A Happy Ending in Dessau

After the previous evening's famine at the Dormero Hotel and our abortive discussions with the hotel manager, I have to admit that my expectations for dinner on the second night were very low.

The only message I received during the day was that we should turn up at 7pm and that we would be able to sit in the restaurant section. There was still no apology from the boss.

A few of us started to gather in the lobby at 6.30 pm to see if the place was going to be as crowded as the previous night. Although it was rapidly filling, there were still some empty tables and, even more remarkably, there was still some hot food on the buffet.

Rather than risk going hungry for another night , we decided to grab something while there was still something to be grabbed. I ended up with a modest collection of meatballs and something else (origin unknown) on my plate. At least it was a lot better than I had feared.

The rest of the group arrived and proceeded to follow our example. It was only after most of us had eaten that the young barman mentioned something about a "special meal" for us. To our shock and amazement, the kitchen started bringing out loaded plates with genuine food on them. It looked like someone had finally acted behind the scenes to make atonement for some of the previous mistakes.

Smiles returned to the faces of our riders as they faced the pleasant challenge of emptying the stacked plates. After dinner, we were happy to chat into the night. It was a happy ending to our experience in Dessau.Read more