Dresden, Germany...

This is one of my favorite cities in Europe. Dresden was completely destroyed during the war, so this is a new city. However, they rebuilt it in the old style, so it's a "new" old city. The city is beautiful, clean, and not as overrun with tourists like in Berlin, Munich, or Paris. The city is cleaner than Berlin and perhaps even Munich. It was certainly a relief after being in the Balkans and Budapest because everywhere I went, it was clean (bathrooms, buses, trams, etc).

I don't remember seeing any beggars here either. The public trams are clean, new, and always seem to run on schedule. Right when you walk into the central station it is new, clean, brightly lit. It looks almost clinical. I came into the city from Budapest, so immediately after stepping off the train, I knew I was back in the first world. I felt a sense of relief as being in the Balkans, I was always a little bit uneasy because I was never quite sure what to expect. Germany is a country where everything pretty much works predictably and there is a process and structure to everything. Compared that to many places in Eastern Europe where anything goes. It is the last first world country before going into the relatively undeveloped parts of eastern Europe.

Put Dresden on your list if you want to go somewhere in Germany that is nice and not where a typical tourist go. Most of the tourists there seem to be German tourists.