Leipzig in Christmas-mode

On Sunday Mike and I hopped on the train at Hauptbahnhof (Main Train Station) in Berlin and took the 1-hour train south to Leipzig. Good thing we reserved our seats because the train was packed! Arrival in Leipzig was a joy because we saw something immediately upon exiting the Leipzig train station - Europe's largest train station. What did we see? You guessed it! Sun! We then set out to explore the city's historic downtown.

Nudging through the throngs of visitors of the Weihnachtsmarkt, we walked past literally hundreds of stands. Then we spent time at the main city museum at the Altes Rathaus and learned about the city's history. Did you know the first trade fair occurred in Leipzig? Then we continued through the city and saw all kinds of sights, sounds, and especially smells. It was a great day outside of Berlin!


The entrance to the Leipzig Weihnachtsmarkt


Roasting/smoking salmon: I took this photo at the small Finnish Christmas market. They of course served these delicious morsels of salmon nearby.


Christmas lights inside the Leipzig Hauptbahnhof: supposedly the biggest in Europe. It did not seem that way though.


Rustic bread baking: These breads were handmade and then baked the old-fashined way.


The prize: hot out of the oven, filled with bacon and lots of melted cheese. Caloric content: in the high 1000s I'm sure!


A relic from the city's commercial history: an elaborate document granting the owner the right to conduct commerce.


Diarama showing early commerce: in the museum


Wall of judges: this long row of portraits documents the city's judges for the past hundreds of years.


City Hochhaus (City Highrise) and fountain at night. A little info about the Highrise: City-Hochhaus, at a height of 142.5 metres, is the tallest building in the city of Leipzig, and the tallest multistory building erected in the former East Germany. Designed by architect Hermann Henselmann in the shape of an open book, and built between 1968 and 1972, it was originally part of the University of Leipzig campus at Augustusplatz. The building was completely renovated between 1999 and 2002, and is now rented to private tenants including the public broadcaster MDR and the Panorama restaurant. The roof is equipped with a viewing platform. (Wikipedia)


Evening light.


The world's largest advent calendar: those have to be some HUGE chocolates!