Our train trip to Leipzig was through a landscape of white fields with foraging foxes, and villages surrounded by snowy pine trees - it was the Christmas card scenery we had hoped for.
It was exhilarating to walk in the zoological park, in shin deep snow. We saw a fox,
a white owl, deer, hairy pigs, elks, buffalo, and lots of human skiers striding along on their cross country skis.
After paying homage to Bach, long time resident of Leipzig, and to Mendelssohn and Schumann, who promoted the performance of Bach's music in public, we retreated with our other friend Karola, from the cold and the challenges of sight seeing into one of the oldest cafes, Cafe Baum, for yet another hot chocolate and out last bit of German cake.
On our last morning, when the temperature dropped to minus 16, and newsreaders intoned about the coldest winter for 100 years, we felt our wish for a white winter had been more then fulfilled.
It was exhilarating to walk in the zoological park, in shin deep snow. We saw a fox,
a white owl, deer, hairy pigs, elks, buffalo, and lots of human skiers striding along on their cross country skis. One church in the city held double fascination for us. St Nicholas church, built in 1165, and a Protestant church since the Reformation arrived in Leipzig in 1539, was where Johann Sebastian Bach was organist and choirmaster from 1723 to 1750. 
Architecturally it is one of Germany's most important monuments.
Architecturally it is one of Germany's most important monuments. Its place in social and political history is even stronger.
All through the 1980's, people gathered at St Nicholas church to pray for peace. In the autumn of 1989 there was a hideous show of force by soldiers, industrial militia, police and plain clothes officers. They were welcomed into the church. The end result of the non-violent presence of thousands of fellow east Germans was the collapse of the party and the ideological dictatorship. - the Wall came down.
After paying homage to Bach, long time resident of Leipzig, and to Mendelssohn and Schumann, who promoted the performance of Bach's music in public, we retreated with our other friend Karola, from the cold and the challenges of sight seeing into one of the oldest cafes, Cafe Baum, for yet another hot chocolate and out last bit of German cake.
On our last morning, when the temperature dropped to minus 16, and newsreaders intoned about the coldest winter for 100 years, we felt our wish for a white winter had been more then fulfilled.
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