Dresden hostels youthhostel youth hostel in Dresden Neustadt cheap

I found this very nice post in a blog of an American teacher who has lived in Dresden now for a couple of years.  It sounds like a love letter to our area, the Neustadt neighborhood.  But read on on your own:

A little rant, because I love where I live

I am so sick of people wrinkling their noses about Dresden-Neustadt, where I live, and telling me how awful the Neustadt is. It’s loud, it’s smelly, there are punks and dog shit everywhere. Yeah, yeah, tell me something I didn’t know. Despite all that, I will let you know how I really feel. To exploit my good old American love of the superlative: it’s the greatest place in the world.

It is loud here if you are on one of the main streets, sure there’s traffic, and often there are people out, talking or grilling or getting together in their garden or living room or in the park. Or right now, they are screaming because of whatever is happening with the soccer game on TV. So if you like your peace and quiet, either go home and leave my neighborhood alone or find a quiet place here, of which there are TONS. But I won’t tell you where because you don’t care anyway.

It can be smelly, especially in the summer from the grilling (which is a matter of taste if you like that or not) the dog pee and poo all around (which annoys me too) and maybe because of some smelly people. But come on, where don’t you have those three elements? Jesus, where I come from we have super smelly Amish people, especially on Fridays in the summer, because they only bathe on Saturdays. I’ll tell you what, they smell worse than the punks or the squatters here who don’t bathe at all.

And on to the punks. Sure, there are punks around. But if you are polite to them and don’t treat them like a total jerk, they will leave you alone too. They used to ask me for change before I had any kids, and I always said that I didn’t have any. I did this in a nice way, looked them in the eye, and smiled. Do you know what? They always wished me a nice day. Honestly, not sarcastically. Once I was noticeably pregnant with W., and still lived between two of major punk begging areas, they stopped asking me for money. Since I have had kids and am on the go with my kids most of the time now, they always leave me alone, clear the way if I’m pushing a stroller and are genuinely respectful. Sure, I don’t like their dogs, since they are ratty and unpredictable, but have never been bothered or threatened by their dogs, either. It’s probably more my own dislike of dogs that gets me riled up in that respect. Honestly, I find the punks to be nicer than a lot of the other people out there on the streets. Small town dork that I am, I find it super cool to live somewhere where there are punks on the street. And a rather affluent American former colleague of mine put it this way, “I like living somewhere where my son can see that there are lots of different people around, and that the punks are not dangerous or scary”.

And there’s the dog shit, and honestly, nobody likes that. But there are more and more responsible dog owners who take a baggie with them and remove their poo. But there are still lots of jerks who don’t.

Then there are all the good things about this neighborhood: the beautiful architecture, the interesting and friendly people, all the kids (I’ve heard we have the highest birth rate in Dresden, if not in Germany, but can’t back that up with any numbers), the openness, the proximity to everything you need or could possibly desire as well as the possibility to get out of the city pretty quickly if you want. I’m sick of hearing how “antisocial” it is around here. I know of lots of other places in Dresden where you can go and see a much worse crowd hanging around the supermarkets, and I’m not talking about Prohlis or Gorbitz. Anyway, I guess what it really comes down to is that I really like this place where I live, I like going out the door and just about every time seeing someone I know, not having to drive to go shopping or to get anywhere at all, it’s a neat and dynamic place with so many playgrounds, petting zoos, and kid-friendly cafes that we really can never complain of boredom or running out of things to do. It’s a place that breeds and attracts people who are square pegs who don’t fit into round holes, and that’s just fine here. So enough of my long-windedness. I hate to carry on debates about such matters of personal taste, and even though I may be too polite to say it to your face, the next time you insult my neighborhood, do want to know what I am thinking while you barrage me with insults about my choice of a place to live? Stick it where the sun don’t shine, baby.

Every Thursday we have a special offer for our guests: The Dresden Nightwalk is a guided tour of our multicultural area and cultural centre of Dresden.  Instead of the normal fee of 13 € we subsidise the tour, so it costs only 5 € per person, including 3 free welcome drinks at different bars or pubs.

This is not a drinking tour, its more a tour which explains about this area, its history and how it developed to what it is today.  You will get to know about the BRN (Bunte Republik Neustadt – colorful republic of Neustadt), the biggest street festival in this area, why people wanted to found an own independent republic here.  You will hear the stories of some famous pubs, you will find out what makes the “Neustadt” so different from the rest of Dresden.  Can you imagine the big green park nearby where nowadays people hang out used to be a drill ground?
The Neustadt has over 130 bars, clubs, restaurants etc. all in a small area and every one has its story.  You will probably spot some of the characters of the quarter and next day you will be a bit more one of the “Neustädter”, the people who live here.

The Neustadt – neighborhood is best experienced at night – and the Nightwalk is the best and easiest way to do it.  No reservation is necessary, just stay with us on a Thursday night and join the tour after our free dinner.

… wow this is supposed to be the longest headline I’ve ever wrote…

This year we celebrate the 20th anniversary of our populare street festival. The unique proposition of it is that there’s not one event management that is responsable for the whole festival but each inhabitant, pub, club and organisation. So you’ll find many different things with its own character. There’s no corporated design but lots of lovely selfmade actions.

By the way BRN means in German Bunte Republik Neustadt and in Englsih Colouful Republic of (Dresden-) Neustadt.

As appasionados of the BRN we have something prepared for you, too (thanks to our local heroes Martin and Kai): Loads of concerts. And here is the plan:

FRIDAY, 18 June

18:30 – Mit weit geschlossenen Augen – http://www.myspace.com/mitweitgeschlossenenaugen
20:00 – Nikopol – http://www.myspace.com/riotsong
21:00 – Zehnuhr 35 – http://www.myspace.com/zehnuhr35
22:00 – Flanschis – http://www.myspace.com/flanschies
23:00 – Tokamak Reaktor – http://www.myspace.com/tokamakreactor

afterwards swing your dancing shoes to DJ’s K-DJ, no.data, Low-Key Drum & Bass and Dubstep sounds

SATURDAY, 19 June

14:00 Dirty Ice / Poland – http://www.myspace.com/dirtyicerockstar
15:30 Digital Dildoth / Germany – http://www.myspace.com/digitaldildoth
16:30 Mitote / Czech Republic – http://www.myspace.com/mitotecz
17:30 Project Blunt / Poland – http://www.myspace.com/projectblunt
19:00 C / Germany – http://www.myspace.com/ceneral
20:00 Sin Fu Roco / Germany – http://www.myspace.com/sinfuroco
21:30 Ni / Austria  – http://www.myspace.com/niversum

afterwards: DJ PROFESOR IKEBARA from the Czech Republic with his Balkan beats

SUNDAY, 20 June

Chill out.

For this weekend our hostel will also be the location of the embassy of the Belorussian internet repuvlic Narod.lu.  Yes, indeed. So check-out what they have prepared for you.

There is a new direct train connection between Dresden and Wrocław.  Trains go 3 times daily and depart from the main train station at 7:32, 13:31 and 17:31.  Trains from Wrocław to Dresden depart 7:05 Uhr, 13:05 and 18:05.  It takes three-and-a-half hours one way and it costs 39 €.  A family ticket costs 59 €, this is a good offer if two adults are travelling together.

So it would be even possible to go for a daytrip to Wrocław, if you would take the morning train there and the evening train back you will have around 7 hours for Wrocław.

USE-IT map of Dresden 2010

The new USE-IT map for young travellers just arrived!  In this second edition you will find again lots of useful information about Dresden and the real places to go to.

The maps will be available at the hostels, the tourist information, the train stations and in many hostels in the towns around Dresden, so you will be able to pick one up even before you arrive to Dresden.

USE-IT is tourist info for young people. USE-IT publications contain information that young travellers really need. Where are the free concerts? If there’s one museum I have to see, which one? Do girls also pay drinks around here? How do I stop looking like a tourist?

But what’s so special about this tourist info? Aren’t there enough websites, guidebooks, city maps, and brochures already that do the same things? No, because USE-IT maps and guidebooks are different:

FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
USE-IT does not make publications with “something for everybody”, but chooses to aim at a specific target group with specific needs.

NO-NONSENSE
USE-IT gives real information instead of promotional talk.

MADE BY LOCALS
USE-IT does not work with reporters from another country who go somewhere for a couple of weeks and then make a tourist guide, but with locals who have an inside view.

NOT COMMERCIAL
USE-IT does not let any shop, museum, restaurant, bar or club pay to be on the publications, but chooses independently. Also, USE-IT does not let young people pay to get the publications, but gives everything for free. The organization always works with government money.

UP-TO-DATE
USE-IT does not make a few phonecalls to update the prices of restaurants and hotels and then call it a new edition, but always checks all the information for every edition.

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

From May 8th to 16th 2010 its again time for the biggest Dixieland festival in the world.  Dixieland is a style of Jazz which developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century.  Dixieland jazz combined brass band marches, French Quadrillas, ragtime and blues with collective, polyphonic improvisation by trumpet (or cornet), trombone, and clarinet over a “rhythm section” of piano, guitar or banjo, drums, and a double bass or tuba.

Some of the highlights of the festival are the big steamboat parade on the river Elbe on May 12th, the big parade through the city center on May 16th and a big gala on May 15th.  Many concerts just happen on the streets in the city center, those ones are free. The better concerts will take place in clubs and tickets should be bought well in advance.

Its a big event in Dresden, so if it happens that you visit our town on those dates you can’t escape.  You will see plenty of old man drinking beer and listening to this kind of music on the road.  For those who doesn’t like the music its a curiosity, for the others it will be a remarkable experience.

This movie will give you a picture of the event:

There is a very interesting audio tour which guides you through Dresden and explains about places where Jews were persecuted between 1933 and 1945.  You can download the tour for free on this website.  The text below is copied from the website:

“History against the grain.”

We invite you on a tour of the city which follows the history of the persecution and extermination of the Jews in Dresden from 1933-1945. The audioscript leads you to twelve places which stand as examples for anti-Semitic persecution in Dresden during the national socialist period. Each audio contribution addresses historical and philosophical aspects of the crimes. In principle, you can choose the order of the places freely. The audio script doesn’t follow any overall chronological or story. The numbering is a suggestion made by us and is meant to serve as an initial orientation. Thus, you can begin with Track 2 in the inner courtyard of the New Synagogue, and continue to the other locations.

There are two ways to obtain the mp3-audio files. You can either borrow an mp3 player and a map from the lending stations or download it yourself to your personal player from this website. You can also download the map from this site. The individual tracks are divided into individual mp3 files, allowing you to choose between the individual tracks during your city tour. The corresponding numbering on the map corresponds to the respective track on the player.

Each track is between 10 and 20 minutes long and demands concentration from the listener. The complete listening time is thus approximately 3 hours. Please allow sufficient time to give the audio script the necessary attention, and remember to allow yourself breaks. Moving about the city also takes time and shouldn’t be underestimated. Some locations are on busy roads, so please take precautions and bear in mind that wearing headphones means that other outside sounds may not be easily noticed.