I visited Dresden on the European Sleeper – right here’s why you need to attempt it this winter.
DJs play thumping units inside tiny taco joints because the fruity odor of shisha drifts previous Turkish barbers and classy crowds collect outdoors arthouse cinemas.
Throughout the Elbe river, Dresden’s New City has a very totally different environment to its historic core.
Because of a brand new evening practice connection, this Bohemian east German enclave has by no means been extra accessible.
Launched earlier this 12 months, the Good Night time Prepare by Belgian-Dutch start-up European Sleeper takes you from Brussels to Dresden in round eight hours.
I examined out the route on my return journey again to England. Right here’s the way it in comparison with flying – and why you need to guide a seat to discover this underrated metropolis.
Why you need to journey to Dresden on the European Sleeper
There’s no denying that the Good Night time Prepare is a no-frills expertise – but it surely’s a good selection for tolerant sorts who don’t thoughts forgoing some creature comforts.
The social facet is without doubt one of the many issues I take pleasure in concerning the Sleeper.
As I get to know my fellow passengers, Laura – a pleasant Belgian who is without doubt one of the girls in my feminine three-bed cabin – tells me how she loves sleeper trains and even finds their rattling motion soothing.
It’s not for everybody: because the carriages clang and judder their method alongside the tracks, even my trusty earplugs and eye masks can’t tempt sleep.
And climbing down the ladder from my center bunk within the darkness to go to the bathroom isn’t ideally suited both. However the bogs themselves are acceptable – nothing just like the horrors I’ve encountered on in a single day providers in India.
This cabin is a extra ‘deluxe’ possibility, costing round €108 in comparison with couchettes from €69 or seats from €49.
I respect the considerate touches, resembling ingesting water in plant-based containers, a useful shelf by the mattress, and a complimentary pack of playing cards – I noticed three girls taking part in a spirited recreation.
How does the European Sleeper evaluate with flying?
In comparison with my flight to Gdańsk, the Polish metropolis the place I’d began my journey, catching the Sleeper has plain benefits.
There’s no faffing with liquids, no lengthy airport queues or sitting round in busy terminals. As an alternative I’d begun my journey at a quiet station, after a brief night stroll from my lodge.
Better of all? Trains are way more sustainable. And whereas flying is faster, there’s one thing extra genuine about travelling by means of international locations relatively than skipping over them.
As I tuck into my gentle breakfast – included within the sleeper compartment fare – I take pleasure in watching the hazy late-summer sunshine collect over Belgian fields.
Saxony: A wonderland of twee cities, palaces and castles
Dresden is the capital of Saxony in east Germany, the place lavish palaces and castles abound.
You possibly can go to twee cities like Meissen, famend for porcelain-making, and delve into the magical woodcarving heritage of the Ore Mountains – particularly magical across the festive season.
These native crafts make their method into Dresden’s Striezelmarkt, which dedicates every of the Creation weekends to one of many traditions of the world.
Maybe the area’s best-known attraction, although, is otherworldly Saxon Switzerland, the place the Bastei Bridge cuts by means of towering sandstone pinnacles.
I think about this area is delightfully atmospheric within the run-up to Christmas.
Uncover Dresden’s arty facet
Exploring Dresden’s New City, I particularly love the world’s Artwork Courtyard Passage: a little bit nexus of muralled buildings, courtyard galleries and buzzy eating places strung with fairy lights.
The world additionally boasts Pfunds, dubbed the ‘world’s most lovely dairy store’. This Nineteenth-century jewel is roofed in ornate, hand-painted majolica tiles.
Pfunds is only one of twenty-two stops on Stadtrundfahrt Dresden, a hop-on-hop-off sightseeing bus.
My favorite cease? Loschwitz, a riverside enclave of red-brick turrets and timber-framed cottages, with cosy taverns and bakeries like Kaffee Wippler.
Loschwitz hosts two funiculars, together with the bizarre Dresden Suspension Railway: a ‘hanging practice’ that has been working since 1901, the identical 12 months as its better-known twin in Wuppertal.
As you ascend the mountains, you’ll uncover panoramic views of purple roofs peeking from tree-clad slopes and town past.
You’ll additionally spy the ‘Blue Marvel’, a Nineteenth-century cantilever truss bridge that is still an engineering marvel.
When you fancy a extra stress-free tour, board Dresden’s legendary ‘White Fleet’ of Nineteenth-century steamships, which supply a wide range of river cruises and day journeys.
No matter you select, whether or not you keep on with town or enterprise past, a go to to Dresden aboard the European Sleeper received’t disappoint.