Day 6 in Deutschland, Beautiful Dresden

With a name like Flax, a vegan can presume she’s going to get a good meal. And that is certainly what happened at Flax, the hip all-vegan eatery in beautiful Dresden’s new side of the city– or Dresden-Neustadt.

Driving through the streets of Dresden-Neustadt, we were struck with a different side of Germany. The country that had been neat and tidy–fastidious–was littered with graffiti commentary on its nestled apartment buildings’ walls. An occasional box of free goods sat outside buildings’ doors. Then I saw hipsters. It was like some parts of Brooklyn, sort of. A vegan eatery seemed appropriately placed here, on the new side of town.

After the difficult task of finding parking on the street (just like Brooklyn), we sat down for our lunch. It was a long drive here from Kemnath and a kind and helpful waitress was well-appreciated. She was able to give us an English version of the menu and translated the specials. Then she gave us a complimentary bread plate with a very tasty sun-dried tomato and sunflower seed spread.

American indierock played through the restaurant, matching the posters framed on the wall–The Tindersticks, The Black Keys. It was nice to hear. I drank a refreshing German-made Lipz rhubarb sparkling soda anticipating the arrival of the food.

I ordered savory pancakes with delicious curried vegetables and a side of potatoes and greens drenched in a zesty and creamy sauce I couldn’t place. The presentation was fun and colorful. Having not had a hot vegan meal the previous day, relying only on snacks and packaged foods, I devoured this flavorful plate quickly.

My friend’s plate was just as beautiful, a hearty flax burger with two types of pesto in between glorious wedges of potato. The restaurant also had a good selection of vegan ice creams but we wanted to get to the other side of the city. Dark storm clouds were rolling in–and there was much to see.

On the other side of the Elbe River is the old city, whose ornate Baroque architecture made it the most beautiful city I’ve ever seen. Here is a shot of us crossing the river and approaching the majestic historical buildings. Below are some of the sights that had me mouth ajar and my finger on the shutter.

The Semperoper, an opera house built in 1841–destroyed once in a fire and then again during World War II.

The Katholische Hofkirche, or the The Catholic Church of the Royal Court of Saxony, whose roof is lines with 78 life-size statues of saints. The statues were meant to usher in passers-by into the church.

The spectacular grounds of Zwinger–a Rococo-style palace also destroyed in World War II. There has been a lot of restoration done to the statues surrounding the palace. Inside the palace is a museum.

The gorgeous grounds of Zwinger.

Dresden Castle, built in 1200 but later extended by royals who took residence there during the reign of the Kings of Saxony.

The Fürstenzug, or the Procession of Princes–a mural that depicts the rulers of Saxony.

We had explored most of the histotical sights when a thuderstorm arrived in the area. After such beauty and rich history, I was excited to visit the Lebowski Bar, as in The Dude or El Duderino–a bar dedicated to the Big Lewbowski here in Dresden, Germany. Unfortunately it was Sunday and the bar was closed early. We sat and watched the rain dipping on a glass of wine at a neighboring bar before making our way to dinner.

Dinner was at BrennNessel, a vegetarian eatery back in the Old City.

They have a separate English menu and a separate vegan menu, but not a separate English vegan menu.

I got the gnocchi with arugula, pine nuts and tomato, a delicate hearty bite of deliciousness. Thank you, Dresden, for delicious meals and astonishing views.