I hadn’t heard of a “micro-nation” until I got to Dresden. As you probably guessed, a micronation is a miniature nation within a bigger nation. Apparently I’d visited one – Cristiania back in Copenhagen. And “New Town” in Dresden was my second – well had I been there 20 years ago it would have been.

On a pub-crawl “night-tour” of what’s known as the “new town” of Dresden with Danilo, a slightly odd but insightful and entertaining who taught us about the town’s crazy past:

Mickey mouse money was the currency, seriously!

Unfortunately after a very strange herbal shot, much of what I learned got lost:

I do remember that the night was extraordinarily random. Party food at the top of church look out point:

The night closed at the Metronom-Bar with Danilo trying to tell us about the proletariat of today’s neoliberal system – the”prekariat”. I didn’t get it but a follow up email clarified a few things:

We talked at the Metronom-Bar about an new name of the proletariat
Since exist the capital system,called the lower class "proletariat"
Now, we have since Reagan and Thatcher a development of the capitalist
system, what is called "neo liberialism system" now.
Here makes not a work the money, money makes money - investors are mostly
not interest about the situation of the working class, they are search to
make money in a very short time.
Just since this periode exanges the livestyle of many workers, artists,
owners of small companies, groups of peoples with an sickness,academics
and others.
They have an precarious situation.
So is developed a new name of this class of peoples.
They have work, but can not survive on the free market, like before.

This class called now "Prekariat" - precariat( lat. precarium ).
80% of the german artist living with the support of the State.
Also more than 60% of the temps in Germany for example get support of the
State.

I didn’t really get what Danilo was talking about. According to wikipedia ‘the word precarity literally means “precariousness“, but is now used to mean existence without predictability or security, affecting material or psychological welfare. It has been specifically applied to intermittent employment, sometimes plus a precarious existence.’

I’m a little precarious I guess. Am I a Prekariat?

Ok, so I still don’t really get it. At least the Mickey Mouse money was cool.

For more, or if you visit Dresden, check out Danilo’s tour and enjoy the ride: www.nightwalk-dresden.de