Well, for those who are interested to see Dresden in the (not too far) future:<BR><BR>This week I spent some time in the museums to get some information about the progress of restorations after the flood (and of course to watch and enjoy). <BR><BR>I was surprised to hear that the outstanding jewellery collection &quot;Gr&uuml;nes Gew&ouml;lbe&quot; (Green Vault) is going to be closed on Dec, 31 2003. The collection will relocate to its original home in the Royal Palace, which is still under reconstruction. But even the eight rooms which will be home for the jewellery collection will be finished. The bad thing is that the collection won't be reopened by Feb 13 2005!!<BR><BR>A few rooms in the picture gallery New Masters are still closed (used for storage).<BR><BR>The upper floor in the picture gallery Old Masters is closed as well (storage). But the most important and famous pictures are presented. Not a big loss for visitors.<BR><BR>I saw the porcelain collection for the first time after the restoration. Absolutely fantastic! I never thought it would be so many pieces.<BR><BR>I purchased a photo permit and took a lot of photos. Give me some time and I will post them on ofoto.com I'll let you know.<BR><BR>Ingo

And if you are in London on the way, the Royal Academy will have an exhibition of paintings from Dresden, including the iconic Adam and Eve, and some of Bellotto?s Dresden. Their website says<BR>15 March?8 June 2003<BR>While Dresden restores its galleries after the flooding of the River Elbe, the Royal Academy has been offered the rare opportunity to borrow some of its treasures. 50 masterpieces will be on show, from Italian Renaissance paintings to Mantegna and Titian, to stunning works by D&uuml;rer, Van Dyck, Vel&aacute;zquez, Poussin, Watteau and Canaletto.<BR><BR>[email protected]<BR>

F.Y.I... Very nice article by Seattle Times' travel writer Carol Pucci about Dresden this past Sunday. I had no idea it was once called the &quot;Florence of the North.&quot;

&quot;Dresden redux: East German city reinventing itself again&quot;

http://archives.seattletimes.nwsourc...ortex/display?
slug=dresden22&amp;date=20030622&amp;query=dresden

Check out the two accompanying photos of the interesting buildings in the &quot;Art Passage&quot; in the Outer Neustadt.

thanks ingo...bob

Hi folks, time for an update.

The upper floor of the picture gallery Old Masters is now open, too.

The watches/clocks collection in the Zwinger recently reopened after restoration. Absolutely stunning, a gem off the beaten path. Dito the Mathematisch-Physikalischer Salon (scientific instruments collection) in the same building.

The city museum in the Landhaus building is closed for renovation by the end of this year.

For those who would like to see some pictures of a steamboat trip which I did in May, here is the link:

http://www.ofoto.com/I.jsp?m=8276377...mp;n=259886867

The trip started in front of Br&uuml;hl's Terrace in Dresden's old town and went all the way up the river to the hills of Saxon Switzerland, almost to the Czech border. The most beautiful/interesting parts of the trip are Dresden to Pillnitz Palace (city views) and Pirna - Bad Schandau (scenic countryside with picturesque villages).

Have fun!

Ingo

thanks for the update ingo

bob

Thanks for the pictures, Ingo! I'm always looking for a diversion from my techno-chores. J.

Time for another update, folks

I checked the information on the closing of the &quot;Gr&uuml;nes Gew&ouml;lbe&quot; jewellery collection. In fact they're closing on Dec, 31 2003. The bad thing is that the (original) rooms in the Royal Palace are still under reconstruction, so it is planned that only one (of eight) rooms will be open in Sept 2004. Step by step the other rooms will follow by 2006. The good thing is that these rooms are reconstructed ORIGINALLY, which will make it an absolutely unique site.

In the New Masters gallery in the Albertinum now almost all the pictures are to see. The rooms with van Gogh, Monet, Liebermann etc. and sculptures of Rodin are still used for storage (sculptures collection), so the over all impression is a little strange.

Actually there is another stunning exhibition in the Albertinum &quot;Ludwig Richter - the painter&quot;. Have been there today and was fascinated. This painter might be little known outside Germany, but he was an outstanding artist of Romanticism.

By the way, the dome of the Frauenkirche is completed and the scaffolding is mostly taken away. Only the spire (Laterne) is still to rebuild ...

Bye, Ingo

ingo---who was covering your phone at the office??????