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Leipzig, Germany - 10th August 2012
By: MA_17
Hello to all at home!
What an exciting day!
This morning we jumped into the big car.
First we passed Lake Goitzsche. Can you see it?
We already knew this way. We've been here when we went to Halle.
Hmm, no freeway today.
We finally parked the car and whoohooo we are in one of the two largest cities in Saxony! This city is called Leipzig and it has about 530.000 inhabitants.
First we did a walk through the city.
This beautiful building hosts the Cafe Riquet.
The St. Thomas Church (Thomaskirche) is a Lutheran church and most famous as the place where Johann Sebastian Bach worked as a cantor.
Mini St. Thomas Church
The New Town Hall is the seat of the Leipzig city administration since 1905.
In the 18th century, Leipzig became the centre for trade with Polish and English goods. It was called "the marketplace of all Europe". In 1678/87, this stock exchange was built. In German it is called "Alte Handelsbörse".
Auerbach's Cellar is the best known and second oldest restaurant in Leipzig. It was described in Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's play Faust I, as the first place Mephistopheles takes Faust on their travels.
The St. Nicholas Church (Nikolaikirche) has long been one of the most famous in Leipzig, and rose to national fame in 1989 with the Monday Demonstrations when it became the centre of peaceful revolt against communist rule. It was built around 1165.
Johann Sebastian Bach monument inside St. Nicholas Church.
The Gewandhaus is a concert hall and the home of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. It is the 3rd Gewandhaus and opened on 8 October 1981, 200 years after the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra moved into the original hall (Gewandhaus 1).
The Central Station is Europe's largest railway station when measured by floor area (83,460 m²). It has 24 platforms housed in six iron trainsheds, a multi-level concourse with towering stone arches and a 293 metre-long facade. It handles an average of 150,000 passengers per day.
The station was used in the film "Shining Through" (1992).
Now it was time for some new buildings...like the City-Hochhaus. It is 36-storey skyscraper. With its 466 ft (142m) it is the tallest multistory building in the city as well as the tallest in the former East Germany.
The building is nicknamed "wisdom tooth" (Weisheitszahn) or "university giant" (Uniriese). Maybe it's a good idea to go upstairs.
Finally on the top of the city!
Time for some more history!
We visited the Monument to the Battle of the Nations (Völkerschlachtdenkmal). It is a monument to the 1813 Battle of Leipzig, also known as the Battle of the Nations. Paid for mostly by donations and by the city of Leipzig, it was completed in 1913 for the 100th anniversary of the battle, at a cost of 6,000,000 Goldmark.
The monument commemorates Napoleon's defeat at Leipzig.
The structure is 299 ft (91m) tall and it contains over 500 steps to a viewing platform at the top. The structure makes extensive use of concrete although the facings are of granite. The monument is widely regarded as one of the best examples of Wilhelmine architecture.
Inside the monument.
Finally arrived on the lower platform.
On the top of the monument!
On our way home we saw Lake Goitzsche again!
Look, this is an old East-German car called Wartburg. These are not produced anymore for about 20 years!
Günther
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Posted Aug 11, 2012, 9:01 pm
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Goitzsche, Germany - 12th August 2012
By: MA_17
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Posted Aug 13, 2012, 9:02 pm Last edited Aug 13, 2012, 9:05 pm by MA_17
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host's mom's home, Germany - 23rd August 2012
By: MA_17
Hello family,
it was time for Fiete to leave us. We all cuddled him a lot.
Then he crawled into his envelope. His next stop is Switzerland.
Goodbye Fiete.
Günther
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Posted Aug 24, 2012, 10:28 pm
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Oranienbaum, Germany - 26th August 2012
By: MA_17
Hey Mommy,
today we had some cultures...
First we walked around the castle and the park. The Gardens had its origin in the 17th century, when the marriage of Leopold's great-grandfather Prince John George II of Anhalt-Dessau to the Dutch princess Henriette Catharina, in 1659 brought a team of engineers and architects from the Low Countries to lay out the town, the palace and a Baroque garden in the former settlement of Nischwitz, which was renamed Oranienbaum in 1673. The Dutch influence remained prevalent in the Principality of Anhalt-Dessau for many decades. Oranienbaum Palace was finished in 1683 as the summer residence of Henriette Catharina, where she retired after the death of her husband in 1693. From 1780 on Duke Leopold III had the palace and the park rebuilt in a Chinese style with several arch bridges, a tea house and a pagoda. In 1811, the orangery was built, with 175 m (574 ft) in length one of the largest in Europe, which still serves to protect a wide collection of citrus plants.
The front...
...the back.
The fruits (oranges and lemons) mellow.
We also went into the castle! We visited the Dutch Design exhibition which takes part for a few months. It was opened by the Queen of the Netherlands.
We bought some tickets where we didn't have to pay the full price and a permission for taking pictures inside!
It was really interesting and so much to see on 3 floors!
Some vases...
...and a lovely lamp.
It's time for dinner!
They had chicken in the cellar! Ok, no real ones...
I think I could need a new dress...
I really enjoyed the day!
Günther
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Posted Aug 27, 2012, 7:56 pm
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host's mom's home, Germany - 31st August 2012
By: MA_17
Just a little walk through the village...
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Posted Sep 5, 2012, 10:14 pm
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