Germany!

23rd November.
Dresden! We arrived "just in time!" to meet who turned out be a friend of a friend
of a friend of our last couchsurfer.  She was happy to have us, as she'd surfed a lot herself.
I knew she was well travelled tout suit, because I was instantly comfortable with her.  No
bulshit, she was practical and fun and saw things clearly.  Since it was already dark,
and David and I planned to leave the next day, we began to discuss the evening's plans over
'Club Matte' - a German drink, made from an African spice, highly renowned in Berlin which
gives you a high the equivalent of four coffees.  Its dangerously delicious!! And, it turns
out, addictive.
  So Katya's girlfriend arrived with beer and peppers (I think Australia is the only place who
knows the word capsicum) and I made a delicious pumpkin pasta dish!! I made a huge quantity,
cooking all of the pumpkin, and this turned out fortunate.  For soon, another friend turned up,
then a housemate, then - OMG! - A surprize, Katya and her girlfriend's childhood friend who
they havent seen in forever - and who was starving.  So we ate, and drunk, and soon a bunch of
boys - friends of a friend of Katya's housemate, join us too.  And a few more of Katya's friends.
By the time it's 12, we decide that we'll go to Amin's beloved hiphop gig (it was more jazzy funk,
in the end) if Mary can convince the bouncers to let us all in for the price of two people.
And she did it! So in the freeezing cold night we boogeyed down with our new, wonderful friends.
The best thing about Dresden is that everything is sooo close. Its tiny.  We got to the first
club about a minute after leaving the house, and when we were leaving Katya said that wherever
we go next, all the clubs are on our way home anyway so we can pick as we walk.  In the freezing
cold, this was the best news.
 It was a late night, and a late morning, but this wonderful thing is popular throughout the
countries we've been travelling.  It's organized car pooling, and everyone does it.  The website
lists numerous profiles of people who say where they're travelling to, at what time, how many
people they can take with them for what price.  So we arranged for a late ride to Berlin, and
spent the day getting a tour of Dresden from Katya.
  Its a beautiful city, very spacious, as big squares for people to walk in (no cars) take up
most of the space, in between big, Ottoman inspired (but still quite Baroque) town buildings
(and the infamous opera house).  It turned out the city had infact been bombed, and the big
spaces had never been fully rebuilt.

  The man who drove us to Berlin had a "Saxony" accent, being from the West, so not even Katya
could understand him well.  We were unsure if he wondered whether we wanted to stop for coffee.
  We arrived in Berlin safely, and he gave us chocolates :)