Dresden Day 5

Since we arrived here just in time to watch the Elbe burst its banks in flood, life has evolved into some sort of daily ritual. For me, the day starts at 5.45 am when my alarm goes off. It sounds early, but most of the time I am awake before the alarm. It gives me time to catch up on emails and the news, before heading down to the expansive breakfast banquet.

After breakfast, it is usually a walk along the riverside to see if the level has started to fall yet. Even though we haven't had a drop of rain for the past several days, the river still seems stubbornly stuck at the high water level. If anything, it may have even crept a few centimetres higher than it was yesterday.

Although I did not have any set plans for the day, I found myself walking back towards the old city centre. Several others had paid a visit to the VW EV "factory", so I thought that it might prove interesting.

To get there involved quite a long walk. This would not normally have been a challenge, but I am still having problem with my left heel. That meant a pain in my foot with every step.

The so called factory is a futuristic place that looks like a super sixed car showroom. Inside was an array of the latest VW electric vehicles. I gather the place works like a one stop shop to order your car and then have it built to your own specifications,

Behind a large glass wall there was some sort of car making going on, but it seemed to be at a glacial pace compared to the huge automated facilities I had seen before. This place must be a boutique manufacturer, as it can only produce 24 vehicles each day. Weird but true.

After the long walk back to the hotel, it was time for dinner. Since some of the group were going to the opera (yes, I am not kidding), the hotel had arranged to serve us dinner at 5pm. We ended up having the whole restaurant to ourselves and the piano player. It is lovely to enjoy a bit of culture every now and again.Read more