1936 On the Continent

ancient and historical. He who has no wish to look for these sights with the guide-book in his hand will do best to go to one of the old inns, as for instance the three-hundred-year-old Café Baum, in the so-called Old Town, where one can eat and drink well. The finely decorated Thüringer Hof is perhaps the most typical students’ inn in Germany, and the beer and cooking are famous. Every salon and every room in this celebrated inn has a historical association.
    Auerbach’s Keller is also a great favourite with visitors to Leipzig—the
mise-en-scène
of a famous scene in Goethe’s “Faust.” Since the time of the medieval magician Auerbach’s Keller (in the Petersstrasse) has not materially changed, and one may find there many mementoes of this legendary figure. Eckerlein’s Keller is one of the many quiet, comfortable places for the sympathetic enjoyment of wine. Many variety shows, cafés, cabarets and huge restaurants give an idea of how lively Leipzig may be during the fairs, but even at the quieter times one certainly need not be bored. At the Neue Theater most excellent operas are given, and there are dramatic performances at the Alte Theater and the Schauspielhaus.
    I would not be dissuaded from testing a special Leipzig drink, a different kind of beer which is only to be had there and cannot be exported. It is called
Gose
and has its own inns in the suburb of Eutritsch. To a beginner, this opaque yellow drink tastes somewhat curious, but the Leipzigers swear by it. It is easy to drink but has a potent effect on one.
    In the principal shopping streets, Petersstrasse, Grimmaische Strasse and Neumarkt, there are many famous shops. At Eulitz can be bought the best Saxon textiles, at Mädler the most excellent leather goods. In view of the importance of the wholesale fur trade in Leipzig, it is not surprising that in the Brühl district first-class fur shops are to be found. The chocolate of Felsche and von Riquet is celebrated.
Dresden—The Capital of Saxony
    The railway journey from Leipzig to the capital of Saxony, Dresden, takes two hours, but these two hourstransport us to another world. Saxony was formerly a kingdom, and with its five million inhabitants the third largest province in the German Reich. It is Protestant, but its ruling house, the Wettiners, were Catholic. In the Prussian-Austrian war of 1866 Saxony fought with the Austrians, but on the foundation of the German Reich it became part of Germany, which was then under Prussian rule. The individual political life of Saxony practically ceased, but its commercial life flourished all the more, and to-day it is one of the most important centres in Germany.
    Dresden, however, in spite of its indisputable commercial importance, has retained to this day the quiet distinction of a residential town. Just as Munich came into being through the creative will of the Bavarian ruling house, so Dresden in the first place is indebted for her artistic form to the most important of the Saxon kings, August dem Starken. Not only was Dresden favoured as against Leipzig by its ruling house, but even more so by nature. All that Leipzig lacks is to be found in abundance in Dresden. The foothills of the Erzgebirge reach almost to Dresden, and the whole town is surrounded by the wonderful landscape of Sächsichen Schweiz which begins near here and continues up the beautiful Elbe Valley with its green woods and unique rock formations, on to neighbouring Czechoslovakia.
Dresden: Hotels and Sights
    I shall never forget the view from the great bridge over the Elbe, on the one hand the charming landscape, on the other the noble lines of Dresden Old Town. Here, on one of the most beautiful spots perhaps in all Germany, is situated the famous luxury hotel Bellevue. Friends in London had already recommended me to a small hotel, where I was wonderfully comfortable—the rebuilt historic Trompeterschlösschen, where I got a cosy room with bath for 7 marks. The Europäische Hof and the Deutsche Hof are two large important hotels on the principal street of Dresden, the Prager Strasse.
    Dresden offers so many amenities in so many directions that it has always been a favourite resort of foreigners. Even before the War very many well-to-do foreigners regularly spent some months every year in Dresden. Thusa large English colony grew up there, and it was very interesting to me to learn that one of the principal quarters is called by the people the English Quarter.
    The sights of