We are having some car troubles (ugh, darn strict German regulations on inspections!) that are gonna be a bit costly, so we decided to pare down our "week after Christmas trip" this year. We spent two nights in Leipzig and two nights in Dresden, because I had heard fun things about the Dresden New Year's celebration. More on Dresden in another post (and trust me, you're gonna want to read that!)
Todd said he hadn't heard much about Leipzig, but I had heard great things from some of the blogs that I follow so I was pretty excited to go!
Our first stop after checking in to the Marriott (ahhhh, my very favorite place to stay, simply for their heavenly beds alone!) was Market Square. On the way there we passed a new Irish pub (!!) with this sign: Nice drinks (this way). (Ahead) Dunno... maybe bears. Wouldn't risk it. Europe cracks me up with their funny signs!
The Alte Handelsbörse, or the "Old Exchange." It was built in the late 17th century as a place where merchants from all over the world could meet. It was Leipzig's first official building! Since it was destroyed in World War II, it was rebuilt and now hosts musical events and receptions.
I think EVERY city has a Market Square! This one in particular is very pretty. They have a giant tree still up, but all of the Christmas market stalls are gone.
The Old Town Hall is now the Museum of Local History. The first town hall was built in 1480, but the foundation for this particular town hall was laid in 1556. It's been a museum since 1909.
We decided to take a stroll into the Mädler Passage, which houses many shops and restaurants. One in particular, Auerbach Keller (Cellar). Dr. Heinrich Stromer von Auerbach, the most famous resident to EVER come out of our small town of 9,000 people was a professor at Leipziger University back in the early 1500s. At the university, he was known as "Dr. Auerbach." He was the personal doctor to many Prince Electorates (the title of the rulers of Saxony), and friends with Martin Luther. A side story about that: Martin Luther was welcomed in Saxony by the Prince Electorate, which is the only reason he didn't get his head cut off by the Catholics! Anyway, Dr. Auerbach built this exhibition hall (including the cellars) after he acquired the land through his marriage to his wife Anna. Later, Goethe, who studied at the same University would write a scene in his famous tragedy, "Faust" that took place at Auerbach's Keller. You can see scenes depicted as statues outside of the entrance and exit.
Phew, we can't see too many historical things without stopping for some sugared donuts and some Feuerzangenbowle.
Wait, what did you say? Fire what?
So you see, they take regular Gluhwein, pour some sort of liquor on top that strains through a sugar cube, and light it on fire. And it's really good! I like Gluhwein in general, but this just had a nice sweet ending to it. #neverinAmerica #lawsuitwaitingtohappen
This little stand was so funny - they had crazy German music playing and a light machine dazzling the floor. The kids kept trying to step on the lights as they were moving. I swear it was like having a couple of cats and a laser pointer!
OK now that we're all warmed up, let's head over to see a church! (Cue the groans from the two smallest members of the family). This is St. Nicholas church, famous for the fact that at one time, Johann Sebastian Bach was their Cantor! He was actually Cantor for all of the protestant churches in Leipzig (there were four). This was his job for 27 years until he died here in Leipzig.
Just beautiful.
Construction started in 1165 but a lot of the church as you see it now was added in the 1500s and the 1700s, such as the central Baroque tower. The church, while famous for having a then-not-so-famous Bach as their cantor, was once again in the news in September 1989 as the starting point for the Monday demonstrations. These peaceful protests against the German Democratic Republic (GDR, or as we know them as the rulers of "East Germany") happened each Monday starting in early September 1989 and continued through the fall. Approximately 1,500 people protested in early September, and that number grew to around 300,000 by the end of October. The protests and civil unrest helped lead to the fall of the GDR and the reunification of East and West Germany.
Shut UP with all of this! I can't get over the beauty! I love the trees that seem to hold up the ceiling.
Although Bach is buried over at St. Thomas Church across town, I really loved this church far more. In fact, it might be one of my favorites in the whole world for lighting and color. I mean, who doesn't love pink and green together!? (OK, don't answer that!)
On our way to dinner, we wanted to swing into St. Thomas church to see where Bach is buried. His remains were only brought here in 1950, after St. Johannes was destroyed in World War II.
St. Thomas church was built in the 12th century, but the current church was really built in the late 1400s. It underwent renovations in the 1800s as well as after the war (when this tower was damaged).
Johann Sebastian Bach's grave. Bach enjoyed some notoriety during his life, but after his death that waned. In the 1800s, the German composer Felix Mendelssohn brought about a rebirth in the interest of Bach's compositions.
A prayer cross at St. Thomas church. Natalie had a prayer request.
"We all wish Carrie Fisher a great time in heaven." Rest in peace, Princess Leia.
The kids were obsessed with the Marriott revolving door and every time called out that they wanted their own little compartment.
We went to the Edeka across the street from our hotel and you should have HEARD the whining and complaining coming from these two as they had to carry a four pack (A FOUR PACK!!!) of small Coke Zero cans back to the hotel. Oh the humanity!
After a nice dinner at the Thüringer Hof (a great restaurant with a history dating back to the 1400s!), it was time to hit the hay. Look how cute they are snuggled up in bed!
Grant. Why don't you tell us how you really feel about going out to sightsee in Leipzig.
Michael Fischer's incredibly colorful and meaningful art on the side of the Marriott we stayed in. It's 100x30 meters (phew!) and some of it appears to not even be completed! It was painted for the 20th anniversary of the peaceful protests that led to the fall of the GDR.
Please note the Homer Simpson-esque characters, especially the ones on the tower and along the wall that are holding guns.
Our first stop of our second (and only full) day in Leipzig was the Monument to the Battle of the Nations. This is how we roll in public transportation. The only car we've ever rented in all of our vacations was in England and Wales (for obvious reasons). Even though we drove to Leipzig, we never touched our car. We love to walk and take the trains!
The sidewalks and roads were slippery with frost, brrrrrr. Apparently so were the leaves!
Winter view of the Monument to the Battle of the Nations. This was built in 1913 to celebrate that it had been 100 years since the Prussians had defeated Napoleon on this spot in the famous Battle of Leipzig. This was the exact spot that Napoleon called for the retreat of his army.
This monument totally had a Game of Thrones feel to it. This is the Archangel Michael.
The lower level features eight statues of fallen warriors (the creepy eyes half closed guy), each being protected by it's two Guardians of the Dead.
The four giants in the upper hall represent the four qualities of the German people: faith, fertility, sacrifice and bravery.
The kids were NOT HAPPY when we told them we were walking to the top. NOT. HAPPY.
So we walked up and said, "Hey cool, what a beautiful view!"
What a lovely ceiling, we said. "Oh what's that over there?" we asked. "It's another stairwell leading us higher, let's go!"
The one who wears a lot of pink in our family is the one who gripes the loudest about having to walk stairs. These stairs were wicked narrow and steep though!
Ah but that's a lovely view of Leipzig!
How to jump in a family photo without actually being physically present in the photo.
A tree among trees, as we make our way back to the train station.
Leipzig is located in what was formerly known as East Germany, so of course we found our little pals Mr. Green Walking Man and Mr. Red Stop Man.
Walking back to the train station to head back into the city, I spotted this. Leipzig (and anything outside of Bavaria, really) has generally more trash lying around, although it isn't as bad as somewhere like Italy or Macedonia. None the less, this was a funny, decorated tree!
We went back into the city past the square adjacent to St. Nicholas church for another view of where the Monday Demonstrations began.
Looking north on Nikolaistrasse. We had to get a late lunch, so we stopped by the place up on the right called Handbrotzeit.
Mmmm. Handbrotzeit is (at least in this case) just ham and cheese on a really soft bread. What's not to like? This kid liked it ok but neither of them really ate much of it. I insist they are insane because Todd and I had one and then split another - they were that good!
We needed to swing by the hotel to get refreshed before we went out to the Panometer on the other side of town. We stopped for a quick chat with Pinocchio!
We took the tram and then had quite a hike to get to the Panometer. On the way, we passed this little area, which at first glance appears to be a shanty town. However, in Germany, people buy tiny parcels and put a little hut on the land and farm the rest of it. It's a nice way for people in apartments to be able to grow their own fresh foods! In Germany, there are more than one million of these "kleingarten's" (or "small gardens.")
The Panometer is just awesome. There are several of these around Europe from the same artist, Yadegar Asisi. They have them in Leipzig, Dresden, Wittenberg, Pforzheim, Rouen and Berlin. When you walk in, there's a ton of information about (insert subject matter here... ours happened to be the Great Barrier Reef). You can learn all about it before you go into the actual Panometer. We learned a lot here, surprisingly. Did you know that coral reefs are home to 1/3 of the world's species?
Also, did you know this? (Ahem, I would just read it...) I wonder if Nemo was the largest male or not...
I think the kids enjoyed this! I mean, they're smiling, right?
The Panometer, in every city is a large, circular building with a massive display of art on the inside walls of the cylinder. Our display was the Great Barrier Reef. Interestingly, while nothing seems to be to scale, it all seems to mesh together. For example, you might have a man scuba diving the Great Barrier Reef, but only several feet away, a small fish might be three times the size of the diver. Even better, you really need to pay attention to each square meter of the painting because there are so many hidden treasures. And yes... it IS a painting!
Todd's panorama of the Panometer. The lights in the former gasometer (meaning, it held gas) would dim and then light up again, as night turned into day. My guess is when you combine panorama with gasometer, you get... Panometer!
If you walk directly to the painting and look up, this is what you see.
This grumpy fish should not be bigger than my child! This is what I mean by the changing of the scale.
After we came back from the Panometer, we landed in Market Square once more. That was ok with us because the tree was just too lovely not to photograph. And of course, there's always these clowns. Seriously.... they were standing at the top of the escalator/stairs to the S-Bahn station (which was behind me as I photographed this) while Todd and I tried to figure out a place to eat for dinner... and they were having a blast watching people fall down off of the escalator. Apparently escalators are difficult in any country! (But really, how mean are my kids?!?)
There are so many things in Leipzig we would like to come back to enjoy. I know, I know... "Colleen, you say that with EVERY post!" But once again, it's true. There's a great slightly-out-of-town amusement park and a fantastic zoo (one of the best in Germany) that we would like to come back to in the summer! Hopefully whenever my brother comes to visit, we might be back again.
Until next time, Leipzig!
And of course, to save money we made this a driving trip. Not that you would fly to Leipzig as it's only about a two hour drive there.
Our first stop after checking in to the Marriott (ahhhh, my very favorite place to stay, simply for their heavenly beds alone!) was Market Square. On the way there we passed a new Irish pub (!!) with this sign: Nice drinks (this way). (Ahead) Dunno... maybe bears. Wouldn't risk it. Europe cracks me up with their funny signs!
The Alte Handelsbörse, or the "Old Exchange." It was built in the late 17th century as a place where merchants from all over the world could meet. It was Leipzig's first official building! Since it was destroyed in World War II, it was rebuilt and now hosts musical events and receptions.
I think EVERY city has a Market Square! This one in particular is very pretty. They have a giant tree still up, but all of the Christmas market stalls are gone.
The Old Town Hall is now the Museum of Local History. The first town hall was built in 1480, but the foundation for this particular town hall was laid in 1556. It's been a museum since 1909.
I found curved streets all over Leipzig. I love this!
The Alte Handelsbörse from the other side. It looks like a little palace!
We decided to take a stroll into the Mädler Passage, which houses many shops and restaurants. One in particular, Auerbach Keller (Cellar). Dr. Heinrich Stromer von Auerbach, the most famous resident to EVER come out of our small town of 9,000 people was a professor at Leipziger University back in the early 1500s. At the university, he was known as "Dr. Auerbach." He was the personal doctor to many Prince Electorates (the title of the rulers of Saxony), and friends with Martin Luther. A side story about that: Martin Luther was welcomed in Saxony by the Prince Electorate, which is the only reason he didn't get his head cut off by the Catholics! Anyway, Dr. Auerbach built this exhibition hall (including the cellars) after he acquired the land through his marriage to his wife Anna. Later, Goethe, who studied at the same University would write a scene in his famous tragedy, "Faust" that took place at Auerbach's Keller. You can see scenes depicted as statues outside of the entrance and exit.
Dr. Auerbach was very wealthy when he died in 1542 in Leipzig, but would he have been able to afford this 147,930 Euro watch!? No? Maybe just the 76,520 Euro watch. This isn't even the most expensive watch the Patek Phillipe company has ever sold -- that was a $9.4 million watch sold in November!
Todd took a nice picture of the Mädler Passage. It's really pretty even without all of the Christmas lights!
Geez I'm short!
Phew, we can't see too many historical things without stopping for some sugared donuts and some Feuerzangenbowle.
Wait, what did you say? Fire what?
So you see, they take regular Gluhwein, pour some sort of liquor on top that strains through a sugar cube, and light it on fire. And it's really good! I like Gluhwein in general, but this just had a nice sweet ending to it. #neverinAmerica #lawsuitwaitingtohappen
This little stand was so funny - they had crazy German music playing and a light machine dazzling the floor. The kids kept trying to step on the lights as they were moving. I swear it was like having a couple of cats and a laser pointer!
OK now that we're all warmed up, let's head over to see a church! (Cue the groans from the two smallest members of the family). This is St. Nicholas church, famous for the fact that at one time, Johann Sebastian Bach was their Cantor! He was actually Cantor for all of the protestant churches in Leipzig (there were four). This was his job for 27 years until he died here in Leipzig.
Just beautiful.
Construction started in 1165 but a lot of the church as you see it now was added in the 1500s and the 1700s, such as the central Baroque tower. The church, while famous for having a then-not-so-famous Bach as their cantor, was once again in the news in September 1989 as the starting point for the Monday demonstrations. These peaceful protests against the German Democratic Republic (GDR, or as we know them as the rulers of "East Germany") happened each Monday starting in early September 1989 and continued through the fall. Approximately 1,500 people protested in early September, and that number grew to around 300,000 by the end of October. The protests and civil unrest helped lead to the fall of the GDR and the reunification of East and West Germany.
Shut UP with all of this! I can't get over the beauty! I love the trees that seem to hold up the ceiling.
Although Bach is buried over at St. Thomas Church across town, I really loved this church far more. In fact, it might be one of my favorites in the whole world for lighting and color. I mean, who doesn't love pink and green together!? (OK, don't answer that!)
The buildings in Leipzig are so pretty. This is just the Commerzbank across the street from St. Thomas church. Even THAT is pretty!
On our way to dinner, we wanted to swing into St. Thomas church to see where Bach is buried. His remains were only brought here in 1950, after St. Johannes was destroyed in World War II.
St. Thomas church was built in the 12th century, but the current church was really built in the late 1400s. It underwent renovations in the 1800s as well as after the war (when this tower was damaged).
Johann Sebastian Bach's grave. Bach enjoyed some notoriety during his life, but after his death that waned. In the 1800s, the German composer Felix Mendelssohn brought about a rebirth in the interest of Bach's compositions.
A prayer cross at St. Thomas church. Natalie had a prayer request.
"We all wish Carrie Fisher a great time in heaven." Rest in peace, Princess Leia.
Right before we left St. Thomas, I noticed this Creche. It's the most "realistic" one I've seen yet. You see so many of Mary holding Jesus and looking lovingly down at him, but how often do you see Mary, just wanting a nap. "Someone please put Jesus in the cradle, I need my rest."
The kids were obsessed with the Marriott revolving door and every time called out that they wanted their own little compartment.
We went to the Edeka across the street from our hotel and you should have HEARD the whining and complaining coming from these two as they had to carry a four pack (A FOUR PACK!!!) of small Coke Zero cans back to the hotel. Oh the humanity!
After a nice dinner at the Thüringer Hof (a great restaurant with a history dating back to the 1400s!), it was time to hit the hay. Look how cute they are snuggled up in bed!
Grant. Why don't you tell us how you really feel about going out to sightsee in Leipzig.
Michael Fischer's incredibly colorful and meaningful art on the side of the Marriott we stayed in. It's 100x30 meters (phew!) and some of it appears to not even be completed! It was painted for the 20th anniversary of the peaceful protests that led to the fall of the GDR.
Please note the Homer Simpson-esque characters, especially the ones on the tower and along the wall that are holding guns.
Our first stop of our second (and only full) day in Leipzig was the Monument to the Battle of the Nations. This is how we roll in public transportation. The only car we've ever rented in all of our vacations was in England and Wales (for obvious reasons). Even though we drove to Leipzig, we never touched our car. We love to walk and take the trains!
The sidewalks and roads were slippery with frost, brrrrrr. Apparently so were the leaves!
Winter view of the Monument to the Battle of the Nations. This was built in 1913 to celebrate that it had been 100 years since the Prussians had defeated Napoleon on this spot in the famous Battle of Leipzig. This was the exact spot that Napoleon called for the retreat of his army.
This monument totally had a Game of Thrones feel to it. This is the Archangel Michael.
The lower level features eight statues of fallen warriors (the creepy eyes half closed guy), each being protected by it's two Guardians of the Dead.
The four giants in the upper hall represent the four qualities of the German people: faith, fertility, sacrifice and bravery.
The kids were NOT HAPPY when we told them we were walking to the top. NOT. HAPPY.
So we walked up and said, "Hey cool, what a beautiful view!"
What a lovely ceiling, we said. "Oh what's that over there?" we asked. "It's another stairwell leading us higher, let's go!"
The one who wears a lot of pink in our family is the one who gripes the loudest about having to walk stairs. These stairs were wicked narrow and steep though!
How to jump in a family photo without actually being physically present in the photo.
A tree among trees, as we make our way back to the train station.
Leipzig is located in what was formerly known as East Germany, so of course we found our little pals Mr. Green Walking Man and Mr. Red Stop Man.
Walking back to the train station to head back into the city, I spotted this. Leipzig (and anything outside of Bavaria, really) has generally more trash lying around, although it isn't as bad as somewhere like Italy or Macedonia. None the less, this was a funny, decorated tree!
We went back into the city past the square adjacent to St. Nicholas church for another view of where the Monday Demonstrations began.
Looking north on Nikolaistrasse. We had to get a late lunch, so we stopped by the place up on the right called Handbrotzeit.
Mmmm. Handbrotzeit is (at least in this case) just ham and cheese on a really soft bread. What's not to like? This kid liked it ok but neither of them really ate much of it. I insist they are insane because Todd and I had one and then split another - they were that good!
We needed to swing by the hotel to get refreshed before we went out to the Panometer on the other side of town. We stopped for a quick chat with Pinocchio!
We took the tram and then had quite a hike to get to the Panometer. On the way, we passed this little area, which at first glance appears to be a shanty town. However, in Germany, people buy tiny parcels and put a little hut on the land and farm the rest of it. It's a nice way for people in apartments to be able to grow their own fresh foods! In Germany, there are more than one million of these "kleingarten's" (or "small gardens.")
The Panometer is just awesome. There are several of these around Europe from the same artist, Yadegar Asisi. They have them in Leipzig, Dresden, Wittenberg, Pforzheim, Rouen and Berlin. When you walk in, there's a ton of information about (insert subject matter here... ours happened to be the Great Barrier Reef). You can learn all about it before you go into the actual Panometer. We learned a lot here, surprisingly. Did you know that coral reefs are home to 1/3 of the world's species?
Also, did you know this? (Ahem, I would just read it...) I wonder if Nemo was the largest male or not...
I think the kids enjoyed this! I mean, they're smiling, right?
The Panometer, in every city is a large, circular building with a massive display of art on the inside walls of the cylinder. Our display was the Great Barrier Reef. Interestingly, while nothing seems to be to scale, it all seems to mesh together. For example, you might have a man scuba diving the Great Barrier Reef, but only several feet away, a small fish might be three times the size of the diver. Even better, you really need to pay attention to each square meter of the painting because there are so many hidden treasures. And yes... it IS a painting!
It really is a beautiful 360 degree display of how life is underneath the surface at the Great Barrier Reef.
Todd's panorama of the Panometer. The lights in the former gasometer (meaning, it held gas) would dim and then light up again, as night turned into day. My guess is when you combine panorama with gasometer, you get... Panometer!
If you walk directly to the painting and look up, this is what you see.
This grumpy fish should not be bigger than my child! This is what I mean by the changing of the scale.
After we came back from the Panometer, we landed in Market Square once more. That was ok with us because the tree was just too lovely not to photograph. And of course, there's always these clowns. Seriously.... they were standing at the top of the escalator/stairs to the S-Bahn station (which was behind me as I photographed this) while Todd and I tried to figure out a place to eat for dinner... and they were having a blast watching people fall down off of the escalator. Apparently escalators are difficult in any country! (But really, how mean are my kids?!?)
There are so many things in Leipzig we would like to come back to enjoy. I know, I know... "Colleen, you say that with EVERY post!" But once again, it's true. There's a great slightly-out-of-town amusement park and a fantastic zoo (one of the best in Germany) that we would like to come back to in the summer! Hopefully whenever my brother comes to visit, we might be back again.
Until next time, Leipzig!
