Skoda was one of the official sponsors of FilmFest Dresden. This ad was shown prior to every screening. At first I thought it was a joke but then realized it was a real TV spot.
I came to love this commercial after having seen it many, many times. (Sorry for the poor quality).
Turns out the two puppets in the commercial are Spejbl and Hurvínek - the legendary father and son duo from the Czech Republic. They first appeared in the 1920’s in amateur marionette shows performed in Pilsen cabarets, then in 1930 professor Josef Skupa established the first professional marionette theatre in their name.
Skupa was arrested by the Nazi’s for antifascist resistant activities in 1944 and the theatre was shut down. It reopened at the end of 1945 and Spejbl and Hurvínek have been entertaining children ever since.
I did some sightseeing while I was in Dresden. Too bad it was raining the entire time that I was there. I have seen the sun twice since I got to Germany and I’m going a little crazy. I left Montreal hoping to get spring sooner. So much for that.
Some facts about the city. Dresden is the European birthplace of porcelain. (Actually Meissen is the official birthplace but over the years the two became interchangeable seeing as the cities were so close to one another).
Dresden is also home to one of the most famous milk shops in the world, the Molkerei Pfund.
The shop opened in 1880 and the entire inside was lined with thousands of tiles hand painted by Villeroy and Boch.
The creamery was listed in the Guiness Book of World Records as the “prettiest milk store in the world.” I took these photos before I was told that you weren’t allowed to take pictures in the shop.
It’s really quite spectacular. Not to mention the cheese is unbelievable.
Dresden is a beautiful city with a gorgeous historic district and Baroque quarter. For more pictures of the city check out the Dresden Flickr photo gallery.
