Dresden and a teeny tiny reunion

Just before I headed off for tour I went up to Dresden to pick up our tour van. Yup what in the world were we all thinking???!!
I ended up on a night train through Czech Republic and let me tell you, the train is just as bad as the motorway... so bumpy and a couple of times I thought we'd definitely derail. Thank God I made it there alive.
Major plus in going up there was the chance to hang out with my good friend and London flatmate Maria. She's from that part of Germany and her brother studies in the city and kindly offered that we could stay over... Little did he know that the girls kicked him out of his own bed and made him sleep on the sofa. Such a good guy! Hooray for friends in other cities and reunions.

 an all too familiar sight - Maria the chef making delicious pasta

love that chick - she's crazy :)

took a stroll through the city once it got dark

Last time I was in Dresden was in '96 and the Frauenkirche (the church pictured above) was still in ruins after being totally destroyed during WWII. Heaps of stones or more like mountains of rocks were lying around waiting to be rebuilt. Looks pretty fantastic to me now.
Fun times were followed by a long drive back to Vienna but I made it and the boys could finally load the van. Happy days.