in dresden hurrah! and the story of comings and goings and mysterious sounds in the night

first off: i am in dresden now. seven hour ride in the corridor of trains from munich. yes it is true that you often dont need to make a reservation to ride the trains. but maybe its a good idea if you want a seat. but the corridor is nice. and you get to keep your bags right next to the door, so if anyone has the idea they can grab it and run. keeps you on your toes. but still i suppose that is better than fearing, at every stop, that some german frau and her young children will berate you in german and give you mean glares for taking the seat that was reserved for them. ah such is the fate of a traveler such as i. and by i, i mean one who doesnt make reservations.

but at last i am in dresden. it is raining. i am sitting at the computer of a generous fellow who i have not yet met. and, by the sound of it, will not meet until tomorrow. in fact i will be sleeping tonight on a couch in a flat with a canadian, without anyone at home who actually lives here. remarkable generousity.

but i have spoken some with hubert. the new flatmate, who answered the phone when i called, quite helpless, from the train station, and who walked down and met me, leading through the streets to the place i shall call home for the next few nights. i good kid hubert, i have taken an immediate liking to him. 19, potential drummer, looks remarkably like jeremiah (martha and jaimie know) who, oddly enough looks remarkably like me. perhaps i have met my german doppleganger...

* * *

last night:
duncan: (in aussie accent) did he leave?
me: who?
that german guy.
valentine?
yeah, did he leave?
i dont think so i just saw him at the university actually.
cuz two koreans just moved in, and that one is sleeping in his bed.

we determined he must have left. he was from munich, just between apartments, didnt really bring anything with him. except that towel in the corner, there was no evidence that he had been there at all. so we forgot about it. until we ran into him, long curly locks and goofy half grin, in the lobby that evening. by we i am refering to me duncan, a young aussie student, and the other aussie, matthew, a farmer with a righteously thick accent (like the crocodile hunter) and some firmly planted convictions about the world.

me: are you staying another night?
valentine: yeah.

so he and the receptionist lady (the nicest receptionists anywhere, easy palace munich germany) went up to he room to expel the koreans. unfortunately, we learned over some pasta next door (where you can eat a hearty meal for 4.9 euros plus drink, with a coupon from the hostel), that they were gone out. so they just left a note.

fast forward, past dinner, past conversations of hitler and wars and jews and all those other things that you wouldnt think you should talk about with a german in a cafe in munich. australians, if they lack just one thing (and they dont) it is tact. but we made it out alive nonetheless. are all aussies racist war mongers? maybe thats too harsh... but they did (both) suggest taking a rifle to the aboriginees and being done with the whole stupid mess of a people once and for all...

so back in the room we continue our conversations. there are six beds. but one german two koreans one american two aussies and one mysterious bloke that no one has spoken too think they are sleeping there. just as we are discussing what to do with their luggage (the koreans), the door opens. and in walks a dark skinned, short, but sturdy, sharply dressed young man.

ello ma name izah veenee!
are you sleeping here too?
yah.

we all have a jolly laugh.
hes from naples and hes looking for a job in germany. and this guy is a character. i didnt know italians like this still existed. we explained the situation to him and he said.

its ohkaY. i willah sleep on ah floor.

we decide to just move their stuff to a corner and wait until they return, which by matthews reckoning what we're lookin at is 2 in the mornin.

im brushing my teeth. before going to bed. now i havent done this in a while now. not because i dont like brushing my teeth at night. actually i think it makes them feel pretty good. but this paste that i bought in hungary. well its not exactly crest cool mint gel. when i first used it i was afraid i must have purchased foot creme by mistake. but after careful inspection i decided that it was just really nasty tasting tooth paste (though it didnt have any pictures of teeth or anything). one morning i woke up and i could still taste the paste in my mouth. and it was so horrifying that i stopped brushing my teeth before i went to bed.

but tonight i was. i dont know why. guess i was feeling kinda guilty. like a catholic who hadnt gone to confession in a long time. and while i was purging my mouth, a new fellow walks in. dressed sharp in a collar and slacks. but dull. no taste. stiff. like starch.

hi.
hi.

this is the other roommate. a mysterious russian. hes going in and out, when i return from the bathroom. and vinny starts telling us about the berlin street parade, where everyone listens to techno in the streets and takes every kind of drug imaginable. but ima too old fah that now. he explains.

so youre from russia? i ask the guy.
thats right.
im nathan. whats your name?
constatine. and you where are you from.
texas. united states.

he nods. and continues with his mysterious in and out. then...

duncan: he packed off.
me: what?
the russian, packed off.
all his stuff?
gone.
what??
vinnie: we scared him away. all this talk of drugs.
matthew: i think its because your from texas.

then shortly after the door opened again and teh two koreans enter. see there bags. and after a little confusion and much embarrassment, take their bags and leave.

vinny meanwhile, discovers that the bottle of vodka he is holding is actually water.

the door opens again. a big guy with thick glasses, unkempt hair, and a lost dazed look, that suggests he spends too much time in front of a computer screen waddles in and peers around through his bottle caps.

hello, we say.
hello.

he doesnt speak english so valentine talks to him and tells him which is his bed. he seems a little hard of hearing. he immediately climbs into bed and goes to sleep.

flashback:
two nights ago, there were two danish girls (and cute) sleeping in the room. they had to leave early to catch their train, but they didnt come in until about 330. around 345 i hear a very brief tinny melody maybe four notes. i roll over and go back to sleep. five minutes later, just as i am drifting off. i hear it again.

what is that? i whisper, but no on else is awake. so i try to go back to sleep.

five minutes pass, and again i hear it. now in a roomful of strangers you will tolerate a lot more than you would from say, your brother or your roommate. thats just the mindset. so i try to ignore it.

for an hour.

finally i sit up in bed. what the hell is that?

duncan is awake too, and matthew.

dunno.

i go searching. turns out it was one of the girls cell phones. but since it was in dannish i couldnt figure out how to turn it off, so i just took off the battery. somehow they still made it too the train station on time...

flashforward:
duncan: do you hear that? that high pitched shrill?
me: not again.

so we set about immediately to locate the source of the noise. its getting louder. not the smoke detector, not my bag, not the bathroom, not he hall, not next door. it must be from the new guys bed.

duncan: valentine, youve gotta talk to im. ee doesnt speek english.

so valentine tries to wake him, softly saying german words. he doesnt stir. he says it a bit louder. nothing. suddenly i realize.

its his hearing aid!

we have a good laugh. at the moment nothing could seem funnier or more ironic. we laugh until it hurts. then i hear vinny.

you mother*****!
you f****** c***!
you s***! you f***!

the guy didnt so much as budge.

see? now your turn.

we laughed. valentine tapped the guys shoulder and said some german words and the guy turned off the hearing aid.