Leipzig, Germany

August 16, 2008

Today was a very fun day. We went to Leipzig, Germany, which is a little over an hour away from Hedersleben. We had breakfast at 7:30 am, then boarded our charter bus, and left at 8:30am. The German countryside and all the tiny little towns on the way to Leipzig were very beautiful. We passed lots of corn and wheat fields… and everything was very very green.

Once we arrived in Leipzig, we walked to a museum where we had an appointment for a guided tour. Since our group of 42 kids plus teachers was too large, we were divided into two groups. Then we were given little headsets that were synched to the guide’s microphone. I think that was pretty brilliant idea because then she could talk very softly, but we could all hear her loud and clear. I was very grateful that she spoke in English because I was able to understand everything and it was very interesting. This museum focused on the time period after Hitler’s dictatorship: the time when Germany was divided into West Germany and East Germany. More specifically, the museum’s focus was on the resistances against the East Germany government. It was very interesting to see how different people reacted and how even some sacrificed their lives, in trying to change their situations. Some people just wanted to escape East Germany, some wanted to completely abolish the government, and others wanted to revise the Socialist/Communist government. I thought it was really neat to see the German perspective on this portion of history.

Okay, so after the museum we were given free time until 4 pm (sharp!!!...this was clearly emphasized), which was when we were to meet back up at the bus. Also another rule was that we had to go in groups of 4 or more, and we were given a map of downtown Leipzig with our leader’s handy (cell phone) number.

Weird thing: right when we walked out of the museum, there was this crazy festival/parade thing happening right out in the middle of the street. It was a bunch of mostly Indian people (country India) and some white people dancing around and singing interesting music. They were dressed very in bright colors and had odd streaks of paint or makeup on their foreheads. Also, they were handing out fruits and cookies.

Anyway, Leipzig was pretty awesome…especially since it’s the birthplace of Johann Sebastian Bach. I went and saw a monument of Bach, and also the church where he is buried. It was so cool! Also when we went in that church, St. Thomas Kirche, we got to see a wedding. It was really funny, because we saw lots of tourists all sitting very quiet in the back of the church. I noticed that the front of the big church was blocked off, but I thought that it was just because we weren’t allowed up front since it was so old or something like that. So we just sat down with the other tourists and listened to the organ music, which stopped shortly after we arrived. Then suddenly I noticed (way up front, I had to squint to see it) a priest stood up in front of two people, a bride and a groom. Then he married them, then music started playing, and then the wedding party marched right down the aisle. I got to see a wedding in Germany, or more like I walked in on a wedding accidentally. But the bride and groom didn’t seem to mind all the tourists, they just smiled and waved. Pretty awesome. Later the front of the church was opened for tourists, so I took some neat pictures of Bach’s burial place.

Also, we went to the Nikolas Kirche (lots of neat carvings, paintings, and windows) and we walked around the downtown area.

There were tons of cute little restaurants and shopping centers (most things were very very expensive).

Yep it was a fun day.