Germany

Dresden, Germany

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There is an odd atmosphere in old Dresden which I can only describe as similar to Gertrude st Fitzroy. Low socio economic status mixed with urban grunge, alternative trendiness, lots of graffiti, cigarette butts, dog poo and broken bottles mixed with unusual trendy cares, shops and bars. That’s on the ‘new side’. The old side over the river is quaint and full of history. It’s bigger than I expected and our rooms are further away than we thought so had to cart our luggage 2.5 km across the cobble stone roads.

Last night we went on the Dresden night walking tour, which turned out to be a little odd. The guide was an East German guy with a political agenda who took us around ‘new Dresden’ and gave us tastings of locally made herbal liqueur. We were a bit worried about the herbs for a while. Sophie and I were a bit childish and snuck away and left the others there. Ive no idea when the tour ended but we didn’t get back to our hotel until midnight as it was.
The next day we explored the ‘old Dresden’ which is like another world. Sophie likened them to Heaven and Hell but there is something exciting about both parts. Off to Prague tomorrow which I’m really looking forward to.

Please send us some vegetables. Label them as we have forgotten what they look like. We haven’t seen any for so long and are eating so many carbs we may take off like rockets. Sie sind vom Aussterben bedroht. Ich bin unterernährt.

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Berlin

Just to get you in the mood for today’s blog post from Berlin… here’s a little entertainment:) If you look carefully you’ll see us in the background.

After 9 hours on a bus we arrived in Berlin at 6pm. On the way, we were entertained by the history of Germany AND Sophie winning the grand German speaking competition. The prize was a chula chip which she never received.
We had decided to get separate hotel rooms rather than stay in the hostel as we have 5 nights here. Somehow we managed to carry our luggage up and down several flights of stairs and get a train to our hotel room. The rooms are like luxury after the Amsterdam experience although we have separation anxiety being in different rooms. There is much excitement as we have TV! woo hoo! Now we can hear about Prince Phillips bladder infection over and over again because CNN is the only English speaking channel.
The next day was very very chilly but being the tough stock we are we went on a 4 hour walking tour of Berlin and afterwards we walked the 8 km back to the hotel room. We managed to see the Berlin wall, Hitlers bunker and place of death, the holocaust memorial and many other interesting places. Our tour guide was a very tall pommie guy named Barnaby, who was both funny and knowledgeable PLUS easy to find in a crowd, being tall as a bean pole.
On returning back at the hotel, we went out for Thai food and had to order it off a German menu with German speaking Thai waiters. That was pretty challenging but we managed to get our order in successfully and it was delicious!
Sophie is hoping to catch up with her. Good friend Sophie H who she has known since school and is German.

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