Leipzig

We enjoyed our final breakfast in Berlin and headed down the road to Leipzig. Keith is feeling better, but not all better, so he slept on the bus. The sun was shining hard in the back window of the bus and I was draping things over my head to try to keep from roasting until someone pointed out that there was a back window curtain. Better.

We took a walking tour of Leipzig. Delightful! I learned so many things. First – JS Bach was the director of the boys choir here as well as cantor. He wrote a new cantata just about every Sunday for 27 years (27 years? Some years. Pretty many years). He was really good at what he did. He was not their first choice. There were several people that they tried to get before they took him – Telemann foremost, but he turned them down. Then a bunch of other guys. Then they finally took Bach. I wonder if they ever realized what a prize they got – or did they think any of the rest of them would have stepped up and gotten things done just as well. Mendelsohn was also here, but much later. He is the first guy to use a baton while conducting (certainly not his only contribution, but I thought it was very interesting). Mendelsohn was instrumental (Ha!) in getting Bach’s music back into the public ear; it’s quite possible that Bach would have been forgotten if not for Mendelsohn reigniting interest. Good job, Felix. There were other guys around here – Goethe! – but there is more to talk about it.

We had free time to explore, but first we had to find some lunch. The first thing I laid eyes on after we all separated for lunch was the Curry Cult. Seemed like a local deal, so we went there. I had the hot dog special – sharf! (spicy. Keith saw them add Siracha. I love siracha so that was a win). It was so delicious. I tried Keith’s Currywurst (stands for which have been everywhere since we got here). I did not like it.

We visited St. Nicholai Kirche, but weren’t allowed to take pictures. It was a very pretty – much more ornate than Lutheran churches usually are. We visited St. Thomas Kirche, Bach’s church. He is buried inside. I was reading the details of the building and found out that the pulpit is not the original one from which Martin Luther preached. Huh. It wouldn’t have occurred to me that it would have been the original. Just a “Martin Lutheran preached here” sign would have totally been enough for me.

We started back to the shopping area, but as we were walking past a outdoor seating area for a restaurant a man was served the most amazing ice cream sundae I have ever seen. It was soooo much fruit. Keith and Jenny looked at each other (Keith and Jenny and I walk around on band trips together. It is a very nice way to go) and said, “We should have ice cream.” So we did. The waiter couldn’t believe I didn’t want to order anything, and I said “just bring him an extra spoon,” in my fabulous German. He said he would, and then as he walked away I realized I had asked for an extra fork. DARN. He brought neither – I got a little shovel. Apparently that is the Leipziger way to eat ice cream – worked great.

Our hotel is the same chain as the one in Berlin so I have high hopes for the breakfast. We got on the elevator with our luggage with our friends. It was a tight squeeze. Dan pushed the floor buttons. Nothing happened. They didn’t light up. He tried several times. I told Keith to get off, because we were too heavy. He shuffled back out. Dan pushed floor two for us, and it lit up. Keith shuffled back in. Number two unlit, and number three wouldn’t light up. I told Keith to get off. He tried to talk me out of throwing him off the elevator, but I was having none of that. Get off, too heavy. He got off. The doors shut. We figured out that you had to scan your room key in order to get the elevator to work. We were so proud. In our proud having moment, it occurred to none of us to open the door again and let Keith back on. It occurred to none of us that he did not have a room key, so he was not going to get to ride the elevator. After I got off, and Dan and Stacy went up to 3, I realized I needed to go back down and get Keith. Luckily, the other elevator opened and he appeared, rescued by another band member. The view from our room is SPECTACULAR.

We had almost two hours before we needed to be downstairs for concert call, and I said Keith needed to nap. He agreed. Since I am always supportive, I also took a nap. When my alarm went off in an hour, I seemed to have been shot with a tranquilizer dart. It’s a really good thing Keith was able to get up and guilt me into coming to consciousness because otherwise I would have missed the evening. Wow. Bam. Sleeping.

We got to the concert venue – outside Bach’s church, in front of the statue of the master himself (kind of a mecca for musicians) – an hour before the concert and nearly every one of the many chairs was already occupied of people waiting for the concert. Wow. No one expected that. Many, many others arrived with their own chairs. The people were standing 4 deep at the back by the time the show started – and it stayed 4 deep throughout the concert. People willing to stay and stand for 90 minutes are amazing – and rare! It was a real treat for the band to play for such a large, appreciative crowd. Total win!

Dinner was in a cellar restaurant – famous for being a hang out for Goethe during his college days. Our guide, Joachin, acted out a play partially set in the restaurant after dinner. It was very funny. Dinner was roulade and dumplings (bouncy, sticky potato sponge balls) (NOT to anyone at our table’s liking) and red cabbage. Keith loved the cabbage, which is NOT a Keith thing. He said it was the best thing on the plate and encouraged me to have some. So I did. Then it was in my mouth. And I really wished it wasn’t. Yuuuuuck.

The weather was simply gorgeous all day, and the evening walk of a few blocks back to the hotel was stunning. A marvelous day in Leipzig.