Europe’s newest sleeper train is the perfect way to discover Dresden
The musty smell in the three-berth rail compartment was reminiscent of British Rail in the 1980s, the seats had seen better days, and the only plug socket was in the ceiling of a cabinet housing the sink.
Clearly European Sleeper’s most luxurious compartment isn’t going to challenge the Orient Express anytime soon. Nor is the private train easy to find in Brussels, where its details are displayed only half an hour before departure, and where you might find carriage number 19 connected to carriage number 1.
And yet once I was settled in my seat, I felt something stirring within me, a sense of excitement to be embarking on a rail journey reminiscent of student holidays Interrailing across Europe.
It was Friday night, and I was setting off on a mini adventure, leaving Brussels via European Sleeper (which has just extended its Brussels to Berlin route as far as Prague) and heading for Dresden, before returning overnight on Sunday. And it was going to be fun.
As we rumbled from city to countryside, I tucked into my picnic (there’s no buffet car) while reading about the scarcity of sleeper carriages in the onboard literature. “That’s why we began with our comfortable yet relatively aged carriages,” wrote European Sleeper founders Chris Engelsman and Elmer van Buuren.
Those carriages comprise six-seat compartments that had apparently time-travelled from my Interrailing days, as well as six-berth couchettes, and my more luxurious sleeper. Each class of carriage had one thing in common: people were chatting with their neighbours, perhaps sharing a bottle of wine or playing cards. That’s the thing about trains.
I, too, got to know my neighbours, two brothers from Colorado. “We love overnight trains,” said Anthony Redlin. “You can cross countries easily without the hassle of airports, it’s greener, and as a bonus of getting from A to B, you don’t have to pay for a hotel room.”
Exactly. As for my own room on rails, it was surprisingly comfortable, the rocking of the train lulling me to sleep beneath the duvet much more easily than I had anticipated. I awoke to breakfast-in-a-box, followed by Dresden, looking beautiful at 8.30am in the spring sunshine.
Viewing its spires, domes and palaces rising above the Elbe, it was hard to believe that most of the old city – small enough to walk around easily – was decimated by the allies’ bombing in 1945, its restoration still ongoing.
It was Augustus the Strong, King of Poland and elector of Saxony (1670-1733), who was largely responsible for making the city a cultural centre, housing some of Germany’s finest art. Impressed by Versailles, he commissioned the Zwinger’s construction as his own baroque pleasure palace, with an enormous fountain-filled courtyard (which should be fully restored next year) surrounded by sculpture-studded walls.
He added lavish state apartments and a mini ballroom that the Sun King himself would have approved of to the royal palace; they opened in 2019. Just next door, Augustus commissioned a third palace which he gave to his mistress, Anna Constantia, Countess of Cosel.
That building now houses the Taschenbergpalais Kempinski, which has just reopened after its own year-long renovation, and where my high-ceilinged room commanded superb views of the historic centre.
From this elegant base, I set off to explore, taking in art ranging from Raphael’s Sistine Madonna to the 24,000-tiled Fürstenzug – the Procession of Princes – wall mural depicting Saxony’s rulers. There was music, too – not at the impressive Semper Opera, but in the form of a classical concert at the domed Frauenkirche, Dresden’s beautiful baroque church rebuilt brick by brick from rubble.
If the old town feels a little like a living museum, Neustadt across the river offered a grittier, graffitied alternative, with its captivating street art decorating the buildings of Kunsthofpassage, and inexpensive restaurants as well as the ornamental cheese shop Pfunds Molkerei.
You can’t stay on the banks of the Elbe without venturing onto the river, so on Sunday, I took a paddleboat cruise along the river, marvelling at how quickly we moved into rural Saxony, with its meadows and trio of castles along the riverbanks.
That left time before my 8.30pm train to linger over dinner and a pilsner on the Balcony of Europe terrace, gazing at the Augustus Bridge, beautifully immortalised by Canaletto.
And then, after a full weekend’s wandering, I returned to the station to find that the train back to Berlin was an hour late. Not that the delay worried me; I was too busy chatting with a couple of Dutch guys and a Canadian family. That’s the thing about trains – they connect more than countries.
Essentials
Jane Knight was a guest of The Trainline, which has returns to Brussels from £218 (trainline.com) and of the German National Tourist Office (germany.travel).
European Sleeper (europeansleeper.eu) has returns from Brussels to Dresden from £118 for a seat, £170 for a couchette berth and £307 in a sleeper. The Kempinski Hotel (00 49 351 49120, kempinski.com) has rooms from £257 a night, including breakfast. For more information, see visit-dresden-elbland.de.
Five lovely new reasons to visit Dresden this year
Das Palais restaurant at the Kempinski
Outdoor tables at this newly reopened restaurant let you admire the royal palace and the over-street bridge connecting it with the Kempinski hotel, as you enjoy superb but simple international food, including crawfish in lobster mousse and grilled salmon with mashed peas. Three courses €59 (kempinski.com).
Caspar David Friedrich at the Albertinum
A special exhibition starting August 24 marks the 250th anniversary of the birth of German landscape artist Caspar David Friedrich, who spent 40 years in Dresden. It will showcase his works alongside paintings which inspired him from Dresden’s Old Masters Picture Gallery (albertinum.skd.museum).
Royal Palace Courtyard
Still being finished but looking resplendent with its newly restored colourful frescos in the clock tower’s galleries and monochrome graffiti surrounding it, this courtyard in the Royal Palace is free to enter. Admire it from a table at Anna im Schloss, which specialises in home-made food and snacks (anna-dresden.de).
Opera Bar & Dining
Opened just in time for the warm weather, the Opera Bar is the perfect place to sit outside and sip a cool beer while you gaze at the exteriors of the Royal Palace and the Hotel Taschenbergpalais Kempinski. You can also eat everything from salad to steak (€39) in the minimalist interior (opera-dining.bar).
Puppet theatre museum
From September 7, the Puppentheatersammlung will gain larger premises in the former Mitte power plant, where it will show its collection of more than 100,000 puppets ranging from Dr Faust to Little Red Riding Hood (puppentheatersammlung.skd.museum).
