Dresden for the day–It’s always a good idea. The train from my town in the Czech Republic to the capital of Saxony is only a 2-hour journey, so sometimes I wonder why I don’t make this trip more often. Previously, I’d only been for Dresden’s famous Christmas market and, with all the distracting hand-painted nutcrackers, stollen, and chocolate-covered things, there wasn’t much time for sightseeing. So on this short trip, we wanted to see as much of the city as possible.

My first idea was to do something different. I found a runner’s guide to Dresden and thought it’d be an interesting way too see the sights. We’d pass all of the important historical landmarks, learn about Dresden’s fascinating history and journey to rebuild itself after the WWII bombing, and get our cardio in in the process.

There was only problem–the camera. It’s a little difficult to run with a DSLR, so we opted to walk the route instead. It was a tough decision (and one I’m faced with more often than not): to be active in a new place or to be passive, observing, and taking pictures. But, after seeing the architecture, restored to its original pristine quality after almost 90% of the city was demolished in the bombing, and marveling at the sunset which cast a dreamlike glow over the Elbe River, I think I made the right decision.

Our little walking tour was the Old Town/New Town route, which covered most of the city center. However, this handy running blog offers two more routes of Dresden, which I recommend to anyone trying to be active and sightsee at the same time.