Germany Trip 2022 Day 2 (5th June) Berlin (Dresden- Saxony)

We decided to do a day trip to Dresden as we thought that Berlin is not 'European' enough, or at least the parts we explored on the first day was quite cosmopolitan. Anyway, we found out that Berlin was more than that but we were still glad that we decided to take a day trip out to Dresden, it's in the east of Berlin in the Saxony area and it seemed to be a really nice place to visit and to get the European vibes we were looking for. 

Really loved our hotel as the breakfast was great

View of the station from our seats

Cereals and yogurt etc

Hot tea and other drinks were free flow

Pickles and jam

The train ride to Dresden is about two hours and it's kind of pricey since we did not book the tickets in advance. We only got the tickets from the machine since we only decided to make the trip after some research the previous day. 

There were many ticketing machines at the station

We got our tickets 73.40 euro for two pax one way

The weather is quite fine and hotter than expected

As we were a bit jet lagged, we managed to get up quite early for breakfast on our 2nd day in Germany and headed out by 9 plus. The train arrived at 1026am and we were on our way! After a few days of the train rides, we learned how to read the board on top and knew where to stand if we have reserved seats. Though we thought it'll be nice to get first class seats like our Italy trips, train tickets in Germany is generally more expensive and the first class is not as nice as the trains we took when we were in Italy. The second class seats are pretty decent though, like those seats on Japan SKS. The ticket pricing is quite dynamic and got more expensive nearer to the trips so its better to book in advance once trips are confirmed. The price for short day trips to Dresden is considered quite stable but we experienced cases when the ticket prices really went up a lot nearer to the trip. 

The more communist eastern Germany buildings

The walk from the central station to the altstadst centre area was around 20 min, it was just a straight path all the way and other tourists were also heading to the city centre which has a more European look. There were many shops along the way but most of those were closed as it was Sunday. Unlike in SG, shops are mostly closed on Sundays as they value work life balance, but eateries and shops in the big HBF are opened though.

More European style buildings here

Pretty busy altstadt centre, filled with tourists

Fine weather and many tourists

Weather was really fine

The crowded eateries

The area nearer to the river had a very nice view and there were many tourists milling around, enjoying the nice weather and al fresco seating at the eateries. We took lots of photos and unsurprisingly, P started craving for steak again and we looking for a nice place for steak lunch. It was already 3pm when we finally had lunch, the restaurant we chose was Ayers Rock, there were many patrons so the food took some time to come but at least we had a place to rest our tired feet. The steak was not as good as expected and it took us many more tries to realise Germany is not known for steak, but more of pork knuckles and other specialty food. 

I enjoyed the refreshing drink

The very famous mural on the wall (procession of princes)

Us with the princes

Tram service was one of the transport in the city

Us on the old town castle wall

Saw this funny and amazing 'bike' in Berlin and Dresden

The river view attracted many tourists here

We totally enjoyed our day at Dresden

The weather was quite hot and we actually crossed the river and joined many tourists/locals at the other side of the river but it was getting hotter and we had to take breaks. I sat down on the steps and rested my feet with the other tourists whenever I could. The summer days are warm but it's still bright till 9pm so we could have lots of time to do our tours. We took note of the time and knew there was a train back to Berlin at 6.50pm, so we headed back to the HBF by 6pm so we could get tickets for the return trip. There were shops selling drinks and food so we took a break at the station while waiting for the train.

The trip to Dresden took 4hours on the train for a return trip but I thought it was really worthwhile to get out there and take a look at the old town.