LEIPZIG
2009 is here!
My neighbors were all celebrating Jan-1 at 12 midnite with lots of fireworks. This is the 1st time the neighborhood is so noisy. The fireworks were bright and very colorful, NICE! Amazingly, I fell asleep in the midst of all the fireworks that lasted through 12:30.
The visit to former East Germany was wunderbar!
I took the nachtzug to Dresden. Dresden is the capital city of Saxony, together with Leipzig, they are 2 of the most impt cities of East germany. The banks of River Elbe was frozen given that the temp was -3°C. Dresden Altstadt is really very beautiful, with all the roman-styled architecture:
Frauenkirche, Brühlsche Terrasse, Kreuzkirche, Fortress, Cathedral...
However, Dresden Neustadt is so-so. The only nice things being the Golden statue of King Fredrick Augustus I, the Supreme Court and the Blockhaus. I didnt go to the viewing gallery of Frauenkirche since the entrance fee was 8€ (bloodsuckers!). Dresden is a nicer place than Berlin becoz it was less touristy & has more "Kingly" architectures.
Leipzig was snowing :) when I reached there after lunch. I must say that Leipzigers are still poorer than their western brothers, becoz I saw many zinc roofs (attap haus) on my way to Völkerschlachtdenkmal (outskirt of the city). Völkerschlachtdenkmal (Battle of the National Monument) was a big rock monument (91m) completed in 1913 as a tribute to soldiers in the Napoleon War. The lake in front of the tower was converted into an Eislaufbahn. Hitler often uses this place to give speeches (it is one of the very few nationalist monument existing). The city of Leipzig is filled with shopping streets, University Library, 2 Churches, Rathaus square, Auerbach's Keller (young Göthe), Bach's hometown and the Zum Arabischen Coffe Baum (Europe's oldest Coffee Haus).
Walking in the snow can be annoying at times, becoz in Leipzig, it was snowing heavily. I feel that if I stand stationary for 1h in the snow, I will become a snowman. Oh no, the latest weather forecasts says that next week we will experience -20°C. Can I take anymore of this coldness ???
Anyway, next stop: Bonn, Köln & Düsseldorf.
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