Trewin News, Dresden, May 2007

The Germans have not forgotten their violent past. 14 years ago, when Richard was here the first time, the Second World War was not a topic of general conversations, or discussed on TV. Now, however, every month there
is a mini-series or program on TV dramatizing the events of the war. Last year a mini-series movie about the fire-bombing of Dresden was broadcast (which we should have watched). But we recently saw the city for the second time, 14 years after our first visit.
Dresden, Florence on the Elbe

The Dresden Frauenkirche, our main reason for going
Dresden, in the former GDR or East Germany, had limited resources for rebuilding its fire-bombed Old City before the Wall fell, so the Frauenkirche (pron. Frowenker-he: Church of our Lady) lay in ruins until then. Its pile of blackened stones were a monument to the destructiveness of war and to the victims of war, especially the victims of the Feb. 1945 fire-bombing. All the years it was a pile of rubble on the ground, the site was encircled by rose bushes. Churches were not high on the restoration priority list of the communist regime in East Germany. The communists used the firebombing as propaganda for demonstrating the violent and aggressive nature of the British and Americans. (The war was practically over when Dresden was firebombed, which makes the firebombing controversial even in the West.)

After 1989, in the rush of joy over reunification, it was at last decided to rebuild the church. It stands again as the highpoint of the city skyline, its clean new sandstone contrasting with the blackened surrounding churches and palaces. Now that I think of it, the old churches and palaces that withstood the attack must still be black from the fires of 1945, not just from the pollution of automobiles and smokestacks. Cleaning is progressing slowly.

The decision to rebuild the Church was controversial. Opponents wanted to leave the ruin as a monument to national reconciliation and the destructiveness of war. In the end the decision to rebuild was based in part on the importance the church has to architecture. That is why it was reconstructed exactly as it was originally, and as much as possible of the original church was reused. The original plans and materials were used, and no modern improvements were incorporated into the design. The effort was enormous. The ruins became a modern archaeological site, with each stone numbered and photographed in its original location and orientation. (14 years ago, we saw rows and rows of stacked pallets with individual stones on them, each stone labeled.) Sophisticated computer models were used to simulate the church's collapse. (The church survived the immediate explosions of the 650,000 firebombs, but the fires reached 1,800 F and the outer walls shattered a couple of days later.) The photo shows one of the original sections, which are dark in color. The altar was only partially damaged, and was restored. Statues got their noses and fingers rebuilt. In order to recreate the doors, mortar, and pigment for paint, such documents as old purchase orders and wedding photographs were used. As in the 18th century, a tremendous amount of eggs was used for the paint. And the British donated a replica of the orb and cross for the top of the church (see top photo), which I think was a very nice gesture. One of the craftsmen who worked on the orb, and who is a son of one of the bomber pilots, said "I think what we have been able to do has had a very considerable healing effect not only for the Dresdeners but also for the British people involved."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/641423.stm

A Renaissance City
We're not talking about the time period, but about Dresden. The city itself is experiencing a rebirth as its former splendor is restored, and controversial modern buildings are being added to the cityscape. Unemployment is still at 15% but it is again becoming a technology center as it was before the war (optics were the high-tech industry then). Investment in the city is on the increase. Since reunification in 1989, Dresden has been on the upswing, but it will take years until the renewal reaches all the areas that need it.
Dresden is one big construction site. Where the reconstruction has not yet reached, not so far from the city center, remain many abandoned buildings with broken windows, sprayed with graffiti. We theorized that before 1989, nobody had easy access to spray paint. One probably needed a permit from the government. Now they do, and the results are all over, some of it quite colorful and attractive.


One of the best City Museums I (Kathy) have ever been to is the Dresden City Museum. Not only does it chronicle the rebuilding of the Frauenkirche in as much detail as one can absorb, with supplemental info for the engineering/restoration-architect crowd, but it had a relevant exhibit on the many new buildings being added, and the many critiques that were published about these projects as they were planned and executed. Daniel Liebeskind dropped one of his crystal spaceships on the Military History museum, and a "deconstructivist" fire escape adorns the end of the Landhaus that houses the City Museum itself. Below is the UFA Palast, a newly built controversy that seems to be a movie theater.Sir Norman Foster's refurbishment of the main train station is more pleasing to the eye. He stretched synthetic fabric over the existing vaulted ironwork of the old station - very graceful. Unfortunately, the new synagogue is a monolithic, almost windowless grey concrete modern building, with even less grace than the new one in Munich (pardon my kvetching, but see our previous post ). See the Wikipedia article link below for some excellent pictures of Dresden "now and then."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dresden
The City Museum includes a thorough but concise story of the city's development, employing actual artefacts. And what I found impressive, visually oriented map-nut that I am, was a computer graphic projected on a 3-D map of the Elbe valley and surrounding plateaus, that traced the influence of geography and development of settlements from prehistoric times to the modern. The narration was excellent (albeit in German, not so accessible for English speakers).

The Germans have not forgotten their violent past. The museum chronicles the war times, and the antisemitic edicts issued with increasing frequency as the war wore on. At one point, Jews were prohibited from buying flowers, patronizing non-Jewish businesses, and speaking to non-Jews. And it just got worse from there, of course.

The splendor of the Saxon rulers
We stood in line for 2 hours to see the 17th and 18th century Grünes Gewölbe (green vault), and it was worth it! I've (Richard) never seen such a collection of gems, precious stones, amber, ivory and gold, even in London (the Crown Jewels, no less), Paris, Rome and America. All of the different materials were made into beautiful display pieces by German craftsmen, except for the many rock crystal pieces, which were crafted in Milan back when the Milanese were the best polishers. The Green Diamond is the largest of its kind in the world, and the several Jewel Garnitures, one set each of diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and emeralds, are the only complete sets in Europe. The Garnitures are the jewels worn by the Saxon princes for formal occasions on buttons, on walking sticks, sword handles and scabbards, and on brooches for the ladies. The Grünes Gewölbe is a treasure vault consisting of 10 rooms. Its treasures were carefully stored during the war and so escaped the bombing. (although the treasures were confiscated by the Soviet army in 1945, but were returned to East Germany in 1958, so at least one good thing came out of the division of Germany.) The security is inconspicuous, except for the double doors with an air lock big enough for 2 people. (We wondered what was going on for those 5 to 10 seconds spent in the air lock.) Because the windows on the street side of the treasury were closed, only minor damage occurred on that side during the firebombs. But a couple rooms facing the courtyard were demolished by the intense heat in the confined space. Again, the restoration was meticulous, including mercury backing for the mirrors on the walls. Kathy saw a documentary on TV about the restoration, in which she saw the precious pieces being lowered into place on their tables and plinths; the paint being matched and restored, the paper-thin gold sheets being reapplied to the moldings, and the mirrors being dipped in a solution of mercury and tin to give them the same soft reflective quality that the old mirrors had. Some paintings of the Saxon princes had to be recreated by copyists based on other known works.


We went to the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister (painting gallery of old masters in the Zwinger palace) for a rare opportunity to see a Vermeer. The paintings were beautiful, of course. So were the paintings by Rubens and Rembrandt. The play of light used by each painter was masterful, and each was unique. Richard found out what it means for a woman to be "Rubenesque". We decided to see some of the first Renaissance paintings north of the Alps (the very first is Nuremberg homeboy Dürer's "Adam and Eve", but you have to go to Spain to see it). So we went to the rooms with Dürer and Cranach the Elder. It was a great chance to see the transition in one man's work from late gothic to early renaissance. It was interesting to see blood veins and tendons in the hands painted for the first time by a master. But the best was yet to come. We trekked to the other end of the museum to see some Renaissance paintings by some of the greatest artists of all time. We marveled at the beauty of Rafael's "Sistine Madonna", and came away with tears in our eyes. Her eyes express peace, sadness, resignation, and compassion, all at the same time. She's holding a toddler-aged Jesus, who also has sad eyes. It is much more beautiful and enigmatic than the Mona Lisa (sorry Leonardo), and pictures don't do it justice. (I don't know why.) Anyway, a picture is included. And, by the way, the famous Putti at the bottom of the scene are cute too. But why the putti made it on postage stamps and not the Madonna, I'll never know.

Once again, the building itself is a work of art. The Zwinger Palace includes one of the old fortress walls of the city, and the Crown gate has a drawbridge over the old moat.


Opera fans all know of the Semper Oper. Many famous premieres were performed here. We just had to see a performance; unfortunately the production at the time was the American opera, Dead Man Walking. The Semper Opera is said to have wonderful acoustics, even better than La Scala in Milan. We were in the very front row, which was a little too close to the orchestra to enjoy the acoustics, and the singing was a little drowned out. But the performance was better than I expected. And the building is beautiful. There is an unusual statue of Dionysus with panthers pulling his chariot at the top of the building . I guess the building is more a monument to celebrations than to the arts.




We went to a cafe afterwards. The apple strudel with vanilla sauce was delicious.

Dresden was not about the food...Guess we didn't go for the food, not having secured a guidebook prior to getting on the train. For once, we didn't spend our time trudging across town to get to some exquisite eatery. But we enjoyed a local delicacy (dessert, of course) and found a funky café in the New City art district. The dessert: Eierschecke (Eye´er sheck e), an eggy but light cake, kind of like a fallen soufflé (recipe included at the end of this post). The café: the Scheune Garten - eclectic eats and funky decor. Weekdays after 4pm get your own drinks from the bar in the courtyard, and order your choice of Indian dishes from the menus on the tables. Mornings a buffet brunch with traditional German cold cuts and rolls, warm vegetarian dishes, spicy cheese fritters, and some Indian rice and chicken. We sat in the colorfully painted courtyard (see pictures below) with fountain which drew all the kids instantly, and a view of a colorfully graffitoed wall on the building opposite.



Nearby was an art district, called Kunsthof Passage, where local artists went crazy with the decorating of several linked courtyards. Each courtyard (Hof) has a different theme, like

• Hof der Fabelwesen (fairytale beings)
• Hof der Metamorphosen (metamorphoses)
• Hof der Elemente (elements)
• Hof des Lichts (light)
• Hof der Tiere (animals)

...Dresden is about the porcelainThe names "Dresden" and "Meissen" are often used interchangeably, even though there is technically a difference. The secret of hard paste porcelain, previously the secret knowledge of the Chinese and Japanese, was reinvented in the city of Dresden. The first porcelain-producing factory was begun fifteen miles away in the city of Meissen, in 1710. However, most Meissen china was sold in Dresden. The Dresden style is typically associated with the blue crown stamp. The famous "Dresden lace," is real lace coated in liquid porcelain and then applied by hand to ceramic figures. The result looks fantastic, but the fragile decoration can be damaged by even a light touch. Hence the need for the signs in the windows of china stores. See the picture below.


Much of the splendor of Dresden was created when August der Starke (English: Frederick Augustus I) was the Elector of Saxony and King of Poland. His name means "August the Strong", a name he got from his great strength; he is said to have broken horse shoes with his bare hands. A statue of him is at the end of the main bridge.

If you are wondering why he is smiling, the rumor is that he had 365 children. That might be another reason that he was called "der Starke".

Back in Erlangen: The Swindle, or a funny thing happened on the way to the library...
As I (Kathy) was wandering down a downtown side street one fine day in April, absorbed in my mental shopping list, I passed a woman walking towards me on the sidewalk. Just as I got past her, she said, "Look! A good luck piece," and picked something up from the ground. I turned and saw she had dark hair and olive skin. She was holding a man's gold ring, "Look, it's 585 gold, worth something --good luck piece. Here, you take it, good luck." Her German was accented, her grammar wasn't correct. I protested, no I don't want it; I wanted to say it should be turned into to the Police, but she insisted. She shook my hand. "Good luck from me to you. Now for luck, give me money for coffee." I fished a 2 Euro coin out of my wallet, handed it to her. "Not enough. Three!" I gave her another Euro. Broad daylight. No one else on the street. I left the ring on the window ledge of the building. I was steamed, mostly at myself for not being able to ward her off. Wonder how many times she pulled that one that day. Didn't see it coming; I am not equipped with big city instincts. Checked later, ring was still there. Such an incident is out of place in Erlangen. Would have expected and been prepared for something like that in Rome, Paris, Cologne.

Unfortunately, there are a few Nazi heirs
The Germans have not forgotten their violent past. The Nazi party is banned. Denying the holocaust is illegal, as is the Swastika and the Nazi salute. (The German police were given cultural-awareness training before the Soccer World Cup last year, so that they wouldn't arrest any inconsiderate foreigners (namely, the Brits) who were unaware of the law.) Unfortunately, though, there are a few Nazi heirs: the radical right National democratic Party of Germany, NPD. They are a minority party, most popular where there is high unemployment. They're against capitalism, foreigners in Germany, and a lot of other things, too. What they do want is to revise history to make the Germans the victims of WWII. As a legitimate party, when they plan a march through a city, they must file a route plan. The opposition turns out in much greater numbers. On the most recent NPD march through Nuremberg, police protection was out of proportion to the couple hundred radical right-wing marchers. The rational Germans who say "Never again" had printed a 100 sq. m banner depicting a pile of concentration-camp corpses and hung it on the buildings in the plaza where the NPD stopped to make its speeches. When they first arrived in the square, they were flustered for a few minutes. The NPD is hated. Their processions are accompanied by numerous police to protect them from the even more numerous opposition, who have on occasion thrown bottles and rocks.
Since I've been here, I've learned that Hitler's regime lasted 12 years, from 1933 to 1945. It was my illusion that he showed up first in 1938 and started his evil deeds then. I guess that was when the events significant to the US WWII war history started happening.

Every school child spends several months learning about Germany's Second World War history. Age-appropriate school visits to former concentration-camp sites are common, where the photographic documentation apparently leaves adults in tears. Formerly, for the post-war generation, there often wasn't enough time left in the curriculum at the end of the school year to cover the 1930's and 1940's. Our German teacher, born in 1952, thought that this might be because the memories of the war times were still fresh in the teachers' minds, and that many had guilt about what they did or felt forced to do during those years.

Other Germans have told me that they felt that Germany was an "observed" country since the end of the war, and that being the object of observation made the people very cautious. (Of course, it was not only the observation that made people cautious.) Thus the avoidance of any hint of nationalistic displays, even of the German black, red, and gold flag. Up until the hosting of the World Soccer Championship last year, that is, when the flag was displayed in patriotic support of the soccer team. The flags of many other countries were also hung from windows, and people wore the colors of their favorite teams from whatever country. So many flags have not since been seen. A former Bundespresident said: Patriotismus ist Liebe zu den Seinen; Nationalismus ist Hass auf die anderen. (Richard von Weiszaecker). That is, Patriotism is love for one's own; Nationalism is hate for the others.
..........
That's the news from Erlangen, where all the pastries are low-fat, all the women are thin, and the gypsies are sneaky.
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Recipe for Dresdner Eierschecke(Eye´-er sheck-e) Dresden Egg Cake
(from The Authentic German Kitchen, Saelzer and Ruschitzka, 2007, aprinta Druck GmbH & Co.KG, Wemding. ISBN 3-8289-1187-0) I apologize for the metric units; I haven't made this recipe myself.

For 20-25 pieces:
For the yeast dough:
400g flour
40g cake yeast (see the Joy of Cooking for a conversion to packet yeast)
1/4 liter lukewarm milk
80g sugar
80g butter
1 pinch salt
1 egg

For the Quark* layer:
1 kg Quark (20% fat)
100g sugar
1 packet vanilla sugar, about 10g (see + below)
2 egg yolks (keep the whites)
1 untreated lemon
a pinch of salt
100g almond slices
50g raisins or currants

For the pudding-egg mixture:
250g butter
100g sugar
1/2-3/4 liter milk
80g vanilla pudding powder (German pudding powder has no sugar)
4 eggs, separated
2 egg whites, from the Quark layer above

Also:
70g butter for greasing the cake sheet and for brushing on the cake
50g sugar

*Quark is a dairy product similar to yogurt but milder, thicker, and with more protein. You could try drained yogurt mixed with a little softened cream cheese, or drained ricotta.
+ Vanilla extract is not used over here (not the real thing, anyway). Instead, sugar with vanillin added, or in which a vanilla bean has been "marinated" for a few days is used.
Note: the finished cake is about 2 inches high. You might have to use (a) baking pan(s) with higher sides. Sorry, I don't know appropriate pan dimensions. Let me know how it goes.

Preparation time: around 2-1/2 hours.
At 25 pieces, 330 calories per piece.

1. For the yeast dough: Sift the flour into a bowl. Make a well in the center and powder the yeast into it. Add half the warm milk and half the sugar. Mix gently. Cover and leave in a warm place for about 20 min.
2. Melt the butter. Mix it with the rest of the milk and sugar, the salt and the beaten egg. Add this mixture to the batter from step 1 above. Beat well with the dough hook of a hand mixer, or your Cuisinart, or Kitchenaid mixer. Let it rest again for a little while.
3. For the Quark layer, mix until foamy the Quark with the sugar, vanilla sugar, egg yolks, some lemon zest, a few squeezes of lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Fold in the sliced almonds.
4. For the pudding mixture, heat the milk with the butter and sugar. Mix the pudding powder in some cold milk and add it to the warm mixture. Heat it until it bubbles (?) and let it cool. Preheat the oven to 175 degC, about 350F.
5. Roll the yeast dough out onto a large buttered baking sheet. Spread the Quark layer over that and sprinkle the raisins/currants over the Quark. Mix 4 egg yolks into the cooled pudding mixture. Beat the egg whites until stiff and fold them carefully into the pudding. Spread this pudding-cream over the Quark layer.
6. Bake the Eierschecke in the oven at moderate heat for about 80 minutes until golden brown -- more gold than brown! While it's still hot, brush it with butter and sprinkle the sugar over it.
7. Enjoy with coffee on a terrace overlooking the Elbe.