Dresden, Germany: June 25

This morning, Alexandra and I woke to a cloudy day and the promise of rain.  We had Muesli, fruit, yogurt, and tea, and then proceeded to our first museum of the day, the Galerie Neue Meister in the Albertinum, just steps from our hotel.  The museum features paintings and sculptures from the 19th c. onwards, and begins with German Romantic painting, among which are 14 canvases of Caspar David Friedrich, my favorite of that period.  They include his most famous and haunting work, "The Cross in the Mountains," framed to resemble an altarpiece and originally used as such in a private chapel.  Johann Christian Dahl, a Norwegian who for a while lived in the same Dresden tenement as Friedrich, was also well represented, as were the Saxon painter Ludwig Richter, known mainly as a book illustrator, Overbeck, Carus, and a brilliant Romantic artist unknown to me until today, Oehme.  By the time we had finished seeing those galeries, it was almost noon.  Right before leaving for a bite to eat, we stopped by the bookstore, and Alexandra loaded upn postcards while I bought one postcard and a book by Erich Kästner.  From there we headed to a restaurant right next to the Frauenkirche and located in a newly reconstructed building that had once been a palace and, during the night of February 1945, had been annihilated along with the Frauenkirche.  Here, Alexandra had cabbage, potato dumplings, and beef, while I had a salad.  From there we quickly departed for our next museum, finding it shortly before our entry at 1:30.  The famous Grünes Gewölbe or Green Vault is once again in the Residenzschloss or Residential Palace, along with a copper engraving gallery, an armory, and a numismatic museum.  It is one of the richest and most dazzling collections in the world.  Although the ruler who amassed it, Augustus the Strong, was not necessarily the best ruler, he did amass the talents and workmanship of the greatest artists and workmen of the time, and some of the porcelain, gold, silver, bernstein, ivory objects, as well as travel services, statues, interior fittings, etc. were absolutely amazing.  Only 100 people are allowed in the galleries at one time, and each gallery is breathtaking, especially since the Residenzschloss is now so beautifully restored after being extensively damaged in the 1945 bombing.   Once finished there, we went one floor above to visit the Neues Grünes Gewölbe, or. New Green Vault, where around 1000 selected masterpieces of treasury art can be viewed close up in showcases made of anti-glare glass, with perfect lighting that enables every detail to be appreciated.  As well as the unique cabinet pieces created by the Dresden court jeweler Dinglinger, there was a spectacular Golden Coffee Service, precious objects made of gold, silver, enamel, and gemstones, ivory, mother-of-pearl, coconuts, and ostrich eggs.  Sated beyond belief, we headed to one more venue, the Zwinger, a pleasure palace built for festivals and tournaments.  Badly damaged during the war, it has been restored and within its confines sports a beautiful  park and fountains.  After strolling the garden paths, we made our way to a post office, where Alexandra mailed a few postcards.  On the way home we stopped at the same cafe where we had had lunch, and enjoyed coffee and a piece of cake apiece--Alexandra had a piece of blueberry cream cake, and I had one with pistachios, almonds, marzipan and butter cream.  As we had walked a ton today, those desserts seemed merited.  Now we are back at home, answering emails, taking baths, and writing postcards and this blog.  Tomorrow off to Pillnitz, a palace down river from Dresden, which we will access by boat.  Good day!