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Published: February 13th 2008
Leipzig Main Station
Hannah, Ali and me arrived at 15:35 on Sunday 3. February to meet our friends Nikki and Tory. Of Carneval, Bach and Hot Chocolates
Last weekend, that was on the 3rd of February, 2008, we decided to go to Leipzig (home of Johann Sebastian Bach). Because the Karnival was going on in Cologne, which is 5 hours from Berlin, we decided to go to Leipzig (only an hour and a half) instead. Karnival is a festival that takes place in most German cities at this time of year, where people dress up, there's parades and music, and most importantly lots of drinking and partying. Well, when we arrived in Leipzig on Sunday afternoon (that is Mischa and I, our friends from Ireland Nikki and Tori and the amazing Alice from Oxford, who is definitly my best friend over here), the parade had nearly finished. But we still got a good glance at what went down early in the day. There was lots of confetti on the ground and all the men were wearing their fool's hats and the women these traditional Carnival dresses in bright, cheery colours.
Wondering out of the main station, we went to the city centre, and checked out the old town hall, and the amazing Thomas Kirche (church), where Bach is burried.
Karneval
Just in time for the end of the Carneval Procession with lots of people, costumes and confetti. He was the church composer for many years up to his death in the 1750. Out front, is a huge statue of him as well as a Bach museum. We also had coffee in the oldest coffee house in Germany, the Coffee Baum (Tree) Caffee, as well as marvelous pieces of cake.
We also had lots of fun sitting in local pubs at night and listening to students jamming till 2am, while we drank the local beer "Leipzig Gose" and played cards. Our youth hostel was amazing, 4 star and very cheap. We made a wonderful breakfast there, even having the facilities to boil eggs for breakie. During the day we went for an amazing, creamy, dark hot chocolate at Auerbachs Keller, where Goethe wrote scenes of Faust in, while he was sipping coffee. It is said that rubbying the foot of Faust is good luck. So before we went for a drink we all rubbed the golden foot of the Faust statue outfront the caffee. Just accross from the caffee there is the statue of Goethe, another old dead celebrity of the city of Leipzig. He studied law there during his youth.
Besides the many hot chocolates
Let the Games Begin...
Ali, Torry, Nikki, and me at the main Carnival Square. and Leipziger Gose (local beer), we also enjoyed the historic sites, such as the huge monument of the Battle of Nations, the largest in Europe. We also saw the two opera houses on Augustus Square that were build by the two communist leaders of East Germany in the 1950s and 1970s, respectively, trying to out-compete one another. Then on Monday night it was already time to say goodbye, one last hot chocolate and off we went back to Berlin.
It was an amazing city, full of crazy, friendly Saxon Germans--who love to dress up for Karnival, drink lots of beer and throw lots of confetti!!! Definitely a place we want to come back to. Bis zum nächsten Mal (till next time), Hannah and Mischa
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Stacey W.
non-member comment
the end?
That's it? Are there more entries/ photos? You guys should keep writing (sometime), your descriptive powers are amazing, i like how you always include things like what you smell and what you notice like how there was confetti on the ground even though you didn't actually see it being thrown.