Dresden was almost completely wiped out during the allied bombing of the city in 1945. There is an "historic center" of town, which was renconstructed during the last 50 years. It was about a 20 minute walk from the hotel to visit this part of town. Since I only had one full day in Dresden, I planned mainly just to take photos of the buildings & visit a few of the churches.
I was getting low on Euros, so I looked for an ATM machine. The first one inside a bank did not have an English language option. I then went inside a nearby shopping center & found an ATM machine for Sparkasse bank, one of the largest banks in Germany. Unfortunately when I inserted my card nothing happened, then I pressed cancel & several other buttons, but it wouldn't return my card.
The lady in line behind me told me that they had a branch office a few blocks away. I end up speaking to a young guy at the bank that spoke English, most of the conversation made no sense. I explained what happened then he asks me if I have an account at his bank or another bank in Germany and then he asks to see my passport. I then explain I need my card because I am low on money & leave for Berlin in the morning. He asks if I live in Berlin. Then I say can't someone get my card from the ATM tonight after the mall is closed? Impossible, no one has access, it will be sent back to your bank. Well obviously some person has to take that card from the machine & mail it to the address listed on it, so someone has access.
Luckily this happened towards the end of my trip. I have a second debit card for another account that I could access, but it has 2-3% in fees for foreign transactions versus no fees on my other account. I also have U.S. dollars for an emergency, but you probably lose 6% or more in conversion costs. I found a bank branch of a bank I used numerous times during my trip & was able to get enough Euros to cover the rest of my trip. I was glad to see the card come back out of the machine!!
After doing some sightseeing in the morning & afternoon, I headed out for a run along the river around 5 pm. The paved path along the river was about 8 feet wide with no markings for bikes or pedestrians. It was very crazy, it was rush hour for cyclists coming in all directions. Old people, business people, people in spandex pedaling like it was the Tour de France, & people texting or talking on cell phones. I am glad that I survived that run, I think would have been safer running in the street with cars.
I did find really good place to eat near the hotel. It was a neighborhood bar that served German food & had home brewed beer. I had a huge piece of pork schnitzel & potatoes along with some great home brewed beer for under $20. Dresden was a nice place, very modern & clean (at least it was where I stayed). I have a 2 hour train ride to Berlin the next day at 9:00 am. I bought my tickets ahead of time & saved at least $35. This is the last stop on my trip.
Here are some more photos from Dresden.
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