This week I officially started to say my goodbyes one branch at a time. The first goodbye was this Tuesday in Dresden. I think that the night from Monday to Thursday was the first night where I realized that I did actually quit my job to travel and start over at the other side of the world. Tears already started floating down my cheeks in my car on the way to work. In the office I had no chance to hide so with red eyes I walked to the kitchen, welcomed by an employee with the words “Have you been cutting onions this morning?”… Let’s say this humor didn’t help to calm me down. In the kitchen I talked to another one of my employees who actually managed to calm me down a bit. He said how sorry he is that I am leaving but that he absolutely gets the reason why and thinks that it’s the right choice for me. I had no choice but to wait for the others to arrive because there was a breakfast set up for my good bye and also for my successor to be presented. I started the talk by thanking everyone for the good and bad times while more tears where rising... It was the first leadership position I ever had and the last 22 months where great for my career and thus for my professional but also my personal development. I am thankful for the trust my team and also my boss had in me. The words some of my employees had for me that and also the following days where heartwarming and I will keep them in very good memories. But now it is time for a change and more insides to what I’m up to will follow in a blog in the near future so stay tuned but first of all back to Dresden.

This beautiful city was my second home for a whole year. I was commuting to it for almost two years till now. As mentioned, I started as a team lead in October 2017 and already had this position as an interim manager for three months in the summer of 2015 shortly before I started my Master Program. For the first six month I was only staying in hotels during the week and commuted between Magdeburg and Dresden. Then I asked my boss to get me a furnished apartment because it offers me more privacy. Sure, in hotels you mostly have a breakfast included and do not have to clean, but in an apartment, I can cook, wash clothes, leave some stuff and travel with less luggage each week. At the same time, it saves the company money compared to the cost of a hotel for diverse nights each week. I also tried to drive home a little less and stayed in Dresden a couple of times for the weekend, which is especially beautiful in summer, spring or autumn. I also bought a bicycle to explore the Elbe river. My apartment was a nice duplex apartment in the south of the district Pieschen not even 5 minutes away from the Elbe river, where I spent a lot time after work each day. The apartment was only sponsored by my employer for one year so I had to move out of it end of March 2019. I was a great time and lowered at least some stress of being a commuter.

I would always recommend to visit Dresden if you’ll have the possibility, make it a daytrip, a weekend trip, but there is also enough to explore for a week or more, especially if you have a car and can also explore the surroundings like Moritzburg or the beautiful Swiss Saxony. During my 22 month I had the possibility to explore Dresden multiple times. In the following I will show you my favorite shots from Dresden.

Old town & south of the Elbe

The old town skyline at sunset.

Night at the old town skyline.

The reconstructed Frauenkirche. It was bombed down fully in war.

The Zwinger from the inside.

Residenzschloss from behind.

Residenzschloss the second.

Residenzschloss the third.

Semperoper and a sculpture of king Johann.

Me in the old town. You can't see much, but I still like it.

Old town. I just love this architecture.

Christmas marked at the Stallhof.

The famous Dresdner Striezelmarkt a Christmas market for which a lot of tourist each year come to visit Dresden during December. Each store is uniquely designed and they have a lot of local food, art and else but also the standard Christmas food or drinks.

This mosque like building is actually a office complex called Yenidze.

The Yenidze from the other side of the river at sunset.

Not exactly old town, but south from it you'll find the big garden and this is a palace in it.

A crow at the big garden palace for sunset.

To meet some nice people that also have a growth mindset I volunteered on a TEDx event in Dresden. It was fun to get to know so many interesting people. I was in charge to take care of the speakers backstage so I missed the live talks, but on reverse had the chance to talk to them privately and we also had a monitor that showed us what was going on at stage. It was a great day!

Neustadt

Kunsthofpassage - an art passage with cute stores and artsy houses facades.

A water facade.

The golden rider sculpture.

Another Christmas market.

Pieschen

The district I lived in for a year which is not a tipical tourist spot. It is located west from the district Neustadt and north the Elbe. I really enjoyed living there.

Not even 5 minutes from my home.

Above the pharmacy a street apart from my home.

View out of my window.

Molenbrücke a bridge in Pieschen.

The Molenbridge was my favorite spot for sunsets.

Same spot as above but through the railing.

Bürgerbüro Pieschen and yes, there is a filter from Instagram on this photo that makes it look like an old postcard to me ;)

Elbe

Traveling east from the center of Dresden, preferably by bicycle because the Elbe has a long bicycle way by its side and this is what you'll pass by:

Wineyards with a nice view.

Cute castles by the river.

This old train actually floads up the mountan.

This is the view you get when taking the small train up the mountain.

The blue wonder, a bridge you can already spot on the picture above.

Sunset at the blue wonder.

Traveling west from the centrum of Dresden by the river you will see mostly nature sites. I did this trip a couple of times by bycicle.

Gohliser Windmühle where you can have a snak, coffee or cake.

Beautiful nature and still part of the city.

One of the old ships for tourists.

At the west part at the edge of Dresden you will find the Strassenbrücke Niederwartha a bridge which we crossed by bicycle to ride home on the other side of the Elbe.

As already mentioned above I will always keep my experiences in this city in mind and who knows when I’ll have the chance to visit this beautiful city and its citizens again.