Katy's Garage

Saturday 7^th July

Yesterday afternoon I arrived in Dresden to meet my new CS hosts – Franziska and Marco, and their two young children. Franziska has fiery red hair and Marco hair down to his shoulders; they are a very interesting couple. Franziska speaks excellent English, also Russian and Marco speaks well but often has to think about his choice of words, he also speaks Russian fluently. It always amazes and humbles me how good many people in European countries are at speaking so many other languages. I am embarrassed about what I know of other languages. I met Franziska first and when she told me Marco is a nuclear physicist I felt a little daunted at meeting him but when I met him, he was very down to earth and easy to talk with. Why I call them very interesting, is because for their honeymoon they travelled from Germany across Russia to China via the Trans Siberian railway and then through China to Tibet by train and after Tibet to Nepal and India; it took them three months – quite a honeymoon! For one who has travelled a bit in China, I know how difficult it can be and so I take my hat off to them that they accomplished this. Also, when their son was three months old they walked the coast to coast walk across England – 200 miles, and they have travelled to many other countries too. They are a very adventurous couple and don’t let having a family stop them.

My bed for the night is an unusual one, in a wooden chalet in their garden; they live in a modern apartment nearby. In Germany, many people have small gardens separate from where they live. In the UK we call them allotments but these are generally just for growing vegetables and a few flowers. However, in Germany they really transform them into proper gardens with attractive chalets and different features. When these gardens were established by the GDR government, the owners were told they must have at least 30% of the garden dedicated to vegetables and this still applies; they cannot just be lawns and flowers.

After a good night’s sleep, I breakfasted with Franziska and Marco, and then headed to the city on the tram. I didn’t know exactly where to get off and so when I reached what looked like a main shopping area, I hopped off. Map in hand, I searched for the older part of the city, the historic centre. However, this can’t really be called old, at least not hundreds of years old because most of it was flattened in the war by the British and American bombers. This was one reason why I wanted to come to Dresden, to see how they have rebuilt it. I had heard much praise about it. Of course, in some areas there are completely modern building but in other areas they have faithfully rebuilt the buildings as they were, even using old stone so that they don’t look new, and now parts of the city look authentically old and very special.

In the shopping area I ask a young man if he can point me toward the older part. His English is not so good and he ponders the map. I ask him where he comes from and he replies Syria. After a bit of pondering, he beckons me to follow; he is going to show me where. I would like to say something to him about his war torn country but what to say and anyway, his English is not so good. I ask him about his family and he tells me they are in Syria, he is alone here, working in a restaurant. A young woman in middle Eastern dress sits on the ground pitifully begging for money. I want to give but his pace leads me quickly past. A little further on we encounter a curious site – four masked people standing to form a square facing outwards and each is holding a laptop. I am interested to know more and approach, whereby I am spoken to by a youngish girl. The laptops show videos of the treatment animals receive when they are raised and slaughtered, and the group are vegans raising the issue of cruelty to animals. She asks me awkward questions about the treatment of animals, which I cannot defend. I know it happens and yet I have never done anything about my eating habits – well actually I have in the past but it has never lasted. The mass factory farming is no doubt horrific in the way animals are treated and I support this by buying processed meats etc. It is something for me to think more about. Equally ponder more about the young Syrian man who is guiding me. I have recently read a book about the long war in Syria and it is horrific to humans.

My new friend leads me to the rebuilt palace and it is indeed splendid. We join the other tourists in happy snapping. The sun is bright, the sky rich blue and the clouds soft and fluffy white; it is a perfect day. After this tour I indicate to him on the map another area I want to go, Franziska has told me about a free guided tour and where to meet it. We set off at a brisk pace and after some while I recognise the domed church Franziska had told me about. At this point the young man leaves me; we shake hands and I wish him well. Whilst I was walking with him I couldn’t help but wonder that his circumstances could have been so different, he could have so easily been a fighter in that long lasting war. Maybe he was and escaped it. He is fortunate to be in safe Germany but maybe not lucky, I have no idea what he and his family have gone through. I had wanted to stop and drink beer with him but he leaves me before I can find a place.

I find the guides and a group of people waiting for the tour but then go off to get a drink and something to eat. If I am to walk for a couple of hours more, I will need some sustenance, but this takes time and when I get back the tour has set off. However, I had already chatted with a German couple waiting for the tour and gleaned some important information from them – where to watch England play their quarter final game against Swede – a high priority for the day. I was in luck, they showed me on the map a good bar and that it was an arty quarter of the city; the name of it – Katy’s Garage. With a name like that, it must be a good place.

But first, to wander more and gaze at the elaborate architecture, gilded statues and angels, cherubs and saints which adorn each building. If you were a stone mason two centuries back you were never out of work and neither would be your sons. It’s quite a walk to my destination, firstly across the bridge spanning the expansive river Elbe and then along a very long wide tree lined avenue at the end of which are two magnificent fountains. I ask for directions and find my way to an area of high solid buildings and altogether different from the district where my hosts live. Long straight cobbled streets, so common in Germany, lined with heavily constructed buildings, often painted, and so many different styles of structure. They have large wooden double doors, often graffitied and each house is directly joined to the next. With the help of a local girl who has studied the Alexander Technique at college in Berlin and now wishes to practice in her home town of Dresden, I finally reach Katy’s Garage. Of course, it’s not a garage but a tree sheltered courtyard with a bar, grill and small stage where the game is to be watched. The only vehicle at Katy’s garage is a dark red painted mini car placed on top of the bar. Piercing the car’s roof is a large arrow through a large heart. Seats and deckchairs fill the open space and a small number have already gathered to watch the game, mostly Swedes, and most are wearing the national colours. 

I purchase a beer from the bar and a bratwurst sausage in a roll from the grill, take a seat and wait for the start. The seating fills up with more Swedes, some Brits, some Americans and the remainder Germans. I want to talk with a guy wearing an England tee-shirt but never do; instead I talk with some German guys behind me who are supporting England. The game is good, we win 2-0. I leave happy and content.

In the evening I join Franziska and Marco for dinner. I ask Marco about his job fearing I won’t understand and although he tries to make it simple, I am little the wiser. Who can understand how one examines atoms, neutrons and quarks? Only physicists! And how can one possibly split an atom? I can only understand what microscopes do. Anyway, I am happy to ask questions in the hope I will understand something.

After dinner I head for the van and later to my wooden chalet with a large gorgeous lavender bush near the door – the honey bees, so active in the morning had gone to bed.