Dresden without pictures

My camera is downstairs, so I can't post pictures right now. But, we were in Dresden this past weekend. We had two reasons for our visit: 1.meet up with a friend who recently built a house, 2.meet up with Joern's old boss who lives in the area.
We left on Friday night at 7:45. Yes, we knew it was going to be a long trip, but Joern would rather leave late and not sit in traffic. We arrived at our hotel at 12:30. Our hotel turned out to be so great! It was really inexpensive, and very clean and new. We were so pleased!
On Saturday morning, after our incredible 5 Euro breakfast at the hotel, we headed out for Dresden center. It turns out that Dresden is an amazingly beautiful city that rebuilt incredibly after the wall came down 20 years ago. We spent a few hours just strolling around. I'm in love, and can't wait to get back one day!
In the early afternoon, we headed out to my friend Lelia's house. She lives about 15 minutes outside of the city, in a wonderful neighborhood. The house was beautiful! We learned so much and had a wonderful chat! Plus, she made really yummy Hostess-esque cupcakes! Hooray for good American bakers living in Germany :)
We had lots of fun hanging out with Lelia and her husband, but had to leave around 5:00 for Aue, which is about an hour southwest of Dresden. It is still firmly entrenched in the former East Germany, but it is a beautiful area as well. Aue lies in the Erzgiberge, Ore Mountains. Sadly, I don't think I got any pictures of the area, but it is incredibly gorgeous!
We made our way to Mr. Marx's house, which is at the end of a street, a huge, very private property. We got to say hi to "Dusty" his Bernese Mountain Dog. We also met the many rabbits that his children keep. It was so cool! After getting his daughter and wife, we headed for our B&B, which was on a farm, and overlooking the mountains. It was quite beautiful! Once we checked in, we headed out to the International Brass and Wind Band Festival. It is a weekend event, where bands from mostly Europe, but sometimes other continents, assemble to highlight their music. When we arrived, it was easy to tell that this was set up with a party atmosphere, taking place in a huge fest tent. The food was typical "fest food," and Joern and I both had Thüringer Bratwursts, because they are "native" to the area. We enjoyed some good beer and enjoyed the music. My favorite band was the Bielefeld Pipes and Drums from Scotland. But, I also really enjoyed the Police Music from Zurich. It made me laugh to see how band music could be treated with such a party feeling. Leave it to the Germans!
We set out early on Sunday morning, and made it home by noon. I went sraight to bed, because I was feeling so icky! Overall though, it was a really great weekend!