One Week

Back in Dresden after a week-long bike tour.  But before I get to that, I can report another problem with our apartment that made the water leak in the kitchen (still not totally fixed, but manageable with a bucket) seem trivial.  While eating breakfast one morning, we heard what we thought was rain, then thought it was someone cleaning the vestibule, then went outside to see water pouring down from the entranceway ceiling.  It wasn't until after that when we realized water was also seeping down the wall into the bedroom.  Luckily, we covered the bed with a tarp just as water started pouring down out of the light fixture in the middle of the room.  Turns out there was  was a plumbing accident/disaster in the building.  The apartment management workers now need to repair and dry out the bedroom walls and ceiling.  We hope to be away while they work on it.

Water emergency in the bedroom!

So, instead of sitting around waiting for the walls to dry, and just as the weather started to turn nice, we took off on our bikes with a plan to ride to and along the German-Polish border - following the Neisse and Oder rivers on the Oder-Neisse bike path - to the Baltic Sea. After two days of lovely riding with an overnight in Bautzen we reached Bad Muskau, a border town that has a UNESCO-heritage-designated park with sections in both Germany and Poland.  Since we didn't arrive in Bad Muskau until just before evening, and we really liked our campground (we were the only guests), we decided to stay an extra day to check out the town and "famous" park.  Turns out we didn't need a whole day to see the town, castle and park, so we took a ride south along the Oder-Neisse bike path - we'd be heading north the next day.

Ready for our bike trip!

"private" campsite in Bad Muskau 

Pueckler Park and castle in Bad Muskau

As planned, the next day we rode north on the Oder-Neisse bike path to our next destination in Guben.  Unfortunately, at that point Matthias' bike starting making strange noises again - like the ones that preceded the bike breakdown earlier this year.  So, since we had an apartment waiting for us in Dresden, and didn't really have a set schedule, (except for wanting to be on the Baltic coast before the high season in July), we decided to turn around, taking a leisurely ride back to Dresden the way we came.  It was actually kind of nice to know the way and what to expect at each campsite, plus we would hit the town of Bautzen again on the weekend and stay an extra day there to explore.  That turned out to be a highlight - enough to do there for a day and then some.  We walked around the city following the old city walls, visited the church ruins, and learned about the heritage of the Sorbian people who still live there.  We also toured the infamous Bautzen prison, which was used by the Nazis, then the Russians following WWII and then the Stasi (East German spy-police). Matthias recalled that the threat of being "sent to Bautzen" was well-known among East Germans, and a major deterrent to speaking out, acting against the government, or trying to flee to the west or help someone else.  It was interesting, chilling, and a lesson about what it's like to live under authoritarian rule - one reason why there's so little crime and so much "order".  Yeah, I guess I'm becoming somewhat obsessed with (and scared of) authoritarianism these days.   Hmmm...I wonder why....  More on this later....maybe.

Sorbian dinner in Bautzen

Old city tower and wall in Bautzen

Main square in Bautzen

So, our planned six-week tour was shortened to one.  Once we were back in Dresden we made an appointment for Matthias' bike, and then took advantage of the nice weather - and the bike route maps I collected along the way - to explore the area around here. (Matthias' bike still works, but every now and then it makes a cracking sound and the pedals slip a little - how the last bike tragedy started). The local bike routes are marvelous and there are scenic beer gardens (also wine gardens, ice cream/coffee/cake stands and snack shacks) all along the way.  And, as luck would have it, our neighborhood had its annual street festival the weekend after our return - fun music on four stages and great food, drink and atmosphere.  So, although the bike mechanic couldn't find what's wrong with Matthias' bike, we weren't too put out.  We have now decided to take the risk and start off again toward the coast.  And if the bike totally breaks down, at least we'll be in Germany where we can easily find a bike shop or a train connection back to Dresden.

Neighborhood festival in Dresden (Pieschen)

 In Dresden on Ascension Day - also widely known as "Men's Day" in Germany - where guys get together to drink.  The boys in the orange vests have a wagon that serves as a mobile bar, with music!

More "Men's Day" antics

Beer garden along the Elbe River (and Elbe bike route)

Our local brewery and beer garden - down the street from our apartment!

Now, back to my obsession with authoritarianism.   I've been reeling from a podcast I just listened to and highly recommend: "The Road to Tyranny", an interview with historian Timothy Snyder, the author of On Tyranny. (note: skip to the fourth minute, when the interview begins).   It was very interesting, and helped me get a better grip on why I'm so scared - and not just of the current president.  Don't get me wrong, I do find the president personally appalling, extremely embarrassing to our nation, and an affront not only to the office of president but to all living matter.  But I'm far more worried about and frankly scared of the millions who believe not only in him, but what he's doing/peddling.  I often wonder if what I'm feeling is the way they felt when the last president was in office - angry, scared and betrayed on a daily basis. I try to remember that as an economically secure white woman, I wasn't desperate for radical change.  I realize I've had it pretty good in the US under all previous administrations - including those I've disagreed with - and would most likely continue to live comfortably, at least in the short term under the current one.  So I do ask myself: am I only alarmed about the current situation in the US - particularly efforts to consolidate power - only because I don't agree with the policies of the ones currently in control?  Would I have the same concerns if Obama called the press the enemy of the people?   I honestly don't know.  What I do know is that I am freaked out and frightened by the constant lying, fear mongering and laying blame for our problems on others. Whoever we're demonizing -  the media, congress, muslims, mexicans or even wall street millionaires - this kind of propaganda divides us and even acclimates us to an environment where we feel comfortable when members of these (or any) groups "get what's coming to them".  Sound familiar? So now when I think of reporters detained in Turkey and Russia, gay men openly tortured in Chechnya, martial law in the Philippines, and the oppression of women in Saudi Arabia, for example, I'm not only horrified for those affected but for the first time I actually believe that this could happen in my country. Does anyone really believe that we would be safer, or have better economic prospects, when America acts more like these countries? Matthias knows what it's like, and although it wasn't all bad (if you followed the rules), he definitely wouldn't go back.

I hope that Timothy Snyder is right in that there's a way back from all of this.  That in order to preserve freedom we need to (and can) defend not just freedom of speech, but also our institutions -  no matter how offensive we may find them (thinking of congress and the cable news channels at the moment - two institutions I've been known to despise/demonize).  I'd much rather have clunky, inefficient and imperfect government, along with overexposure to CNN or even Fox News, than be a citizen of a country where what I'm writing might be censored, or I could be punished for writing it.

So, after deleting and re-inserting the above no less than three times (really!) I've decided to leave it in.  I have been guilty of not taking the risks of sharing my point of view (not that it's original or anything) and not reaching out to join the conversation.  Not that anyone with a different point of view (or even anyone at all) might actually read this far.   But I suppose it's therapeutic, possibly helps me prepare for a "real life" conversation", and I figure it's good to have the thoughts out there to look back on - that is unless the Internet gets deleted.

And now I'm off to spend the next few weeks in campsites with limited access to internet and no TV.  In addition to the fresh air, I'm looking forward to reading the news just two (okay, maybe three) times a day.  And more books!  Oh, and for the first time I downloaded some light-hearted Netflix programs for offline watching - hope it works!