Dresden: The city that rose again on the Elbe

The swollen Elbe rive in front of the historic skyline of the east German city of Dresden. - Reuters

Once almost destroyed by the World War II, the city of Dresden is now a tourist attraction full of Germanic charms both historic and modern.

American novelist Kurt Vonnegut, a prisoner of war in Dresden during World War II, has a scene in Slaughterhouse Five where time-travelling hero Billy Pilgrim sees the city’s firebombing in reverse, with phosphorous bombs sucked back into warplanes.