FROM THE CITY OF MUSIC TO THE CITY OF PORCELAIN (July 30- August 2, 2016)

After spending four beautiful days in Magdeburg, we continued our camper adventure and drove to Leipzig. We stayed here for two days (July 30-31, 2016) and parked at the mix-parking area by the Stadthafen. After that, we drove to Meissen and stayed here for another couple of days (August 1-2, 2016).

Campsite : Leipzig : Parking Stadthafen

Schreberstasse 04109 Leipzig

Coordinates : N: 51.33855 E: 12. 35974

The parking costs 4 euro a day; there is a ticket machine at the area. Most of the parking spaces are reserved; one has to drive as little further at the back. It is about 1 kilometer to the city center, which can be reached through 15-minute walk or by biking. There are no further facilities.

Meissen : Hochuferstrasse 01662 Meissen

Coordinates : N: 51.1638 E: 13.47509

It is a nice parking area reserved for mobile homes and lies along the Elbe River. Fee is 5 euro per day. It is about 700 meters to the old city center which can be reached by following the path which goes partly under the small tunnel. It is also possible to park on the other side of the river, for free, but the surface is a little rough and it looks a bit unsafe.

At the Stadthafen

LEIPZIG : A CITY OF MUSIC AND SHOPPING

Leipzig, the largest city in the federal state of Saxony in Germany, is also called the City of Music. Many renowned composers have lived here like Bach, Wagner, Telleman among others. In fact, there is a walking trail called the Leipzig Music Trail which connects the most significant sites relevant to musical history in the city center. The trail, which is 5 kilometer long, is recognizable thru the curved- stainless steel shapes set on the ground. These sites include churches like St. Thomas Church and St. Nicholas Church, musea like Wagner and Bach Musea and the Opera House, among others.

HIGHLIGHTS OF OUR LEIPZIG VISIT

1. WALKING TOUR OF THE CITY

There are several walking trails one can follow in Leipzig. These are : 1) sightseeing tour which begins from the Central Station up to tSt. Thomas Church; 2) the music trail which begins at Augustusplatz and ends at Leipzig Opera House; and 3) Arcade tour which takes one to the shopping areas of the city.

We tried to combine these trails together by following the several walking tours we found in the city map. We started our tour at the Tourist office, and then we walked to the market square where impressive buildings from the Renaissance period are found such as the Old City Hall, Old weigh House, Konigshaus , Museum of Fine Arts, and Old Stock Exchange. We walked to the intimate Barthel’s Hof and to the stylish and splendid Madler Passage.

Various buildings in Leipzig

We also spent extra time to visit the St. Thomas Church where the former choirmaster, the great composer, Johan Sebastian bach, is buried. A big statue of his is also found at the leftside of the church. The church itself is magnificent; it is simply splendid, beautiful and authentic! A must-see when you are in Leipzig!

St. Thomas Church

From St. Thomas Church, we walked on to the New City Hall, a gigantic and massive building ; then we walked the whole of Schillersstrasse until we arrived at Augustusplatz. It is where we stayed for at least an hour to admire the area, rest, take some more pictures, and watch the people around. It is a very modern square, with big water fountains on both sides of the busy Grimmaischestrasse.. Among the spectacular buildings here are the Leipzig Opera House, Leipzig University, Gewandhaus, Concert Hall and the Panorama Tower.

Augustusplatz

Our tour continued to St. Nicholas Church and Old St. Nicholas School where the Wagner Museum is also located. We then ended up at the Central Station, which is considered to be one of the largest rail station in Europe.

2. SHOPPING

Leipzig is a perfect place to go shopping. Found in the city center are nvarious shopping areas and arcades. No wonder, the so-called Arcade Tour came up! Shops are a-plenty : from simple items to many designer and exclusive brands! One passage is different from the other. On top of these, there are three big shopping centers : the Promenade at the Central Station , the galleria Kaufhof, and the Hofe Am Bruhl. Hans and I spent one whole day windowshopping! It was fun looking at all those discounted items as it was the season for mega-sales! In the end, we also bought some new clothing items .

MEISSEN : THE CITY OF PORCELAIN

Situated about 100 kilometers south of Leipzig is the city of Meissen. Lying along the Elbe River, Meissen is a picturesque town with a towering castle and cathedral. But the town is primarily famous for its porcelain : the Meissen Porcelain. Its history dates back as far as 1710.

MEISSEN’S PORCELAIN HOUSE

A visit to Meissen is not complete without a visit to the Porzellan-Manufactur, Haus of Meissen. Entrance fee is 9 euros per person. Exhibits in this museum are breathtaking : exquisitely handmade-to perfection pieces of porcelain (from a very small animal figure to the newest life-sized Saxon Statue of Liberty which is said to be the largest free standing porcelain structure in the world) are on display!

Inside the Porzelan Haus

Each piece is entirely unique and the details are all carefully and professionally worked out! Fascinating! And of course, for every piece lies a corresponding price! And what for prices! A sigle cup and saucer set could cost already 300 euros! And one vase costs 43,200 euros! Staggering prices!

Exquisite vases

No matter how hard I’d like to renew my cupboard dishes, I know I couldn’t do it with Meissen. So Hans and I just enjoyed looking at all those treasures around us, admiring their exquisiteness and perfection, and of course, we took pictures, lots of them.

Porcelain pieces on exhibit

MEISSEN’S CHURCHES

Even though we only had a short time in visiting Meissen, we still were able to check out on its two historic churches : The Church of Our lady (Frauenkirche) and The Lady of St. Afra. These two were equally impressive churches and it was really worth your time to visit them. The Church of Our lady dates back in 1205 and is located at the market square. It has a nice interior and beautiful altar. Striking feature of the church is the world’s first carillon made of Meissen porcelain which plays several times a day at specified times.

The Church of Our lady

We also climbed up to Abrechtsburg castle and the Meissen Cathedral. We did not however enter these two buildings. Entrance fee for the castle is 8 euros per person, and for the Cathedral, 4 euros.

The Meissen cathedral and castle

We did walk around the Dom Platz where we had a nice astonishing views of the Elbe River. After that, we walked along the town’s cobbled streets and made our way back to our mobile home.