Easter 2022: The Monster of the other side of Elbe

Cross over Elbe via the Augustus Bridge, which is one of the oldest Elbe bridges in Saxony, and you will enter Neustadt, the Bohemian district of Dresden:

On the other side of the bridge, the iconic statue of August The Strong will shine some (real) golden light on you:

Augustus was the Elector of Saxony some time ago, and was also called “The Saxon Hercules” due to his enormous physical strength. He could break the horseshoes with his bare hands! He is said to have fathered between 365 – 382 (!) childen, but only 11 of them (of nobelwomen) were recognised.

Walking down the streets of Neustadt, I quickly noticed, that part of Dresden was rather different. There were beggars on the streets – young boys, looking like drug addicts. Everything was more laid back, in a contras to the manicured style of the Dresden old town:

The amount of graffiti was astonishing… Basically every single building had it. I love graffiti when it is art. But in Neustadt most of the time it was terrible. I tried to find some best examples:

I could easily see, I attracted lots of attention from the residents there, because I would often stop and stare at the graffiti or tons of rubbish on the streets. I didn’t feel unsafe, but I was reluctant entering any restaurant or cafe there. There was otherwise an abundance of especially Vietnamese options.

I came to Neustadt to experience several interesting things, so I just continued my way. The first one was Kunsthofpassage, which is a network of artfully decorated courtyards with outdoor cafes, art studios, boutiques, and whimsical architecture. This place is mostly known for the blue building (photo below, right) where the artists created drain and gutter system on its facade. When the rain falls, the system turns into a musical instrument:

Another thing I wanted to see was The Monster mural, a funny creature, representing … a monster?

It was nice to walk through the streets of Neustadt. I actually like this kind of beauty of decay – everything doesn’t have to be perfect (but everything has its limits).

The remains of a small graveyard unexpectedly popped up in-between residential buildings. The sign on its wall said it was an old Jewish graveyard that was established in 1752, and closed down in 1869. At that time there were around 1,000 graves:

Pfund Molkerei (Pfund’s Dairy) was also on my wish list. This place is listed in the Guiness Book of Records as the world’s most beautiful milk shop. On the first floor, there is a restaurant.

I was glad, I made it to the shop – that unique cheerful place lifted my spirits tremendously! All rooms, from floor to ceilling, were covered with hand-painted porcelain tiles!

Every room was decorated differently, it was truly amazing!

In the shop, they still sell dairy products, together with porcelain and other things. I bought some gifts for my friends – special and authentic.

When you leave the dirty, arty and inspiring Neustadt via the same Augustus Bridge (which is only open for trams, bikes, and pedestrians), you might stumble upon this sewer cover which I found noteworthy. It depicts the most famous historical sites of Dresden, and I haven’t seen it in other places:

A friend of mine, Anne Mette, has designed such sewer covers (with a different motiv) for the municipality of Copenhagen. One can see many of them in the old town, and they are very nice. Since Anne Mette told me it was her work, I started paying attention, especially when abroad.

In the old town of Dresden life was as it’s used to be – pleasant people, tidy streets, clean cafes. I got a table in one of them, and enjoyed a coffee with cake in the sun:

In the afternoon, I spent some time in my hotel room, relaxing and looking at new potential places to visit in Germany on my way back home:

And, after seeing so many Vietnamese places in Neustadt, I felt like I needed a good curry for dinner. There was a small Vietnamese restaurant close to my hotel, and it was enjoyable to sit there and do people watching. And the fish curry was excellent!