I have neglected to write for the past two days because we have had two jam-packed days in Dresden Germany, with an extension to Gorlitz, Germany and Zgorzelec, Poland.
Dresden, Gorlitz and Zgorzelec were amazing - beautiful quintessential German (and Polish, in the case of Zgorzelec) towns with traditional architecture, winding rivers and many locals and tourists to bring the place to life.
Although I have many pictures of the sites, I am going to focus on the culinary experiences of the past two days. For lunch in Dresden, I joined two of the members of my tour at an outdoor cafe called Kurfurstenschanke. There, I enjoyed Krusovice, which is a dark Czech beer, a small bowl of potato soup called Sachsisches Kartoffelsuppchen (Saxon potato soup with bacon, onion, vegetables and sausage), and, for dessert, a torte called Porzellantorte, which was a house specialty with pistachio cream and cherries between thin layers of white cake. Yum!
For dinner, we ate at the hotel buffet, which had a huge spread of starters, salads, main and side dishes, as well as desserts! My starter plate included potato soup (ja, I know I had it for lunch, but this soup was a little different), two of the little appetizers in tiny porcelain bowls, and a "Scott-made" antipasti plate. For the main course, I had a small piece of chicken in a light gravy, roast beef in a dark gravy, and tilapia in a white wine sauce. These were accompanied by Saxon dumplings and red cabbage. For dessert, I tried a local Saxon specialty called Quark Keulchen, which is fried cheese curd with cinnamon sugar, topped with applesauce. It came highly recommended by out guide, Jurgen, who grew up in this area.
For our excursion to Gorlitz and Zgorzelec, we were treated to lunch in Poland at a wonderfully charming restaurant called Przy Jakubie. The restaurant is located in an old riverside building with low ceilings, winding wooden stairs and thick whitewashed walls. Our appetizer plate included two kinds of kielbasi, goat cheese with currant jelly, gherkins, and various other starters. For the main course, we were served a traditional Polish dish called Bigos, which is a meat and cabbage stew. On the side were two heaping mounds of mashed potatoes topped with fresh dill. For dessert, we had another Polish specialty called Szarlotka, which is an apple cake. This was all washed down with a tall glass of Zywiec.
For the final meal of the last two days, I took a walk through New Town Dresden, where our hotel is located, to a Bohemian restaurant call Wenzel Prager Bierstuben. There was outdoor and indoor seating, and I was hoping to sit outside, but it was so crowded that I had to take a seat in the large, open glass-covered dining area, which at one time had clearly been an open courtyard. So I guess that was the next best thing to sitting outside! First, I ordered Staropramen Dark, a dark, malty and mild Polish beer. Then, I ordered a Bohemian specialty, at the recommendation of the waitress, called Svickova, which is a Bohemian roast in a cream sauce served with cranberry jelly and Bohemian-style dumplings. For dessert, I had another recommendation of the waitress. Palatschinke were crepes filled with hot cherries and topped with chocolate sauce and whipped cream.
