Tag Archives: grünes gewölbe

Cycling in Germany #7 – Dresden: Accommodation & Car Trouble and Baroque Treasure

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The idea is to go to the Tourist Office in Dresden to find a hotel. I’ve already done some research and there doesn’t seem to be much on offer in the old town apart from the Hilton and a couple of Ibis Hotels. I’ve seen something called Aparthotels on booking.com, a bargain at 58 euro, but there is no indication of parking possibilities, so Jean Michel thinks it will be better to check it out first.

Neumarkt Platz
Neumarkt Platz

We get to Dresden about 11 am. After parking the car in an underground parking lot, we head for Neumarkt Platz and the Tourist Office. I see the sign for Aparthotels so we go in to inquire. The only thing left is a suite at 95 euro so we decide to take it. The very helpful girl at the desk who speaks excellent English tells us there is above-ground parking at 3 euro per 24 hours about 5 minutes walk away. We get the car and drop off our luggage and she says she’ll send an SMS when the room is ready. That’s what I call service!

Our suite in Aparthotel Am Schloss, taken from the brochure because I forgot to take a photo myself!
Our suite in Aparthotel Am Schloss, taken from the brochure because I forgot to take a photo myself!

Well, when we see our suite, we are pretty amazed. Enormous, stylish, with two large rooms, a kitchen with dishwasher on one wall, large comfortable sofa, table and chairs, desk, two TVS (not that we ever watch TV) and a bathroom with a washing machine!

Sunset over the Elbe
Sunset over the Elbe

It is not until about 11 pm that we start looking at next day’s accommodation in the vicinity of Meissen. I find what looks like a great hotel but it’s not available until the day after. Why don’t we stay another night in Dresden? We’d like to see the famous baroque treasure  in the Grünes Gewölbe museum. We check booking.com and there is one apartment at 58 euro left in other Aparthotel on Münzgasse next to Ayers Rock on the other side of the Frauenkirche. We take it.

Our luggage trolley
Our luggage trolley

It’s next morning and we go down to see the friendly girl on the desk just in case there is a room available our own Am Schloss Aparthotel. No, there isn’t but she checks our Münzgasse booking and tells us we’ve been upgraded to a suite. We pack up and put all our luggage on the neat luggage trolley and I wait and chat with the girl on the desk while Jean Michel goes to get the car.

The breakdown truck - German only
The breakdown truck – German only

My phone rings. “On a des problèmes”, says Jean Michel. The battery’s flat. We later discover he had left a light on inside the car. Good thing it wasn’t me! He phones our travel insurance and they send us a breakdown truck. We then go to Renault because Jean Michel thinks we should change the battery. I know who’s going to have to communicate and am dreading it. Also it’s nearly midday. I bet they close for lunch. “Guten tag”, I say, “Do you speak English?” “Moment”, replies the man and off he goes.

PIcnic view
PIcnic view

He comes back with Julia whom I instantly take a liking to. She speaks real English having worked for six months in a garage in Brisbane of all places. She is our life saver. By 1.30, the battery and one of the injection coils (imagine having to converse about that in German) have been changed, we’ve been to the local supermarket on foot to top up supplies and had a picnic on the Elbe at Julia’s suggestion. Our new room is waiting for us. The repairs were even cheaper than they would have been in France.

Our Aparthotel suitel in Münzgasse
Our Aparthotel suite in Münzgasse

Our next apartment does not have the same chic as the first one, but it’s still very nice. We have a separate kitchen, bathroom (with washing machine but a bath and not a proper shower), hallway, living room and bedroom, all with absolutely stunning views of Neumarkt Platz. All for 58 euro! I put on a load of washing (what luxury!) and ask for a clothes horse, ironing board and iron to be sent up. That’s domesticity for you.

The view from our room at Aparthotel Münzgasse
The view from our room at Aparthotel Münzgasse

Then we go off to do something more interesting. Sun and rain alternate so we take some brighter photos on the way.

The Pretiosensaal in the Historisches Grünes Gewölbe
The Pretiosensaal in the Historisches Grünes Gewölbe

I used to be an avid museum goer but an ongoing foot problem that occurred about 8 years ago has made me very selective. Our choice goes to the Grünes Gewölbe historical museum which contains over 2,000 masterpieces made of gold and silver, amber and ivory displayed in eight beautifully decorated rooms. No photos allowed so I’ve taken one of our travel diary.

The Dresden Opera House
The Dresden Opera House

The sun’s out again so we go back to the Zwinger gardens to take some more photos but they are so crowded with groups that we don’t bother. On the other side, we discover the Opera House and visit the very plain interior of the Catholic Cathedral, badly bombed during the war.

Cathedral
Cathedral

It suddenly starts raining so we head home for a cup of tea. I realise that I haven’t received confirmation on hotelinfo.com for our next hotel booking. I try to ring the hotel but am stumped by the recorded message in German. I find a toll free number for hotelinfo.com and am told there is no reservation. I make another one, which is now confirmed. Ouf! Our next stop is only 45 minutes away so we’ll be able to have a full day of cycling – weather permitting!

Our personal concert
Our personal concert

In the meantime we have an excellent quartet just outside our window.

Aparthotels, www.aparthotels-frauenkirche.de, info@aparthotels-frauenkirche.de
 

OTHER POSTS ABOUT CYCLING IN GERMANY

Cycling in Germany – Tips & Tricks
Cycling in Germany #1 – Kobern-Gondorf on the Moselle
Cycling in Germany #2 – Rhine from Saint Goar to Lorch
Cycling in Germany #3 – Cochem to Zell on the Moselle
Cycling in Germany #4 – Koblenz where the Moselle meets the Rhine
Cycling in Germany #5 – Bad Schaugen to Pirna along the Elbe
Cycling in Germany #6 – Bastei Rocks, Honigen and over the border to Czech Republic 
Cycling in Germany #7 – Dresden: accommodation & car trouble and Baroque Treasure  
Cycling in Germany #8 – Dresden Neustadt: Kunsthof Passage, Pfund’s Molkerei, a broom shop & trompe l’oeil
Cycling in Germany #9 – Country roads around Niderlommatzsch on the Elbe
Cycling in Germany #10 – Meissen on the Elbe
Cycling in Germany #11 – Martin Luther Country: Torgau on the Elbe
Cycling in Germany #12 – Martin Luther Country: Wittenberg on the Elbe
Cycling in Germany #13 – Wörlitz Gardens and the beginning of neo-classicism in Germany
Cycling in Germany #14 – Shades of Gaudi on the Elbe: Hundertwasser
Cycling in Germany – Turgermünde, the prettiest village on the Elbe
Cycling in Germany #16 – Celle & Bremen
Cycling in Germany #17 – Windmills & Dykes
Cycling in Germany #18 – Painted façades from Hann. Münden to Höxter
Cycling in Germany #19 – Bernkastel on the Moselle: a hidden treasure
Cycling in Germany #20 – Trier & the Binoculars Scare
 
Cycling along the Danube – A Renaissance festival in Neuburg, Bavaria
Cycling along the Danube – Watch out for trains!
Cycling along the Danube – Regensburg & Altmuhle
Cycling along the Danube –  The Weltenburg Narrows
Cycling along the Danube – from its source to Ehingen
Cycling along the Danube – Ehingen to Ulm
Cycling along the Danube – Singmarigen to Beuron
Cycling along the Danube – Binzwangen to Mengen including  Zwiefalten
Eurovelo 6 – Cycling around Lake Constance
Eurovelo 6 – Moos to Stein am Rhein and Steckborn on Lake Constance
Heading home to France after a month’s cycling holiday
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