Dresden

Pictures: 1) the meal Caroline cooked for me, 2) one of the cool houses, 3) the two of us on the bridge to the old town, 4) in the Alexander the Great courtyard, 5) Caroline on top of the wall of the courtyard, 6) the rebuilt cathedral, 7) on the top, 8) view from the top

When I arrived in the main station in Dresden, I was supposed to take a train to a subsidiary station, but that train had problems, so I had to take the tram. This was a problem because the CSer I was to stay with, Caroline, was going to meet me on the platform I was supposed to arrive on, but I would no longer be arriving there and I would be at least 15 minutes later than planned. I was quite distressed over this, especially since I hadn’t written down her number and I don’t think I’d given her mine. All she knew is that I would be wearing turquoise shorts.

I arrived at the station 20 minutes later than I should have, and then I had no idea what platform to look for her on (she knew which one my train should have come to, but I didn’t). There were about 10 platforms, so I just went up to one and looked across the rows and rows of others, searching for someone who seemed to also be searching for someone. I couldn’t see her. Finally I came back to the large foyer of the station, trying to figure out what I should do - try to find internet and look for her number? That would probably be the best bet. So, I lugged my suitcase wearily toward the doors and then I heard a girl say “Lauren?” There was Caroline, standing in front of me with a bag of groceries. “Oh my gosh! I can’t believe you found me! My train was cancelled and I had to take the tram and I didn’t know which platform to meet you on!” I said, so excited, my worries finally dropping off my shoulders. “I know, they didn’t tell all of us on the platform what was going on - it just never arrived, so I thought maybe you’d catch the next one instead and since I needed groceries I went to the store and thought I’d come back and see if you were here yet. Thank goodness for your shorts, otherwise I don’t know how I would have found you!” I immediately liked her friendly smile, sincerity, and apparent joy at having me stay with her.

We walked the 10 minutes to her flat, talking excitedly the whole way, still unbelieving at our luck of finding one another (I said, as Anne of Green Gables would say, “It was Providence!”).
I really loved Caroline’s flat and her room was very large with a little fold up bed just for me. After settling in, she made us a great traditional German dinner of eggs, cooked potatoes, and creamed spinach. It was yummy!

After I finished, I took my dishes to the sink to start washing them. Caroline said, “Oh, we have a dish washer” so I said “okay” but continued to rinse my plate clean as I have always been taught to do. Caroline walked over and put her dishes straight into the machine and said, “you don’t have to do that.” I said, “Oh, sorry, umm, well with eggs it might not come off in the dishwasher.” She said, “We just got a brand new one and it is really powerful, but it’s okay, I know you guys rinse.” For some reason that just cracked me up. Caroline lived in the US for a year, on the west coast, and apparently the idea of rinsing one’s dishes clean before putting it in the washer is a purely American concept. The Germans just think of it as a waste of water.
After dinner, we took bikes and rode into the told town center (after seeing some really cool houses whose fronts were all decorated in different colors and shapes). We would stop periodically on our bike ride to take pictures with the trees and fountains - it was truly a beautiful city. In the old town, we saw the outside of the opera house and the two cathedrals, then went into the big open piazza that Alexander the Great had built for his parties which often lasted for days or weeks. You can walk around the tops of the buildings surrounding the huge courtyard, and it was very beautiful. The day was lovely, with a cool breeze, blue skies and fluffy clouds. After the courtyard thing, we went to a shopping mall to get me a nedi pot (the thing that you mix saline solution and water in and then pour it up one nostril to clear our your sinuses - yeah, it’s pretty gross sounding). I really needed one because the pollen was getting stuck in my sinuses under my right eye and my teeth were starting to hurt, which meant it was only a matter of time before I developed a sinus infection. Caroline’s roommates all swear by the nedi pot, and I’ve used it at home before, so that was our mission. It cost 14 euros, but given how much better I’ve been doing ever since, it was worth it! We also got some German chocolate and some fresh bread.

On the way home we stopped at a video store and rented “A Walk to Remember” which Caroline thought she’d never seen, and stopped by a soft-serve ice cream place that had the best soft-serve I’ve ever tasted!

When we got back, two of Caroline’s roommates were there, and all of them stood around instructing me how to use the nedi pot, but thankfully let me close the bathroom door before I actually stuck the thing in my nose. It was rather funny. Afterward I watched the movie with Caroline, who said she thought she had seen at least part of it before, but of course she loved it. She went to bed before me since she had a Spanish presentation the next morning, and I used the computer before bed.

The next morning I slept in and then checked CSing to see if anyone in the Dresden group had responded to my “does anyone want to hang out with me” post. I had one reply by a guy worked very close by saying he could meet for lunch. His name was Ingolf and we met and then walked about a mile to an authentic German beergaten restaurant. He was very nice and very talkative like me. He’d only discovered CSing a few days before and was so excited, having always thought there needed to be something like that out there. It was funny because he reminded me a lot of Tommy (especially the way he looked) and it made me chuckle because when I first met Tommy I thought he looked German. Anyway, Ingolf and I talked about his travels in the US (mostly on the west coast) and to the far east and CSing and the Dresden bridge conflict (there is a huge debate over whether this one particular bridge should be built or not) and many other things. We both got goulash soup (rationally German and sort of like vegetable beef soup), soft pretzels, and this thing for dessert called red grit with vanilla sauce (which was like smashed up red berries with vanilla sauce on top). Ingolf is 35, has a long time girlfriend, and two kids (10 and 13). He was telling me that the first time he called his little girl from America and said it was night time there when it was morning in Germany, she was so confused all day that her teacher asked her mother “What’s wrong with her today - she’s seemed so distracted and confused.” He said after that he couldn’t mention the time where he was until she was older. Lol

After we left the restaurant it started raining, but luckily I had a waterproof jacket on (as did Ingolf). However, at one point it started absolutely down pouring, and we had to take shelter under a tree (yes, in America that is the number one no-no, but here there are so many buildings around, trees aren’t the likely targets for a lightening strike). Finally we made it back to where we started near Caroline’s house - 2.5 hours later! He said it was okay though because he sets his own schedule. He showed me which tram to take to the old city, and we said goodbye. In the old city I went to the rebuilt cathedral (demolished from firebombing during WWII and not finished being rebuilt until 2005). It was very pretty inside, though it was new, and I climbed to the top where the view over Dresden was amazing. I could see the clouds all around raining, but it wasn’t raining at the time I was up there.

When I left that cathedral and went toward the other one, it started down pouring again, and I was drenched when I got inside, so, I sat and read a book for about 40 minutes while I dried off. I took the tram back to Caroline’s and met her there at 4:30. She said her presentation and other classes had gone very well, and we chatted and then had dinner of mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, oil/vinegar, fresh bread, jam, and the last of my jar of Skippy All Natural PB. She then walked me to the train station and I left for Berlin. We both wished I could have stayed longer I think, but I do so hope she comes to NC someday soon!