Day Three: Trains, Busses, and Automobiles

It looked like Friday was going to be another damp and depressing day, but we weren’t too concerned since we knew we going to spend most of the day in transit. The time had come to head down toward Dresden and onto the small town where our friends would be married. We got down to breakfast late and all the tables were occupied, so we headed out to a street market in Wittenberg Platz, which was very close to our hotel.

The market held an interesting mix of wares. They had butcher vans and fruit stands but also had jewelry and clothing for sale in some of the stalls. Peter bought a delicious pastry from a bakery truck and I got a crusty roll. Then I went to a cheese stand and after sampling some cheese bought a small slab of butterkäse to make a sandwich.

Peter spied something that looked like Armenian string cheese, one of his favorite Trader Joe buys. He ended up buying a bit, even though he had no idea what it was. The guy didn’t speak English and while Peter’s German pronunciation is nearly flawless after years of World War II movies, he has never actually studied the language. He gave it a good try though and remarked “It’s an act of hopeless optimism to ask ‘Was ist das?’ when you know you won’t understand a word of what is said.”

We settled onto a bench near the U-Bahn station and had our breakfast. It was a good time – the sun came out for a few minutes and a passerby asked us for directions. Of course, we weren’t much help but it felt good to be asked.

After breakfast, we checked out of the hotel and dragged our carcasses over to Ostbahnhof. Now, I had made a crucial packing error. I confused the concept of traveling light with traveling with few bags and crammed all of our stuff into a single garment bag. A single garment bag that seemed to get heavier with each step. The better option would have been to pack most of the stuff in a wheeled bag and then just put the dress clothes in a garment bag. But I saw the one-bag solution as a challenge and woe unto me when I decide to take on a packing challenge.

Peter and I traded off carrying the heavy bag and we made it to Ostbahnhof without any great catastrophe befalling us. When the train pulled up, we trooped on and found our compartment. We were a bit sad since our friends were sitting in a different compartment but it was only going to be a 2-hour train ride.

In one of his books, Bill Bryson laments the reality of the train compartment. To his American eyes, it looked like a glamorous way to travel. But in reality, he compared it to sitting in a doctor’s waiting office with several strangers for a doctor who never shows up. I can confirm that he hit the imagery nail right on the head. I am glad it was a relatively short ride.

Heidi and Colm met us at the station in Dresden and then showed us to the bus station and told us how to take the bus to Oberbärenburg. The bus showed up right on time and we made our connection in Dippsowold and arrived in Oberbärenburg without incident. Heidi made all of the reservation arrangements for us, so we knew our hotel name, but not which name the reservation was under. When we told the proprietor that we had reservations but didn’t know which name, he said “I have the names”. Indeed, he had all of our names and he doled out keys to us.

After some relaxing, we met up and had a walk around Oberbärenburg while we waited for further instructions. Heidi’s parents were intending on hosting a barbecue, but the weather seemed just as intent on canceling it. Colm, Heidi and her friend Claudia arrived in the evening to shuttle us to the barbecue.

Heidi’s parents live in an apartment, as do many people in Altenberg, but they are allotted a garden plot not too far from where they live. Their plot was large and had a small summerhouse on it. A tent was set up for the barbecue, which kept out the wind and mist quite nicely. We met Heidi’s parents, her grandparents, her sister and her sister’s boyfriend and re-met Colm’s parents, brother, sister and his sister’s boyfriend.

Heidi’s parents put on a magnificent barbecue, with a seemingly never-ending supply of steaks, juicy sausages, and assortment of salads. We had a nice time talking to everyone and spend a good part of the evening standing around the dying embers of coal, warming up a bit. The garden was beautiful, well organized with lots of flowers, and had a good view of the mountains. (Or, at least it would have if it hadn’t been quite so misty.)