the fact that it was on my way to Berlin–where I’d fly back to the US from–all made it a perfect storm of reasons to visit.

I’m glad I did. Although I didn’t make it to the old site of the slaughterhouse where Vonnegut himself had been held during WWII, I did explore a bit of the city. Over a couple days, I:

• visited the German Hygiene Museum (totally worth a trip, but the downside is that many of the explanations are only in German)
• ate some pretty cheap, legit Turkish food
• went lindy hopping
• saw art, art & more art (although unfortunately a big chunk of the Zwinger was closed when I was there)
• marveled at the world’s largest porcelain piece of artwork
• had coffee & cake at the smallest cafe in Dresden

Out of all of those things, though, I think my favorite was just exploring the city in the snow.

So, for this desert girl, here are some of my favorite snowy pics from Saxony.

 

I can see how this city would be beautiful to visit during warmer months. Hopefully I’ll be able to return someday.