Dresden...

The next morning I got a quick lift to Michendorf rest stop near Potsdam, Germany. Here I picked up a map (I had been traveling without one), and met a German hitch-hiker on his way to Lithuania. We chatted for a bit, he mentioned he was from Stuttgart, and I gave him one of the 7/8/9 postcards to show him the event, though he had other plans. He allowed me to go up and ask some of the drivers (normal courtesy is to wait for the hitcher already there to leave before attempting to hitch out), and my first ride was heading in his direction, so I quickly grabbed him and off he went! By this point, I was no longer interested in going to Berlin, but instead straight down to Dresden to meet George. The Dresden HOG (harley owners group) pulled in, and I grabbed a picture of a group of leather-clad Germans riding American Harleys, with smiles all around. Soon enough, a young couple (A student and his girlfriend, a car mechanic) pulled over and offered me a lift right to the center of Dresden. So far, so good. The ride down was comfortable, albeit smoky (all too common), and we talked about everything from politics to globalization to militarization to the similarities and differences between Germany and the US.
Dresden was a beautiful city, with lots of bustling tourists despite it being a Sunday. This, however, meant that most shops were closed, and I spent the better part of two hours walking around, attempting to find a wifi spot to connect to the next in hopes of receiving a voice-mail from George. When this did not happen, I called Dad, attempted to call the international number I was given for George, and finally looked up good hitch-out spots and maps of the city. I walked over to the Hauptbahnhaf (HBF), or main train station, to grab a bus to the hitch-out spot. As luck would have it, not only is there a Lidl (German box supermarket), but also a Burger King with power outlets and a nearby Wifi hotspot. I chilled here for a while, recharging my toys a bit, and eventually catching the bus out to my hitching spot. I was unsure of the spot I needed to get off at, though I ended up getting off at the correct spot and then walking in the wrong direction! I realized this about the same time it started to rain, much to my disappointment. Well, at the same time, I noticed a huge complex of abandon building across the street, some mildly fenced off for construction, other simply left to rot...
A few minutes later, I was warm and dry inside what looked like an old prison building, with bars on the window and rooms with a single sink (some a toilet), absolutely falling apart. I spent the night here, after writing a bit in my journal and enjoying the sounds of thunder and lightning crashing all around me. The flashes were so bright they lit up the entire room, while some of the thunder claps were loud enough to scare the heck out of me! But at least I was dry...