Dance Fitness

As students of TU Dresden, we are allowed to take up to three of the sports classes the university offers. There's limited space available in the classes, so you have to wait for the open period and sign up for your favorite classes immediately to get a spot. The most popular classes fill up within minutes. I had planned to take Pilates and Tae Kwon Do, but didn't get spaces in either of them. Luckily, I got into Dance Fitness. I take it one afternoon a week, at a dance studio near Bahnhof Mitte, and absolutely love it.

My teacher is a young, energetic dancer who is very strong. We always start with a warm up, then go into a fitness part, then learn some choreography, and finally cool down and stretch. It's different every week. The choreography combines jazz, latin, hip-hop, and a little ballet. The fitness part is always exhausting - our teacher loves to yell at us to go faster (Schnell! Schnell!) and to move with more emphasis and power (Bam! Bam!). Sometimes when we are learning the choreography and are acting a little lazy or lackadaisical, she makes fun of us by imitating us. It always cracks me up. Overall, she is very positive and patient with us. The class is taught entirely in German, so I don't always understand what she's saying, but it's not too hard to follow along, and now at least I know the words for "left" and "right"!

There are usually about seven other students in the class with me, but the number fluctuates up and down from week to week. Some of the people there the first week didn't come back, and other people filled their places. All of the other students are young Germans, one guy and the rest girls. Everyone I've talked to has been really nice. At first I though it was strange that we all get dressed in one changing room, but I got used to it. Germans seem to be very comfortable with their bodies. I've heard stories from friends that in the saunas here women and men sit around naked together; I don't think I could do that!

Today was one of my favorite classes because I really liked the choreography. There were fewer students than usual so we all had plenty of space to move. The choreography was sweeping and set to dramatic music from the Pirates of the Caribbean movie. There were two particularly tricky floor moves. If I practiced those every day I would be really strong (and probably covered with bruises)! During the cool-down I started laughing when I realized she had chosen "Feliz Navidad" for the first song. This was followed by some other Christmas tunes. At the end she wished us all a merry Christmas and a happy new year. Our next class will be in January!

Discovering Räcknitz

A few weekends ago there was nice weather and I decided to go for a short walk before I started studying. I headed out in a direction I've never explored before, south, away from the city center. I saw an old house with a pretty ironwork gate on my way. I also passed some community or allotment gardens (called Kleingarten in German). These gardens are popular in Germany. According to the City of Dresden's website, the first allotment gardens in Dresden were established in 1890. There are now about 1,935 acres of allotment gardens in Dresden, owned by 374 allotment associations.

Just south of the community gardens, on a small hill, there's a long, narrow park called the Volkspark or People's Park. I followed a trail through the park, then continued south, entering a district of Dresden called Räcknitz. Crossing a street named Räcknitzhöhe, I came upon a large, open field where people were flying kites. In the middle of the field, there was a mound with an imposing tower on it.

The tower, Bismarcksäule, was built in 1906 in tribute to Otto von Bismarck. Wilhelm Kreis designed the tower, which is 35 meters (115 ft) tall and supported by four columns. There is an imperial eagle with a snake in its talons on the front of the tower. A fire could be lit on the top of the tower for special occasions. During every other summer solstice, until 1941, Bismarck commemorations were held there. These were often followed by a torchlight procession through Dresden. On May 10, 1933, TU Dresden students burned books at the base of the tower as part of the Nazi book burnings campaign. Bismarcksäule survived World War II and was renamed the Peace Column in 1946. In the 1950s, there were proposals to demolish the tower, but it never happened because it would've been too expensive. The name of the tower was reverted back to Bismarcksäule in 1990, and in the last ten years, the tower was renovated and a small exhibit was established inside. There's a nice view of Dresden from the top of the tower, but you have to pay to go up, so I settled for the view from the base.

There is another, older monument in the field, to the French general, Jean-Victor Moreau. Moreau was fatally injured in Räcknitz during the 1813 Battle of Dresden. Though French, Moreau fought against Napoleon on the side of the Russians. The monument is surrounded by three oak trees, symbolizing Russia, Prussia, and Austria, the three allies who opposed Napoleon. The monument reads: Moreau, the Hero, fell here on the side of Alexander the XXVII in August 1813.

On my way back, I walked through a higher level of the Volkspark. It was almost completely deserted and there were some beautiful trees. I stayed there for awhile before returning home. All in all, it was a lovely walk, filled with unexpected discoveries.