INTERNATIONAL DINING AT ITS BEST

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So after a great visit to Berlin including a surprise gift from Claudia of attending the Saturday evening performance, of the theatrical show, Yma, at the Freidrich Platz Theatre. No english required as it was a mix of Russian Circus style acrobats, meets Cirque de Soliel, mixed with Moulin Rouge, a sprinkling of Techno and break dancers with music and singing as well. Unusual but highly entertaining.

Sunday AM....... No retail therapy, it's all closed even in Berlin........so we dash about seeing some sights, like the Olympic Stadium of 1932, Schloss Charlotteberg, home of Frederik the Great, amongst others. Waving good bye to Clauds and U at around 5.30pm, it's off to Dresden by train, 2hours away. Our hotel is opposite the HauptBahnHof (main station) and at 8.30pm, after refreshing ourselves, the search for food and drink is on as the sun sets rather quickly. Not wanting to venture far at night in an unknown city, we came across the Prager Str mall and find ourselves in front of a greek Gyros shop/bar/cafe. Trying to explain what we wanted in english and broken german, the owner , Panhos, steers us toward a young greek man, Laz, sitting at a table nearby. His english is good for a greek man, studying for his Doctorate in Polymer Plastics and living in Germany! So we sit, order drinks and then before we know it, we are getting 1st class service, the 'only for special guests' lamb grill and other traditional food from Greece. I am so happy........I don't have to have a pork souvlaki! Of course, the beer and wine flowed, then the ouzo, and before long it's midnight, and just as we were getting up to go to the hotel, a fox runs in and out the main area, in search of food. Quite a large, healthy one too. well we thought it was through our beer goggles anyway!

Monday.........Ok so up by 9am the next morning, and after a solid brekky, we head into the old town to get our sightseeing fix of Dresden. What struck us the most, is the appearance of the blackened buildings, with some portions appearing quite clean. Apparently the clever Saxons actually took down some of their monuments, numbering each brick as they went, and stored them off site, during the war. When Dresden was bombed during WW2 in 1945, fires broke out, and what wasn't destroyed by the bombs, the remaining area was burnt out totally. Again after this, what could be salvaged, was numbered, cleaned or left as was, then rebuilt. That is the Dresden we see today. So while some buildings have a creation date of 1500's or 1600's, many have rebuilt, time and time again, even prior to WW2. Having said that, the kings and queens of old sure knew how to make their mark by building these enormous Castles, Churches and City Walls. Most who started a planned building, never saw it finished, and then the next generation would add their bit to it and so through the ages. Fascinating.

Of course, i wanted to see some porcelain/pottery..............but being a Monday, galleries and Museums are closed, the world over! Should have known!!!! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr times 4. And we had no time to visit Meissen which is THE place for exquisite pottery, as our train departs at 5pm, bound for Prague.

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