Dresden Shopping

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Striezelmarkt is the traditional name for the Christmasmarket of Dresden and works of art, made in Erzgebirge might be a perfect souvenir to take home from Dresden.
On my picture you may see a typical kind of "Weihnachtspyramide" that will mostly follow a very simple technique :
Lots of candles that are lighted around the pyramid will have a lot of hot air streaming up to the wind-wheel on top and this windwheel will turn around the small figures in circles around the axle in the centre of the X-mas-pyramid.
b.t.w. the pyramid shown on my picture is with a height of about 7 meters the biggest one I have ever seen and it is shown inside the new townhall of Dresden.
It is lighted by electricity and also the figures are moved by electricity - take a look at my extra pics for the fine details !

What to buy: Such pyramids in much smaller size make a perfect souvenir from Saxony and are equally liked by children and elderly people, who might even still remember to have seen such people, working-tools and costumes in their own childhood...

What to pay: The price will depend on size and quality

Local souvenirs consist of Chinese-made Trabant models, pieces of local semi-precious stones, and (in my opinion the best and most authentic) traditional Saxon wood toys. Some are very ingenious, most have moving parts, and are typically fairly cheap for what you get.

What to buy: Saxon wood toys.

There is a very nice dairy/ cheese story in the Neustadt area on the other side of the river. I don't remember the exact name, but it starts with a Pfu- or Pfi-. If you ask at the tourist information, they will be able to direct you.

There is a great number of different dairy and cheese products.

The grim history of Dresden during the second world war is still a painful memory on both sides. The bombardment by the RAF is considered to be a war crime by many, the fireball may have killed up to 130,000 people in one night.

It was thus equilvalent to the dropping of a Nuclear bomb.

Whatever the rights and wrongs of that particular raid, the destruction of the once beautiful city is vividly recalled in before-and-after collections of postcards sold in many place around the city.

I use a pack to help schoolchildren consider the morality of war.

It is also perhaps useful to think about these words of Winston Churchill, who in the final analysis was responsible for the operation to obliterate the city :

It is odious to us
that governments should seek to maintain their rule
otherwise than by free unfettered elections
by the mass of the people.

Governments derive their just powers
from the consent of the governed,
says the Constitution of the United States.

This must not evaporate in swindles and lies propped up by servitude and murder.

If you like fleamarkets, there are always some fleamarkets on the weekends!

What to buy: Just about everything that is old to antique. We found wonderful kitchen utensils, saw some keys and locks, books, games, well, everything a fleamarket can offer!

What to pay: Make sure to bargain, but be prepared that prices are still pretty high!!!

Altmarkgalerie is a big new Shoppingcenter in the centre of dresden. It was bulid last year and has a modern architectural style. Here you can find a lot of shops or something to eat and drink.

What to buy: everything

What to pay: normal prices

Its what we call a flea market in the US, where you can find all kinds of things from antiques to childrens toys, clothes, CDs, books, glassware, and even get some hot food to eat from one of the booths.

What to buy: Buy whatever you want but remember if you dont have a car nearby and you get something heavy like this huge warddrobe my friend wanted to buy you have to figure out how to get it back to where you live. Such stuff dont fit very well on the tram either :-)

What to pay: Well dont pay more than you have to for anything, check it over carefully to see if its worth to pay what they ask. Dont be afraid to barter or bargain whatever its called, go for a lower price if you can.

As I mentioned in the intro, I was lucky to visit Dresden in time for the Elbwiesen fleamarket. We did find some wonderful kitchen utensils that we had not seen in other fleamarkets further west....

What to pay: We had expected prices to be quite a bit lower (as the cost of living in the eastern part of Germany would have let us thinks so), but we were quite surprised at the rather high level of prices....

Still we got some great bargains!