Salzgasse is a short street leading to the Neumarkt
DRESDEN, the German city whose name evokes a history of destruction, is looking more and more like its pre-World War II self. Roughly midway between Berlin and Prague, the capital of Saxony has largely restored the major architectural treasures damaged by Allied bombing raids: the Zwinger Palace, the Frauenkirche and the Semperoper. But while the Old Town, or Altstadt, was busy turning the clock back, the Neustadt across the Elbe River was looking forward. The Äussere Neustadt (Outer New Town) quarter is now filled with new bars and shops catering to a younger generation that doesn’t remember the days under Communism, much less the war. In the heart of this artsy district, you’ll find such delights as the Kunsthofpassage complex, home to an ingenious turquoise building that has rigged its drains, which are shaped like instruments, to play “water music” after it rains.