Dessau and Leipzig

Dessau was roughly the same size as Eau Claire (about 78,000 people) and so once again, the size of this city was what was most interesting to me.  It was cool to see a smaller German city – it finally felt more like I was actually in Europe because of the older looking buildings and cobblestone streets.  Those aspects gave Dessau more of the atmosphere I was expecting in Europe.  It was also cool to be able to compare it to Eau Claire since it was similar in size.  What fascinated me about the geography of Leipzig was the market square and downtown area.  It was absolutely nothing like what we see in the United States – first, because it isn’t common to have a market square in the States, and also because the city of Leipzig is attempting to promote transportation by walking, biking, and public transportation rather than by personal vehicles.  They are doing this by a process called deurbanization.  It was cool to be in the heart of the city without seeing tons of cars everywhere. 

Downtown Leipzig

Between Dessau and Leipzig, my favorite academic event was visiting the Thomaskirche and the Nikolaikirche.  The churches were beautiful! They were so much more decorative and elaborate than the churches in the area we were all from.  It was interesting to learn all of the history behind them and how Bach worked and made music for both of these churches.  I also went to the short organ service in the afternoon at the Nikolaikirche.  I was surprised that pretty much as soon as the pastor started reciting The Lord’s Prayer in German I knew what it was.  It was a great experience.

Interior of Nikolaikirche

In Leipzig we only had one day to see everything we wanted and so over the lunch hour we got, me and another girl grabbed some gelato and walked up and down the streets in the market square are.  First off, the gelato was amazing.  Second, we were able to see most of the inner city that we didn’t hit with the whole group in only an hour.  It was exciting to see so much, but I’m glad we only had a day in Leipzig or I thought we might get bored. 

I would recommend the place we stopped for lunch in Dessau to future students.  It was a Kartoffelhaus (a potato house) so there were potatoes in pretty much every entre, but the food was so good!  It was definitely more traditional (both the food and the atmosphere of the restaurant) than any of the places we went to in Berlin, and so that was very cool to experience.  I had chicken with garlic-roasted potatoes and a salad.  I’m usually not crazy about potatoes, but I was more than pleased with the potatoes I had that day, and the meal and dining experience as a whole as well.

Kartoffelhaus in Dessau