So I’m not sure what I was expecting from Dresden, but i was pleasantly surprised at how much i enjoyed it. It’s a charming, beautiful little city that was formerly part of East Germany. Of course, the weather was shit when I arrived (typical) but I was actually kind of happy because it gave me some time to curl up in a cozy cafe in Neustadt, the new city which is very reminiscent of a college town and read Slaughterhouse Five after spending the morning exploring the beautiful old city, much of which was destroyed in WWII.
I shamefully had no idea that the book took place in Dresden until Ben from Berlin, the voracious reader that he is, informed me. I truthfully did not love the book, but I did appreciate how Vonnegut frames the concept of time and death. He writes "when a person dies he only appears to die. He is still very much alive in the past, so it is very silly for people to cry at his funeral. All moments, past, present and future, always have existed, always will exist" and that "all time is all time. It does not change. It does not lend itself to warnings or explanations. It simply is. Take it moment by moment” which what #LivingTheDrea is largely about :)
It was, of course, beautiful on the day I was leaving.. but luckily since my BlaBla car ride wasn’t till quite late in the day, I got to enjoy the beautiful sunshine and ride down the Elbe River (or maybe it was up.. iono) David, my fantastic host, who’s in Dresden getting his PHD by way of London and Baghdad, suggested I go to Radebeul, a tiny town about 11KM away from Dresden, which is where many wineries are located. I got lost on my way there (again… also typical) but if anything can make me peddle on, it’s the thought of booze.
Eventually I found a winery, had a drink (or two.. or three), read a little bit more, and had a drunk bike ride back, which was fun, but also a tad bit scary… luckily i made it back alive, only to be almost killed by my crazy Blabla car driver, who was a very sweet man who spoke no English and kept chainsmoking and playing the worst polish polka music that made me want to blow my brains out after my phone died mid-way thru our 8 hour trip... which took much longer than it shoudl have because he kept stopping for coffee...
But now I'm in Krakow, which I'll be for at least 5-6 days before my momma comes!! :D
