Dispatch from Dresden

Earlier this year I found myself heading to Dresden, as my husband and I were invited to visit A. Lange & Söhne, a company that has been making watches by hand in the tiny town of Glashutte since 1845. Our visit coincided with our daughter’s spring break, so we made a whole trip around it, beginning in Vienna, then Dresden, Prague, and finishing in Berlin. I had no idea what to expect—I’m usually not with Matt when he is visiting watchmakers, something he does frequently, both for his magazine Wm Brown and for his book, A Man & His Watch (his first was published in 2017 and he’s now working on the second edition, to be published in 2027).

I wasn’t sure how Clara and I, the non-watch nerds, would fare. Watch, car, sports talk… I always feel like a bit of an outsider—the people who are into these worlds are really into it—and while I so appreciate the level of craftsmanship, when talk turns to tourbillons I’m a bit lost.

We arrived in the evening and checked into the Grand Hotel Taschenbergpalais, which recently reopened as a Kempinski after an extensive renovation, and is so lovely—the rooms feel modern but reference their history, and the food and beverage program is strong, with a big emphasis on local, even if it caters to a very international crowd. The next morning we drove about 40 minutes to Glashütte, which is the home base not only for A. Lange & Söhne, but nine other watch companies, in a little town of only 7,000 residents. Our tour was just incredible—we got to see every department that works on just one component of each watch. The level of focus and their passion for what they’re doing, plus just how many hands and how many hours go into these beautiful timepieces… both Clara and I were riveted. Afterwards we went to the watch museum in town, which had a huge collection of timepieces, from wall clocks to pocket watches to wristwatches.

The next day we explored the town of Dresden, which I had a hard time putting my head around. I had seen the before-and-after war photographs, and was expecting to see more residual damage. Instead, here was what looked like a perfectly preserved Saxon city. Looking at it, you’d never imagine that it wasn’t original—there is nothing Disney or new about it at all, it just looks like it’s always been this way. In reality, the rebuilding started in the early ‘90s, continuing through 2005, with the Palace completed in 2021. It’s just so impressive to see the craftsmanship that went into it, and the pride the locals take in it—the adults of today grew up living in a city of ruin. We got a behind-the-scenes tour of Semperoper Dresden, the opera house—razed in 1945 and rebuilt 40 years later—that was once the home stage of Wagner and Strauss, visited the very impressive Dresden Zinger museum, and checked out the Royal Palace. I was particularly taken with the Fürstenzug (the Procession of Princes), the world’s largest (102 meters) porcelain artwork that miraculously survived the WWII bombing of the city.

Our next day we drove to Meissen, which porcelain collectors will be familiar with. It’s a beautiful factory in a charming little village, and Matt and I kept saying we couldn’t understand how we hadn’t seen or heard of it before. (Of course, once we got to Berlin we saw it everywhere, from stores to the flea market.) And we ended the afternoon with a visit to a local winery, Schloss Proschwitz, which had excellent wines and a lovely tasting, overlooking Meissen. 

While there, I received so many messages from friends who have come to the area because they are A. Lange & Sohne watch collectors, or they have family in the area, or one whose daughter is going to the Bauhaus school in Weimar. I collected all of their notes for my future Saxony road trip. It’s so rare that you can go somewhere and feel like you’ve seen no Americans, and the locals are genuinely giddy to have you there. After being in so many places that are just oversaturated with tourists, this area feels like a breath of fresh air, and we just barely scratched the surface.