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Thursday 23 August
We had a leisurely breakfast, finished packing and read up on the shenanigans going on in Canberra whilst waiting to be picked up by Nicole at 10:30. She was a touch early and we were at the station in plenty of time to catch the 11:33 HEX 11 train to Halberstadt. It was already quite warm waiting for the train. On arrival in Halberstadt, we found our next train, the HEX 4 to Halle was running late. The countryside was mostly flat, and looked dry, hot and dusty. Even the profusion of wind power generators seemed slow and languid.
There was a further delay when the S5 from Halle to Leipzig failed to arrive. We got on the next train though, so not much damage caused.
Nevertheless, we made it to the grand Bahnhof of Lepzig, with its spacious soaring arches at 2:15, and caught a taxi (9 €) to our apartment, in the rear courtyard of a grand building on Waldstrasse.
Beer of the day: Allgäuer Büble Bier Edelbräu
Friday 24 August
Muffins for breakfast. Day tickets on public transport (11.40 € for two)
Tram to Augustusplatz where we saw the Neues Gerwundhaus (with huge foyer mural) and the ultra modern Paulinium and Augustinium of the Leipzig University. In the courtyard behind these buildings, a statue of Leibniz, of calculus fame stands.
This was the start of the ‘Leipzig music trail’ which we followed desultorily. The first destination though, was the Mendelssohn Haus museum, centred on the apartment in which the composer lived in the final two years of his short life. A well set out and quite interesting museum, even for the not so musically inclined. It was the elaborations about the composer’s life which were fascinating. He was also a fine painter, must have been of a very wealthy Jewish family (hence the name change and the later erasure by the Nazis), traveled very widely, and had a very talented sister Fanny Hershel.
Walked past the Edvard Grieg foundation (notable for the rather sad staue of the composer as a head on a stick), and finally to the rather impressive Grassi Museum – substantial building of red stone, latticework and lotus motifs
Behind was the Josephus Cemetary, where the well to do of Lepzig are buried. Did not seek out the tombs of Richards Wagner’s parents as it was time for lunch. We took this at the Bayerischer Bahnhof Brauerei, located in the old Lepzig-Dresden Railway Station. A VERY substantial meal was had. I chose “Strammer Preusse” - Pulled Pork with potato bread, eggs sauerkraut and salad, whilst Minuk chose Herring fillet with potatoes and salad. For drinks I chose the Leipziger Gose (a salty beer!). whilst Minuk preferred Fritz-cola. We were VERY full by the time we had finished.
Went to St Thomas Church by tram – impressive gothic structure, which contains the tomb of JS Bach (and his statue out front. Felix Mendelssohn also scores both a statue AND a portal to the buildings. When we entered, the choir were in the midst of practice, with much of the church roped off. Practice was very stop, start and start again, but the organ, when it played was impressive.
Walked onward to try to walk off lunch. There are many coffee shops in the area, plus many outdoor restaurants, many of which were quite full even in the early afternoon. The Marktplatz in front of the Alter Rathaus was packed with Food carts, whilst the building itself was covered in the type of scaffolding which bears a picture of the building one cannot see!
We entered the local version of Block Arcade, the Maddler Passage, where a scene from Faust is recreated in bronze as Mephistopheles tempts a group of students is situated above the steps to the Auerbach’s Cellar.
We walked back toward the Bahnhof, passing by a statue of Goethe and walking through the lobby of the glass box that is the Museum of Fine Arts.
Found a huge shopping mall (Höfe am Brühl), where we did some quick shopping before heading home for a very light dinner (and just missed getting rained on as we got of the tram at our Waldplatz stop).
Very light dinner – toast and beer and ice cream afterwards!
Beer of the Day: Schultenbrau Pilsner – not so good, though it might be my cold.
Saturday 25 August
A late and leisurely start today. Out after breakfast by 10:30, tram to Augustusplatz. A visit inside the church of the Paulinium – stark and modern, but with the ancient wooden altarpieces inserted into the white walls. Parts of the original Augustinium are likewise included in the modern structure.
Walked across the ring to St Thomaskirche, this time able to wander at will as organ music played. Snapped shots of the Bach stained glass window.
Baum Coffee Museum gave a look inside the buildings (up rickety stairs) and a history of the coffee culture of Germany. Perhaps explains the many coffee shops, though today, most of them seemed empty. Relatively empty also (except for a Hare Krishna festival), was the Marktplatz.
We made a quick visit to the Zeitgeschichtlichen Forum Leipzig, where (when not under renovation), the permanent collection gives an impression of life for ordinary folk in the DDR). Sadly, only a temporary exhibition of design in the DDR was on show, which rather reduced the breadth of the experience. It is a free museum though, so full marks for that initiative.
Walked down pedestrian mall to the massive Neuer Rathaus, ducking our heads into the massive foyer and climbing the grand staircase. Time for lunch and we took a bus up to the Bahnhof and looked for a place to eat.
Chose Thuringer Bratwurst to Go in the Bahnhof Promenade. Later, a quick visit to the supermarket reaped breads and a Haxe (roasted pork knuckle) for tonight’s dinner. Home for a rest, as it also began to rain and became quite cold.
After it cleared we took a tram to the Monument to the Battle of the Nations, a massive Art Nouveau temple built to honour the 100th anniversary of the defeat of Napoleon in the Battle of Leipzig in 1813. It looked a bit grim in dark brown stone under glowering clouds. I climbed the steps to view the interior chamber, but not all the way to the 90m top viewing platform.
We took a tram to Klingerweg, across the Elster Canal. A scary loud and possibly racist crazy lady was yelling at people on the way. She even kicked at a woman as she boarded the tram. We got off at the Klingerweb stop and walked along the Elster canal to the Clara Zetkin Park, and back across the canal, passing a Bridge festival of disparate left wing causes. Walked through slightly scruffy park to the duck ponds of Johannapark and ultimately to the Bundesverwaldtungsgerichtes Building (Federal Court) and a tram home.
The Haxe was enjoyed with salad and mashed potato.
Beer of the Day: Fattigauer Bier Brauerei Pilsener.
We had a leisurely breakfast, finished packing and read up on the shenanigans going on in Canberra whilst waiting to be picked up by Nicole at 10:30. She was a touch early and we were at the station in plenty of time to catch the 11:33 HEX 11 train to Halberstadt. It was already quite warm waiting for the train. On arrival in Halberstadt, we found our next train, the HEX 4 to Halle was running late. The countryside was mostly flat, and looked dry, hot and dusty. Even the profusion of wind power generators seemed slow and languid.
There was a further delay when the S5 from Halle to Leipzig failed to arrive. We got on the next train though, so not much damage caused.
Nevertheless, we made it to the grand Bahnhof of Lepzig, with its spacious soaring arches at 2:15, and caught a taxi (9 €) to our apartment, in the rear courtyard of a grand building on Waldstrasse.
Beer of the day: Allgäuer Büble Bier Edelbräu
Friday 24 August
Muffins for breakfast. Day tickets on public transport (11.40 € for two)
Tram to Augustusplatz where we saw the Neues Gerwundhaus (with huge foyer mural) and the ultra modern Paulinium and Augustinium of the Leipzig University. In the courtyard behind these buildings, a statue of Leibniz, of calculus fame stands.
This was the start of the ‘Leipzig music trail’ which we followed desultorily. The first destination though, was the Mendelssohn Haus museum, centred on the apartment in which the composer lived in the final two years of his short life. A well set out and quite interesting museum, even for the not so musically inclined. It was the elaborations about the composer’s life which were fascinating. He was also a fine painter, must have been of a very wealthy Jewish family (hence the name change and the later erasure by the Nazis), traveled very widely, and had a very talented sister Fanny Hershel.
Walked past the Edvard Grieg foundation (notable for the rather sad staue of the composer as a head on a stick), and finally to the rather impressive Grassi Museum – substantial building of red stone, latticework and lotus motifs
Behind was the Josephus Cemetary, where the well to do of Lepzig are buried. Did not seek out the tombs of Richards Wagner’s parents as it was time for lunch. We took this at the Bayerischer Bahnhof Brauerei, located in the old Lepzig-Dresden Railway Station. A VERY substantial meal was had. I chose “Strammer Preusse” - Pulled Pork with potato bread, eggs sauerkraut and salad, whilst Minuk chose Herring fillet with potatoes and salad. For drinks I chose the Leipziger Gose (a salty beer!). whilst Minuk preferred Fritz-cola. We were VERY full by the time we had finished.
Went to St Thomas Church by tram – impressive gothic structure, which contains the tomb of JS Bach (and his statue out front. Felix Mendelssohn also scores both a statue AND a portal to the buildings. When we entered, the choir were in the midst of practice, with much of the church roped off. Practice was very stop, start and start again, but the organ, when it played was impressive.
Walked onward to try to walk off lunch. There are many coffee shops in the area, plus many outdoor restaurants, many of which were quite full even in the early afternoon. The Marktplatz in front of the Alter Rathaus was packed with Food carts, whilst the building itself was covered in the type of scaffolding which bears a picture of the building one cannot see!
We entered the local version of Block Arcade, the Maddler Passage, where a scene from Faust is recreated in bronze as Mephistopheles tempts a group of students is situated above the steps to the Auerbach’s Cellar.
We walked back toward the Bahnhof, passing by a statue of Goethe and walking through the lobby of the glass box that is the Museum of Fine Arts.
Found a huge shopping mall (Höfe am Brühl), where we did some quick shopping before heading home for a very light dinner (and just missed getting rained on as we got of the tram at our Waldplatz stop).
Very light dinner – toast and beer and ice cream afterwards!
Beer of the Day: Schultenbrau Pilsner – not so good, though it might be my cold.
Saturday 25 August
A late and leisurely start today. Out after breakfast by 10:30, tram to Augustusplatz. A visit inside the church of the Paulinium – stark and modern, but with the ancient wooden altarpieces inserted into the white walls. Parts of the original Augustinium are likewise included in the modern structure.
Walked across the ring to St Thomaskirche, this time able to wander at will as organ music played. Snapped shots of the Bach stained glass window.
Baum Coffee Museum gave a look inside the buildings (up rickety stairs) and a history of the coffee culture of Germany. Perhaps explains the many coffee shops, though today, most of them seemed empty. Relatively empty also (except for a Hare Krishna festival), was the Marktplatz.
We made a quick visit to the Zeitgeschichtlichen Forum Leipzig, where (when not under renovation), the permanent collection gives an impression of life for ordinary folk in the DDR). Sadly, only a temporary exhibition of design in the DDR was on show, which rather reduced the breadth of the experience. It is a free museum though, so full marks for that initiative.
Walked down pedestrian mall to the massive Neuer Rathaus, ducking our heads into the massive foyer and climbing the grand staircase. Time for lunch and we took a bus up to the Bahnhof and looked for a place to eat.
Chose Thuringer Bratwurst to Go in the Bahnhof Promenade. Later, a quick visit to the supermarket reaped breads and a Haxe (roasted pork knuckle) for tonight’s dinner. Home for a rest, as it also began to rain and became quite cold.
After it cleared we took a tram to the Monument to the Battle of the Nations, a massive Art Nouveau temple built to honour the 100th anniversary of the defeat of Napoleon in the Battle of Leipzig in 1813. It looked a bit grim in dark brown stone under glowering clouds. I climbed the steps to view the interior chamber, but not all the way to the 90m top viewing platform.
We took a tram to Klingerweg, across the Elster Canal. A scary loud and possibly racist crazy lady was yelling at people on the way. She even kicked at a woman as she boarded the tram. We got off at the Klingerweb stop and walked along the Elster canal to the Clara Zetkin Park, and back across the canal, passing a Bridge festival of disparate left wing causes. Walked through slightly scruffy park to the duck ponds of Johannapark and ultimately to the Bundesverwaldtungsgerichtes Building (Federal Court) and a tram home.
The Haxe was enjoyed with salad and mashed potato.
Beer of the Day: Fattigauer Bier Brauerei Pilsener.