Trip to Dresden

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4 a.m. is early no matter where you are in the world. That’s what time I woke up this morning. Since we did laundry last night and had clothing hung all over the room, I had to wait until this morning to pack. We were able to pack, tidy up our room, pack a lunch (thank you mom for doing that), and still make it to the main bus stop on time. We took the bus from Hradec Králové to Prague without a problem. Then we realized that the bus to Germany didn’t come to the same station. We had to take the subway to Florenc in order to catch the next bus. We’re acquired a steep learning curve and actually purchased our subway tickets before getting on the subway this time. Of course, we didn’t actually need them, but I was happy that we now knew to purchase them. When we got on the bus to Germany, the stewardess spoke to me in Czech. I thought about Zuzana’s email saying that I would “feel Czech in no time” and had a good chuckle. I must be behaving as a Czech would, because she knew to speak English with the people in front of me. Interestingly enough, the people in front of me also wanted alcohol before 10 a.m. Yikes!

Once we got to Dresden, we were let off at the city bus stop. I quickly became shamefully annoyed with everything there. There was no information center and nowhere to buy a map. We knew what tram to take from the hotel website, but didn’t know the stop. Also, nothing is free; 50 euro for the bathroom and a purchase to get Wi-Fi passwords. I was overtired and sick from the elevation changes on the bus. I was crabby and irritable and owed my mom and Ava an apology. But hey, I’m human. After 2 hours in the station, we were able to get Wi-Fi access and figure out where to go. A girl at the tram stop confirmed which way to go on the number 8 tram, and then a young, American girl on the tram used her phone to tell us the stop and showed me where to go once we got off the tram. Once again, I had to explain the importance of sitting down on the tram to my mom. This is not like the Ann Arbor bus system. The drivers do not wait for children and elderly individuals to find a seat. Mom fell when we got on the tram and now has a big bruise on her leg.

The hotel Mezzaluna is marked with a 2x12 inch sign and we walked right past it on the first try. When we did see it and walked into the hotel, there was more confusion. Where was the reception desk? What is going on in this place? We stood at the door where a reception desk should be and looked around for clues like a group of detectives. Mom noticed notes pinned up on a bulletin board. One of them had “Eastwood” on it and explained that our keys were in our hotel room door and that they will see us at breakfast in the morning. We found the room and our keys were indeed in the door. It was, to say the least, really strange.

The room itself is really pretty and bright. It has satellite television with two channels in English (BBC news and CNN news). It also has a sliding glass door that leads out into a little courtyard. Ava’s favorite thing about the room is the stars on the walls. Mom’s favorites thing about the room are the color and wooden floors. I like the setup and the shower, which has a massage setting. Unfortunately, I deleted the photos of the room before I uploaded them 😞 Let me check mom's photos and maybe I can find a few images.

Once we got settled in, we decided to take a walk. We found a few parks where Ava played for a bit. We also had some lovely deserts at a little coffee shop and later got some take-out pizzas from a place around the corner. We all went to bed early and slept well. I didn't take any photos of our walk, but I believe mom did. I will add them in later. Be sure to check back on Monday!

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Comments

[Jasmine]

A Dresdener Suggestion
I'm glad you made it to my wonderful city after a few obstacles. To avoid any more mishaps, you should try going on a food tour. There's a company that does food tours around the city, and children go for free! Can't quite remember the name, but I'm sure Google will :)