Positive surprises (Dresden)

Bicycle tourers on the way from Prague.

After the less than ideal experiences in Czech Republik, I had a very nice comeback to Germany. The final day of approaching Dresden was passed in lovely scenery, on the banks of the river Elbe, that despite the strong headwind and meandering route made the kilometres just flow by. I was once again in good moods, and knowing that there would be a milonga on Wed night in Dresden helped me push those extra kms to get there.
Following the river Elbe towards the German border.

Arrived in Dresden at around 7 pm, traversing the green, lush parks and shaded alleys before getting to the city centre and over one of the many bridges to the Northern side of the river. The hostel at Louisenstrasse was nice, clean, new and friendly, and I had just enough time for a shower, a quick meal before getting back ont he bike (!) to ride to the milonga.

Getting to the place involved such a long ride though, that I was beginning to wonder if thismade any sense. I followed the same river, this time upstream, for a good half an hour, and still wasnt anywhere near where the place was! It was also getting pretty dark, and knowing that I would have to come back all the way after the milonga was not the nicest thought.
Dresden skyline seen from the Northern side of the river.

Upon finding the place I was at first a bit taken aback. Although the venue itself was lovely (another old, high-ceilinged building with wooden floors), there was hardly anybody there! True, it was once again one of those nights when Germany was playing in the FIFA World Cup, so most people had obviouslypreferred that to tango... not a promising sign! However,despite the situation and the hefty 6 eur entrance fee I decided to stay, mainly because I just could not take the idea of getting straight back on the bike!

In the end, I did get to dance a good bit, and most importantly, it felt once again really good. The self-doubts and feelings of inferiority that had hit me in Prague had not quite vanished, but faded enough so that I could enjoy what I was doing. And, what gave me the most joy, it seemed that once again I was able to create a connection with my dancing partners, which really is what makes tango so important, so special and unique.

Spent yesterday taking it easy, now I am just about to ride out of Dresden on my way to Berlin where I hope to arrive by Sunday afternoon, in time for the famous afternoon and evening milonga at Tango Loft.

Comments

  1. vuokkomero25/06/2010, 20:07

    Sateinen juhannus taas kerran, toivottavasti sinulla on parempi sää ja turvallista tietä!
    Love you, trust you and looking forward to meet you again.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Unknown25/06/2010, 21:20

    Hi,

    Good to hear that spirit is up and running again. I've been sitting and watching the rain.. although with a huge cone of ice cream :-)

    ReplyDelete

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