Work and Play in Leipzig

When opportunity knocks, we welcome it in! Jeff was presenting at a Deloitte office in Leipzig, Germany, so we took advantage of another trip back to the East side, spending a long weekend exploring a new city.

On Wednesday, Jeff caught a small plane to Leipzig. He spent the evening enjoying an authentic German meal at the second oldest restaurant with his colleague. On Thursday, while he was presenting, Amy hopped on a train and started the trek to East Germany. With an hour delay, an ancient train, a few extra stops, and more stress than she’d like, Amy arrived in Leipzig happy to see Jeff’s smiling face awaiting her arrival and feeling ready for a cocktail at the lounge.

After settling into the biggest room in the hotel (top floor, two bedrooms, and a large balcony with a view of the city) we made our way to Altstadt to taste the wonders of Leipzig. We settled for a great tapas bar off the main drag… it wasn’t very German, but it was tasty.

We started Friday off right as we indulged in a royal break-“feast.” They had a mini pancake station, several cheese and sausage selections, smoothies, bread galore and the best of all fresh honey dripping off the honeycomb. What’s better than a crisp, warm croissant dipped in sweet honey? You tell me!

After breakfast, Jeff settled in and begin his work for the day, enjoying his temporary office with a view while Amy set out to find the Bach museum. In the early 1700s, Bach was appointed the Cantor at St. Thomas School and director of music at St. Thomas Church in Leipzig. Every Sunday and church holiday, he composed a new cantata, arranging the music and copying it over for the different sections of the choir. He did all this while composing other musical wonders and taking care of his large family and the choir boys. Talk about a busy man!

The tool Bach used to create the music staves on his paper

On her way back to the hotel, Amy discovered the Friday market in the town square. There were numerous stands with fresh fruits and veggies and other tasty treats. She picked up a few plums, cherries, dried mangos, and fresh Leipzig blackberries to snack on before continuing back to the hotel to share her treasures with Jeff.

By mid-afternoon, Jeff called it a day, and we took off to scour the town. We grabbed a late lunch and wandered over to the Leipzig zoo. Zoos are not typically on our travel list; however, when one is listed on every “must-see” itinerary for a city and recommended by the locals, we figure we better check it out. And it was totally worth it! There was a tropical rainforest in a vast climate-controlled dome with 500 different plant and animal species. There were rope bridges taking you to different areas of the jungle, a “monkey island” where the monkeys walked right next to you and over your head. There were birds and bats flying freely and somewhere hidden in the trees a sloth just hanging out. If you wanted you could even take a boat ride through the jungle or dine at an actual rainforest café. And that was only one exhibit! Our other favorite exhibit was the monkey pasture where we saw several babies with their families and the gorillas hanging out munching on some veggies and keeping cool with a towel.

After the zoo, we took a break at the hotel, enjoying a quick snack and a drink before heading out again. We stopped by the giant Hauptbahnhof (central train station) to admire the WWII era steam engine as well as an aerodynamic diesel locomotive from the 1930s. Afterward, we got stuck in a bike parade where Jeff collected several high fives before continuing on our way to the town square (we later learned it was the annual “bike night,” where thousands of bikers come out and ride through the city). We enjoyed a real German meal at Augustine brewhouse (one of Jeff’s favorite beer companies over here) and finished the evening with a glass of wine on the balcony admiring the city from above. #lifeisgood

Room with a view!

We started Saturday off just like Friday, waking up and enjoying a delicious breakfast at the hotel (complete with a croissant and honey and mini pancakes of course). After breakfast, we made our way to Augustusplatz, where we began our walking tour of the city. During the tour, we learned about Leipzig’s prime location on the trade map (sitting at the crossroads between Via Imperii and Via Regia), the large Hauptbahnhof created for the “big” city that never actually made it, and the reconstruction that is still happening today. We also wandered by the Neues Rathaus, the new town hall, located in a castle with over 600 rooms and looks like it came straight out of Harry Potter. Our favorite part of this building was the small snails on the door handles, set as a reminder that what happens in city hall is often very sluggish and slow.

We continued on, stopping to admire St. Thomas church (the home of Bach’s grave and his main stomping grounds). We enjoyed a mini organ concert, pretending it was actually Bach sitting at the organ, as the organist prepared for the evening concert. On our way to the next church, we stopped to admire the half restored tea house (apparently they ran out of money and stopped the restoration) and the Städtisches Kaufhaus (former trade fair building) where, if you are talented enough, you can create music with a large vat by rubbing your hands on the handles, causing the water to vibrate. We ended the tour at St. Nicholas church, the site where 120,000 people came together for the “Monday Demonstrations,” which played a significant role in reuniting Germany.

St. Thomas

The half-house!

St. Nicholas 

After the tour, we grabbed lunch at a local Sushi restaurant and took off for the Zeitgeschichtliches Forum. This museum centers on the years between 1949 and the reunification of Germany. They have several items depicting everyday life in Eastern Germany and living in the communist dictatorship as well as information about the reunification. A couple fascinating pieces of the museum were the video recordings of the everyday life, the pictures, and videos showing the dirty black buildings which were caused by the use of coal and coal mining near the city, and the interviews recorded with individuals talking about how they decided to read or not read their personal files after the reunification occurred. Everyone had the right to read their file, however doing so often revealed the family and friends who were communist spies and who had reported information about you to the big wigs… To read or not to read, what would you do?

"The Century Step" or "Jahrhundertschritt"

Following the museum, we wandered the streets of Leipzig and eventually made our way south to Noel’s Ballroom for dinner. Being true millennials, we found this pub online and given its phenomenal reviews we figured we should try it, but first, we had to find it. We initially walked by it, then backtracked and found the door. We thought for sure we had the wrong place... the pub was a little grimy and completely empty except for the bartender and his friend who looked blankly at us as we entered. We looked at them then broke the silence and asked if this was Noel's ballroom to which they said "yes". We responded with something like "Great! Can we sit anywhere?" (Remember the place is empty) to which they said "yes" and watched as we tried to decide where to sit. Eventually they said, "There are more seats outside" and pointed to the back of the restaurant, "Oh great!". So, we made our way to the back, up some stairs, and popped out at the coolest little back patio! It felt like a grown-up treehouse! We found an open seat next to a young German couple, ordered an Irish red and black velvet (Guinness and cider... say what?) and enjoyed a scrumptious dinner in our cozy canopy. 

Following dinner, we made our way to the real destination of the evening, the Löffelfamilie (aka the “spoons family”). This Löffelfamilie is one of the first and few neon ads in East Germany. The sign was created to help “brighten up” Eastern Germany and was an advertisement for a state-owned food company. The sign portrays a family sitting around the dinner table, and given how it lights up, it looks like they are eating a bowl of soup. As we walked up, the sign was aglow, and the family was enjoying their meal. We also stopped to admire the graffiti covering the walls in the neighborhood, experience the “local hangout,” and take a peek at the Courthouse and Town Hall lit up in the dark sky. We ended the evening, in the main square, enjoying a fantastic pianist performing for anyone who cared to listen. 

Sunday started just like the others, and with full bellies, we set off for our morning workout at the Völkerschlachtdenkmal. Here we admired the 100-year-old memorial, commemorating the 1813 Battle of the Nations. We admired the enormous statues, climbed 500 spiral steps, and enjoyed a panoramic view of the city. It’s been a while since we’ve climbed stairs like that, glad we’re back at it! By the time we finished at the memorial, we were hot and sweaty and decided to take a relaxing swim at the luxurious hotel pool (sometimes it’s fun to be a kid again). 

Napoleon's Uniform... he was tiny!

After we cooled off, showered and packed our bags, we decided to take one last stroll around the city before heading off to the airport. We stopped by what was once the oldest coffee shop in Germany and what used to be a coffee museum (we were disappointed to learn that it is permanently closed). We continued on and found a Leipziger Lerche, Leipzig's famous pastry. The name originates from the popular dish which was like a potpie filled with the actual songbird lark, roasted with herbs and eggs. The reinvented delicacy is now a tasty bird-free dessert, but does contain a cherry symbolizing the bird's "heart". We wandered back to the hotel, grabbed our bags and set off for the airport. On our way there, we were in for a surprise as we received a text stating, "Your flight had been canceled". Um... its 3 hours until takeoff, how can our flight be canceled? Thankfully we were rebooked on a new flight, which was going to Cologne. However, they left it up to us to find a train back to Düsseldorf... good thing we know the train system! So with a new flight, a 30-minute delay and an hour train ride home, our one-hour trip turned it a three-hour trip... good thing we’re young and flexible! Now we’re off to prepare for “Parent’s month”!