Leipzig

September 13, 2006 · Filed Under Uncategorized 

I’ve been missing out on Leipzig for four years. That is the only conclusion I could come to after my visit to this seriously underrated city. My Frommer’s guide to Germany says that if there are time constraints and a choice between Dresden and Leipzig, go to Dresden. It describes Leipzig as a mini-Berlin. I thought, “I’ve got the real Berlin right here, what do I need to go to a mini-Berlin for?” Well, maybe Leipzig is a little bit like a mini-Berlin, but what nobody says is that it is all the best parts of Berlin. It’s a big city, with beautiful buildings, both old and modern. It’s got shopping, diverse restaurants, and friendly people. Yes! Friendly people. I had pleasant interactions with everyone I encountered there. The only downside is that everything is under construction, but that should make for an even more beautiful city on the next visit.

Neues Rathaus (new town hall) with typical Leipzig streetcar

So my trip to Leipzig begins outside the new town hall with the Leipzig streetcars speeding by. The one pictured above is an older streetcar that Rainer says is very unique to Leipzig. They are slowly being replaced by spiffy modern streetcars, but I guess the city will keep some of the old ones running for the tourists. Berlin offers city tours of the east on old streetcars every once in a while.

Altes Rathaus (old town hall)

The old town hall, built in 1556, was set to be demolished after the official opening of the new town hall in 1905, but the town councillors had a vote on whether to save it. It ended up being a tie broken by the extra vote of the chairman. The building now houses a museum dedicated to the history of the city (I didn’t have time to go inside).

Inside the Nikolaikirche

This oldest chuch in Leipzig was built around 1165. It was originally Romanesque, the beautiful interior dates from a restoration of the church done in 1797.

Specks Hof

Specks Hof was built in 1929 as an exhibit area for Leipzig’s annual trade fair. It could house 500 exhibitor’s and was considered to be one of the more beautiful of the exhibit areas.

Maedlerpassage

Leipzig’s most famous arcade, the Maedlerpassage was built in 1914. Leipzig is full of these wonderful indoor arcades filled with shops, bars and restaurants.

Auerbachs Keller (Auerbach’s cellar)

Auerbachs Keller, now in the cellar of the Maedlerpassage, was originally the cellar of Auerbachshof, which had stood on this site since the 1600’s. It was a favorite hangout of Goethe and is the first place that Mephisto takes Faust in Goethe’s famous play.

The Alte Boerse (old stock exchange) with statue of Goethe

The famous German author Johann Wolfgang von Goethe studied in Leipzig. The old stock exchange was built in 1687.

The Bundesverwaltungsgericht (Federal Administrative Court)

This is one of the five Federal Supreme Courts of Germany. It handles cases involving administrative law disputes between citizens and the state. This building used the house the Rechtsgericht, or Imperial Court of Justice.

The Thomaskirche (St. Thomas Church)

Building of the Thomaskirche took place from 1482 to 1496. Martin Luther preached here in the spring of 1539 and Johann Sebastian Bach was the choirmaster here from 1723 to 1750.

Renovating the Plattenbau

Plattenbau was a style of building used in East Germany that involved rapid construction of buildings using prefabricated pieces. Many of these buildings are now rundown and in dire need of rehabilitation. These depicted above are wrapped in colorful artwork while undergoing renovation.

After sightseeing, I met up with Rainer and we went to the Leipzig zoo, which houses the largest primate research center in the world, funded by the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. Our chimpanzee cousins were quite anally oriented during our visit. I never knew poop could be so interesting. And there is a nice kid-friendly poster describing the Bonobos, including their sexual habits. Can you imagine an American zoo doing this? They’d be protests and boycotts, and the Christian nuts would be dancing in the streets because rapture has come.

After the zoo, we headed over to Barfussgaesschen, where all the cool eateries are, and had an extremely delicious and very romantic dinner at Osteria Don Camillo & Peppone. I think this is perhaps the best Italian restaurant I’ve been in outside of Italy (and it’s better than some I’ve been to in Italy as well). We started with Vitello Tonato, which was perfect. The veal was top quality and the sauce wasn’t overpowered by either the tuna or the capers, as is often the case. I then got the Spaghetti Calabrese (spicy with broccoli and bacon) and Rainer got the pasta of the day (tomatoes, mushrooms and bacon), which were both scrumptious. And we finished off with coffee and tiramisu, which was incredible, the alcohol was not overpowering and the marscapone was whipped to just the right level of creaminess. The dishes at this restaurant were all prepared with top notch ingredients and the different competing flavors were balanced perfectly. As we waited for the bill, we groaned, “Oh boy, this is going to be about 60 euros,” but it ended up at 40 euros. Not cheap, but a lot less than you’d pay for a similar meal in other cities.

And with full, contented tummies, we made the long drive back to Potsdam.

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4 Responses to “Leipzig”

  1. rita on September 13th, 2006 10:55 pm

    these pics are fabulous! did you take them yourself?

    and to top our near encounter at st thomaskirche, kumi and i went to have some small dinner at the kildare pub in barfußgässchen after the service. though my favourite pub, killy willy, is located on the karli.

    glad you enjoyed the city.

  2. Christina on September 14th, 2006 12:08 pm

    Small world! We probably spent quite a bit of time within a few hundred meters of each other that day. And I did take the photos myself (the beautiful weather helps).

  3. vailian on September 14th, 2006 4:32 pm

    I haven’t been to Leipzig since about 1990, so it has changed a lot! I remember visiting the War Museum (then full of Russian tanks and placards praising the Socialist saviors from the East) and the Hygene Museum.

  4. rita on September 14th, 2006 5:51 pm

    @ vailiab: if i remember correctly, the hygene museum is in dresden. but then again, at that time there might have been another one here.

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