Dresden surprise

We arrived in Dresden just before sunset and decided to see some of the town before heading to the hotel. I wasn't sure we'd have any time at all here and had expected it to be dark but it was still light, just, and after a short struggle to work out the local parking fees (it was about a single euro) we walked into the centre and were blown away. It was stunning. One of the most beautiful cities I've ever visited. There's little doubt the golden hour of sunset helped a lot but still the place was immaculate. I'd naively half expected to see half demolished buildings, or poorly presented industrial office blocks, but that couldn't be more wrong. It was apparent that the city was completely rebuilt and to astonishing detail. They even recovered stones from the decimated buildings and built these back into new stone structures. Everywhere you can make out the blackened stone that survived the bombing from the new stone built around. This city is a monument to survival. For me it was totally unexpected.