balcony with plants

It's not unusual to see old empty houses where small saplings have established themselves in nooks and crevices of the building. But the wrought-ironwork of this balcony is exceptional.

jungle fever

Visit the Amazon Rain Forest in the city without bugs and mosquitos! This must be one of the largest paintings/photo montages in the world. It's hung inside a gasometer. Its really impressive and educational.

penguin milkbar

Germans love extravagent icecreams and this is the place for them. It has been famous for more than 20 years.

folly?

No its not green grass, its waterweed! Near Leipzip the land is very flat and the very many small rivers spread out into wide flood plains. These are preserved as nature zones .

laundermat-cafe

One of the original post-Wende cafes, the Maga-Pon was really used as a laundermat. Rumour has it that the washed clothes stank of smoke. Later famous in Germany as the local of a couple of police detectives in the regular "Tatort" TV series that is shown on Sunday evening. Now the decor has been nicely updated and the place has retained a special character and serves good food.

dancers

I had trouble taking this without the old gits who were enjoying their leisure with a beer!

just one of many

Leipzig is lucky that the most destructive times of the 20th century passed it by, we have countless houses that even if they aren't "great architecture" are handsome to look at.

summer idyll

Mid summers day was short!
Just beyond this mill-pond is a small hydro-electric generator, very old butstill going.

ein Bett in Kornfeld

I took this at the edge of town (as defined by the tariff zone on the tram 11).

My little Venice

The Krochhochhaus, built in 1928 was inspired by the clock tower in St Mark's Sq. was the first "skyscraper" in Leipzig. Its height was limited by city planners to that of the church almost next door. The top 4 storeys were first erected as a simple facade which convinced the planners that it was okay the build all 12 storeys. It was built for Bankhaus Kroch who also financed a very large and for its time advanced housing estate in northern Leipzig. The owner of the bank, Hans Kroch and his children, but not his wife escaped the Nazis.
The statues chime the hours and quarters and the sphere above the clock show the phases of the moon.

Freisitz

This seems to be a local word for any space outside a pub where you can enjoy a drink and a bit to eat. Virtually every pub offers a variety of good food, usually cheap, mostly good. This is in the forecourt of a railway station. You can really still imagine how people used the staion in the 19th century.
The tracks have been temporarily removed so that the tunnel can be built. Eventually the station will be under the ground but the original buildings preserved.

17.06.1953 Tanks in Leipzig!

56 years ago the Russians sent tanks into many East German cities to suppress the rioting against the raised "norms" ie demanded productivity. Happily things calmed down, unhappily the political scene didn't change. The phot shows tank tracks made of brass set in the ground directly in front of the old market house.

Litfasssuale

This old (1854) marketing idea still thrives here. The columns are named after their inventor. This one is rather extravagant, it revolves, also its being used for product advertising whereas they are more often used to advertise cultural events.

Gewandhaus

Our concert hall is named after the building in which it was originally housed, the "robe house".
I've been trying for ages to do this amazingly functional and attractive building justice, but I can't!
The auditorium is like a basin supported on columns, access ways and starrs seem to float up to it.
Really world class.

culcha!

This is Bach week, lots of interesting events. This was in the main square. Why do people who attend these shows need to chatter so incessantly and loudly? Perhaps its 'cos its free, or in the open air, or is it a commentary on the artists. We were disappointed that in Bach week, no Bach was played nor even classical music, so perhaps it is the artists.

our heritage

My father in law says this reminds him of Stalin and indeed there are several examples in the eastern part of Germany. I am reminded of "The Architects" by Stefan Heym. Looking more closely at the ugly masts that carry the tram wires I also notice two video cameras. They are still not so commonplace as in England but unpopular.

The flats are probably very pleasant to live in

curved glass

In this rather posh shopping arcade the small boutiques have wonderful curved glass windows. Today's designers seem not to like such small details and rather seek more imposing, obvious motifs.

Red Roses

The parks and open spaces are full of them

Linden tree

The name of Leipzig is said to originate in "linden baum". Americans recognise the name but in England it's more commonly called a limetree. Here we have a lot of them and they smell heavenly at this time of year. The umbrella was unintentional but adds colour to a grey day.

"cheers"

This effigy is on the corner of the Thuringerhof a rather old-fashioned and gemütlich pub.

elections

Karl Leibknecht declared the 1st German Republic just as Kaiser Bill slunk away in 1919. Unfortunately Karl ended up in the Landeswehr Canal in Berlin and as we know the first attempt at democracy here ended in tears.
Karl lived in the house for a while, he was born nearby and in Leipzig a very popular street is named after him. His dad Wilhelm another pioneering socialist has a place in Leipzig named after him.

I just wish that I had been able to discern a valid manifesto from the current bunch of politicians (and I use the word in its derogatory sense) and had been been able to make a reasonable decision. In the end I did, Ididn't vote.

open air music

This little concert took place last weekend in the garden of the Mendelssohn House. Listening was free but the chairs and breakfast afterwards had to be paid for.
I really like the flats in the background!

beauty is in the eye of the beholder

Friends that were with me when I took this photo couldn't see why, but every time I pass this house I think how pleasant it must be inside, especially upstairs where the wall is almost all windows.

bikes for tourists

We too have a scheme for those who want a short ride in the centre. It's not free but the bikes are good quality.
I have a feeling that the take-up is not so great, I rarely see a bike being used.

my little Versailles

In "my little Paris" there is a gem of a palace. It has a nice cafe and one can dine there on special occassions. They have regular concerts too, which is a nice way to see the inside.

spinning art

Spinnerei, the old cotton spinning mills. The old warehouses and factory units were adopted by the arts scene some years ago and they regularily hold an open day. Behind one of the units is a small but very interesting exhibition of the works and the supporting plantations in Africa in its heyday before WW1