Too Many Haribos in Dresden!

Too much Haribos in Dresden!

A group of  five Adventure seeking Erasmus students boarded the business class Eurolines bus en route to Dresden. We were greeted by a free bottle of water and a cereal bar, I thought to myself life can’t get much better than this. Emma, Ciara and Alice snoozed as Ciara read the daily mail on her new swanky i-pod touch which has Wi-Fi! How Rihanna in her new bikinni can make the news headlines baffles me and the fact that this is a stimulating read baffles me even more so! I decided to paint my nails on the sly in hope that the other passangers wouldn’t notice and throw me off the bus with my rimmel nail polish in one hand and Czech phrase book in the other. Two hours on the bus went quickly passing some snowy plains and lakes with hut like houses brimming the banks. We arrived in Dresden at the Hauptbanhof, as we were three hours ahead of check in we decided to have a mid morning snack. Emma’s eyes lit up as she saw an array käsekuchen winking at her from behind the glass “heya” A colorful caprese sandwhich with bright red juicy tomatoes sitting on a leafy bed was the highlight of Dresden for a few of the thrill seeking Erasmus students! One quoted “I’d come back to Dresden just for that sandwhich!” One of the greatest things about going to Dresden was welcoming back the euro, at times you feel mathematically incompetent  in Prague as you try to convert Czech Koruna into Euro.

Dresden is a very modern looking city with a very European shopping street, it’s modern streets are partly due to the fact that Dresden was destroyed during World War 2. The clouds parted and we dodged the rain and headed for shelter in H&M. Bargains galore sent us skipping through the aisles with glee! As the rain pelted down outside, Ciara realised that her boots were saturated in water. Determined Ciara was on a mission to find wind, rain, snow, water proof shoes to keep her tootsies toasty! Dodging puddles she hopped from shop to shop in search of a water resistant boot or welly. While Ciara was on her mission tearing Dresden apart for wellies, the four of us went for hot chocolate in the ‘Dolce’ chocolate café. It was like a mini Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory with confectionery delights as far as the eye could see. The hot chocolate was a chocolate lovers dream made from real melted chocolate and sprinkled with love. One sip seduces the taste buds and soothes the senses as the melted chocolate swims down the throat and spreads it’s love in the form of a chocolate hug.  Half an hour later a wind beaten Ciara arrives in i-pod touch (with wi-fi) in one hand and new water proof boots in the other. She had defeated the Dresden elements and now was donning squeaky new waterproof boots. “I can take on the world” , Ciara thought.

Sat nav Sarah was put to the test as we were faced with the challenge of finding our hostel ‘Cityherberge’. We wandered Dresden city in search of our hostel, a large church ‘Frauenkirche’  dominated the main square. We gazed up at this beautiful church in sheer amazement. The lower part of the church has an octagonal shape crowned with a dome roof. The dome is very distinctive made entirely of standstone and weighing more than 12,000 tonnes!Old and new stones have been joined to give a clear, meaningful indication that the past is always part of the future and that wounds can heal.

After wandering aimlessly through the streets of Dresden we were sent in the right direction to our hostel. Cityherberge looks rather bland and unassuming from the outside.Modern decor inside was impressive for a hostel. Our room was very spacious with a modern interior.  I would have no quams about recommending this hostel to anyone, it has a perfect location and at 18 euro a night including a breakfast buffet, it’s a steal! Hunger was creeping in after our long day exploring, a Chinese was the perfect option. The Chinese waiter greeted us with hot plum alcoholic beverages which Ciara described as “Lemsip in a cup” The Chinese was very tasty compared to the Chinese in Prague that screams food poisioning! Between us we ordered sweet and sour, a black bean dish, a duck dish and chicken szechuan. To wash down the Chinese we ended up in ‘The Dubliner’ Irish bar, where we received anything but a céad míle fáilte from the staff. If Irish pubs abroad hired Irish staff, the world would be a better place. We endured the unfriendliness as the wine was a friendly one euro fifty a glass!Then we went on our route home with a quick stop off in Lidl for cheap booze and nibbles. BAD IDEA! Two gigantic packets of haribos, one gigantic packet of bacon fries, lightly sea salted crisps and smiley faced sun crisps was only a recipie for disaster! Bear in mind all this was being washed down by Lidl champagne and red wine! (Ciara’s champagne popping skills were A plus!) This was all being soaked up by our Chinese din dins! Few drinking games later and about 100 Haribos later we were in flying form! Unfortunately for me I gorged myself on one two many Haribos. While the rest of the girls were giddy on champagne, I was suffering the affects of a Haribo overload. It felt like my head was going to explode and spew haribos out all over the ceiling. The pain in my stomach was as if a giant Haribo demon was growing inside of me , ready to wreak havoc with my insides.I could feel him tugging on my intestines, swinging from organ to organ and jumping on my stomach as if it was a trampoline. I took to my leaba and admitted defeat, the Haribo demon had won. All dolled up and nowhere to go I pulled the duvets over my head, I was ready to curl up and die. I wish I had a giant pin to drain the intoxicating amount E numbers from my system. “Kids and grown ups love them so, the happy world of Haribo.” What irony I thought in my dire straits! Alice, Ciara, Emma and Ciara went out to paint the town red while I lay suffering in my bed.

The girls arrived back at a respectable hour to fill me in on the adventures of that night. The next day the alarm clock sounded signalling check out. The buffet breakfast was a perfect hangover/haribo cure. An array of cold meats and ham lined the counter, oodles of pastries and fresh bread louded the baskets. Watermelon hydrated the mouths of many.  Emma noticed that a lady working there hid a handful of pain au chocolats on our arrival. Does it really say savages across our fore heads? Don’t answer that question. Four satisfied stomachs later we troddled into town, fist stop was ‘The Church of Our Lady’ or ‘Frauenkirche’. The interior of the church was magnificant and it was to difficult to obey the no photography rule.  The baroque altar is a masterpiece by Johann Christian Feige.  The soft pastel colors complimented the gold perfectly and add to the oasis of calm. Twelve sneaky photos later we lit a candle. “Freide sei euch” or “peace be with you” was written on the dainty candle holders. Then we strolled down the banks of the Elbe, there was a cold bite in the air and the wind watered our eyes. Within minutes Dresden was in a flurry of snow,lips purple with the cold and teeth chattering together.We seeked refuge in an Indian restaurant near by,the smell of cumin and other spices made my nostrils twitch. I felt like sticking my hands into the Vindaloo curry to regain feeling to my frostbiten hands! Naan bread and indian warmed us to the core.

An antique cafe across the road was the perfect ending to a perfect day. It was like we were sent back in a time machine, the old fashioned decor was very quaint. While sipping tea we adopted different names like Beatrice and Harrietta, we were feeling posh indeed as sipped from our china cups while sticking out our pinky. With that I thought of our beloved Barry’s Tea…

Every day has it golden moments.

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