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Monday, November 3, 2014

The End of the Story: Leipzig Memories

The last part of our recent trip took us to Leipzig, the fourth largest city in Germany.  It is located in what used to be East Germany and is quite a distance from Cologne, so we only traveled to Berlin the first day.



We had been to Berlin before after one of our choir trips and enjoyed our visit, but this time we arrived late in the day and only stayed over night.  The view from our hotel was quite impressive.



Those boats are on the Spree River, and that bridge is one of 1,700 that crosses the many waterways and canals of this city.



Our hotel was a 5 minute walk across the plaza from the huge train station. Cranes and other evidence of new construction was visible everywhere. The next day found us back on the train headed to Leipzig to visit this family.  Udo stayed with us in the late ninties when he was studying about leukemia at Harborview Hospital and the UW. Now he's married, has twins, and practices medicine in Leipzig.



We had a wonderful time exploring this city with their help! First Udo took us to a concert at the Thomas Church where J. S. Bach spent 20 years, directing the choir and composing music.



The inside was beautiful also.



We explored on foot and on a bus tour. 





The streets were filled with vendors and decorations celebrating the fall season.  In ancient times two heavily traveled roads intersected in Leipzig, and they have been incorporated in the layout of the current shopping mall.



We saw several of these small organs being played in unison!



We walked through a garden connected with the university that listed all of the medical uses of the plants.  Even though it was all in German we were able to mostly  figure it out.  The kids had fun there, too.



Elly and Linus enjoyed the printen cookies that we brought them from Aachen.



On our bus tour of the city, we learned that Schiller and Goethe both spent time in Leipzig.



We felt really fortunate to have finally visited this city  and hated to leave.



So with one last look from our hotel window, 



we headed to the train station where we found this fun amusement while waiting for our train.



The trip back to Amsterdam took us first to Frankfurt where we spent the night.  The view from that hotel window wasn't as spectacular, but it was interesting!



In case you haven't figured it out by now, we love traveling by train, watching the scenery go by, and chatting with the passengers.







We knew we were back in Amsterdam when we saw this!



And this definitely reminded us of home.



We had a wonderful two weeks away, but it still is always good to come back home.  Hope you enjoyed reliving the memories with me!

12 comments:

kathy b said...

Your first comment above .ugh. I hate when my blog gets uninvited comments. ICK ICK CIK.
I LOVE your train love and your pictures Judy!!!
So fun to see how you traveled and how the trip was wonderful!

Judy S. said...

Thanks, Kathy! I agree some people just don't have enough to do, I guess, but thankfully Blogger allows you to trash those kinds of comments.

Araignee said...

I love traveling by train also. Sitting and knitting while watching the world go by is my idea of heaven!

Anonymous said...

Wonderful pictures.

My nephew and his family live in the Frankfurt area. Urte and the kids live IN Frankfurt. Michael and his second wife live in Leonburg.

Looks like Frankfurt is quite a hectic city.

Janet said...

Great photos, Judy. Thanks for sharing your wonderful trip.

Nancy said...

Thanks for posting about your trip - such fun to see and visit without leaving home.

Unknown said...

Leipzig looks like a very fascinating place to visit. Thanks for the tour. What a wonderful vacation!

Mereknits said...

I love traveling with you to all these amazing places.
Hugs,
Meredith

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful experience. I love trains and would ride them everywhere, if only we had any these days! Your pictures are wonderful. I'd love to see so may of those places, too. Thanks for sharing your journey with us.

Rian said...

Europe is just so dang charming...unlimited charm, and yet so modern INSIDE. I am so eager to go back...next November! Thanks for the travelogue.

elns said...

What a great trip. Thanks for taking us along :)

Cranberry Morning said...

What a wonderful time of renewing a friendship and visiting his family, along with the wonderful sites and sights you got to visit. A nice trip to store in your memory bank.