Dresden Shopping Information
The city of Dresden is a relaxed and quiet town compared to other major cities in Germany. As such, some activities are limited to what days you are planning to visit and your time schedule. For example, major shopping is generally quite limited form the hours of sunrise to sunset with mostly all of Dresden shops closed for business on Sundays. If you are planning to visit the peaceful town on the weekend, plan to do very little on Sunday, but relaxing and enjoying the day.
One thing that you will find open throughout the city on Sundays are bakeries. Bakeries are quite popular on the holy day and as such are packed throughout the day serving freshly made pastries and loaves of bread though many also have dine-in options for the quiet coffee or afternoon sandwich. Many Dresden city centre hotels are conveniently located near a local bakery or may even have their very own in the hotel reception area.
One of the most popular bakeries in Dresden is the Dresden Bakery in Kempton Park. With a large number of assorted sweet cakes and specialty quiche products, Dresden Bakery of Kempton Park is a must visit. The Kempton Park area also has large number of hotels and guesthouses available for very reasonable costs. Quite a few have their very own swimming pools and green manicured lawns for you to escape to after your busy days in the overly constructed cityscape.
The Jockey Club is also located in Kempton Park and is open to guests as well as locals. Whether you choose to bet on a local horse race or not, a day out at the Jockey Club offers some interesting views of local culture as well as a fairly delicious dining experience. It is highly recommended for those that have never been in that environment before as there is a whole new world to explore at the Jockey Club.
Something that you will also find readily available in Dresden are butchers. It is highly recommended to those visiting Germany to try and book a hotel or guest room with a small kitchenette so that you can enjoy some of the local market foods in style. Butchers and bakers are classic accompaniments to every Dresden neighborhood and as such are readily available to any unique requests that you might have. Enjoy a steaming hot cup of coffee and a delicious pastry or two followed by an afternoon by your guesthouse pool and a cold cut lunch from the local bakery. A perfectly relaxing day by any standards and as close as possible the real life living environment of Dresden locals.
One thing that you will need to think about when shopping, particularly at major supermarkets, is the added on environmental fees that the government charges for the use of plastic bags. These days, most Germans carry their own canvas shopping bags that they can reuse again and again. It is possible to use plastic bags provided by the stores for a small fee. Many glass bottles, except those of wines and spirits, also have an added bottle deposit charged to each purchase which you can obtain back by returning the bottles to a local dispensary.
Another factor that you should consider when shopping in Germany is payment method. These days, most Germans pay with cash or direct debit pre-paid shopping cards. Credit cards are rarely used or even accepted by many Dresden shops due to high surcharges by companies like MasterCard and Visa. Major credit card providers have been a major factor in helping small, local business’ close down due to continually growing transaction fees. In an effort to maintain the community atmosphere in Dresden and avoid corporate takeovers, local authorities have made cash and EC debit cards the more affordable norm.
