Visit to the Big City of Leipzig

Two days ago we visited the city of Leipzig. We felt like it was "huge" compared to the small little villages we have been driving through and touring. The city has many trolley street cars, vehicles and many, many bicycles. Trying to read the road signs, staying out of the trolley cars paths, dodging bicyclists and listening to "Greta" our GPS navigation system in the car was quite the task for Mitch driving and me "navigating." However, we managed to find a parking garage in the perfect spot and to have a picnic lunch at a park in the middle of downtown. Thanks to Mitch's long term memory we had no problems.......his short term memory now that is a different story, hee, hee, hee

Mitch quickly became our tour guide and we meandered through the streets with the kids and the stroller. Sidenote: we couldn't figure out why we get stared out so much. It is not because we look like foreigners (I mean Mitch speaks pretty good German) it is because we have more than one or two kids. No joke! We have seen very few families with more than one or two kids. Our hosts back at the farm explained that it is just the culture.

Anyways, back to Leipzig. Mitch explained that many of the colors on the buildings have changed from dark gray to now very nice lighter colors. Years ago, most of the buildings were heated by coal and therefore produced a black or gray soot. Now, you can tell which buildings have been cleaned and which ones the city is still working on restoring.

We took many pictures, but these are the ones that made the blog.

1. The first picture is of Mitch and the kids in front of a statue in front of the Neues Gewandhaus. The statue is called Mendebrunnen.

2. The second picture is of the "City Building." It is designed to symbolize an open book. Very modern looking!

3. Old Town Hall, market area. This is the center area where locals gathered to peacefully protest travel restrictions from East Germany in 1989. More and more people gathered and this eventually led to the peaceful end of the East German Communist Government. In laymans terms, it led to the wall coming down and Germany was one country. Very cool to see this in person even though the area was under construction. Those construction guys......Jeez, I tell ya they are always making a mess of things. Sorry honey, but you are. hee, hee

4. The fourth picture is of the famous St. Thomas Church or Thomas Kirche. It was built in 1212 and it is famous because this is where Martin Luther introduced the Reformation in Albertine Saxony on Whit Monday 1539. Also, because Joann Sebastian Bach was cantor and "director musices" from 1723 to 1750.

5. The last picture is of the new city hall building. It has been recently renovated, but built originally between 1899 to 1905. The tower is 114 meters high and the building has over 600 rooms. The stone has been cleaned back to the light gray color.