Yenidze; Film Night #2

Yesterday we went out for lunch with our class to the restaurant under the dome of the Yenidze, easily the most bizarre sight here in Dresden. Built as a cigarette factory in 1907 in the style of a mosque (!), it was bombed during the war and repaired/ reopened as a state-owned "VEB Tabakkontor" in the DDR in the 1950s. In 1997 it was renovated into an office-restaurant complex.

Given that the only common language the class shares is German, plus the very varied cultural and experiential backgrounds of the students and the fact that we have not yet progressed to a level beyond VERY basic conversation, the lunch was, shall we say, quite awkward, with many mortifying periods of silence at our table of 15 or so. My '"exotic oriental salad" was exactly that: several of the tropical fruits and vegetables festooning my plate were varieties I've never seen before. The food was good, though, and I ordered a large beer which helped lubricate things somewhat (in my head, at least).

After lunch, I went downtown for some book shopping. The picture at left is the Karstadt department store on the pedestrianized Prager Straße, an elegant prewar avenue that was rebuilt in the 1950s in the socialist mold favored at the time -- soulless, grandiose, brutal and now hopelessly dated.

Tonight is Film Night again at the Institute, and they are showing Nowhere in Africa. Since I've seen it and know the plot, so it should be easier to follow than last week's show.