I’m not that far from Colditz. If I had more time I’d pay a visit. But this stop in Dresden has been a short one.

I am missing many things – the Wehrmacht Military Museum, the Life in the DDR experience, the Eric Kastner house to name but three. I definitely want to come back.

I initially cursed the long walk to the hotel. It is so very hot in Germany right now  – 35 degrees today. But at least it gave me a chance to get a feel for the city.

The direct route from the main station to the river (Elbe) takes you through one long boulevard of shops and flats. It is very blocky, but clean and seemingly well planned with lots of places to sit down, a few water features, little kiosks and every mainstream retail outlet you can think of.

The flats look clean and well maintained. There is the biggest Ibis hotel I’ve ever seen. It’s the kind of place that post-war architects like van deer Rohe or Goldfinger would cream their jeans over. If they wore jeans, which I doubt.

The locals seem at ease generally and reasonably well dressed – although the German male fetish for mid-thigh length denim shorts appears to have reached its zenith in Dresden.

One has to assume this all grew up out of the devastation caused by Allied bombing. Once you’re through the retail boulevard though, you find that the old castle, cathedral and various imperial buildings have all survived – or perhaps have been immaculately restored. The difference is stark. You cross just one tramline and you’re thrown back a hundred and fifty years. And then the river – the mighty Elbe. Not that mighty at the moment given the drought, but still quite striking. Odd to think this is the same river that runs through Hamburg. And only a few years ago I was at its debouch into the North Sea at Cuxhaven. I must have floated across it on a small car ferry without really noticing. I thought I was still on the Kiel Canal.

Brünsbuttel, by the way, where the canal meets the river, is a right hole. Indeed, the whole of that area from Hamburg to Kiel is a mess – lots of very poor people hanging around the streets, derelict buildings, dirty smelly streets. As you mentioned in your last missive, we’ve been a bit misled about Germany. It is not the shiny technified efficient place we Brits think it is. At least not where I’ve been. To be fair I was expecting the east to be shitter than it is – both Leipzig and Dresden appear to be reasonably well-off and well-planned. Meanwhile places like Kiel and Hamburg seem to be crumbling into a pretty poor state – in parts on a par with, well, Scunthorpe.

Once across the river, one appreciates the randomness of bombing raids. On one side of a long avenue shaded by plane trees (or are they lindens?) there are the classic 19^th century Germanic terraces. On the other, a modern concoction of metal, and glass, flats and cafes and minisupermarkets. What survives and what gets blasted is entirely random. Architecturally it makes for an interesting mix. I can’t decide if Dresden is stuck in the past or thrusting into the future.

Hiding behind one of the old flaky buildings that survived the bombing is a lovely restaurant with seating in the extensive back garden. It’s run by a gaggle of groovy young people and it’s all very casual, organic, fresh and friendly. This is more like the Germany I remember from exchanges in the 1970s. Bohemian kids, vaguely hippy, with a penchant for Frank Zappa perhaps, making the best out of shabby surroundings, drinking fruity beer and serving up great hunks of meat with cabbage, mashed apple and wild mushrooms. I’m definitely coming back.