Christmahanukwanzika, Part 2: Leipzig

I love Bach. Bach-y Bach Bach.

It hasn't always been that way. But in college, once I was exposed to more of his music, I grew to like it. And then love it. The man was undeniably a genius, contending with some of the other giants of our Western Classical idiom for the completely arbitrary and subjective title of Greatest Composer Ever. 

He knew how to put some notes together.

Which is why, whilst in Germany, Laura and I unhesitatingly took the chance to travel to pay our tribute to The Man. After a six-year tenure in Köthen, Bach moved to Leipzig in 1723, directing the choirs at, and composing for, several of the city's numerous churches. His home base, the Thomaskirche, still regularly programs his music, and since 1950 has housed his remains. Of course we were going to go. And what better occasion than Weihnacht?

Waking up altogether earlier than we had grown accustomed to, burdened with bags of food to be consumed over the course of the weekend, we made our way to the Munich central station on Christmas Eve morning. Our train travel went off without a hitch, and six hours later, we made it to Leipzig.

Upon leaving the Leipzig central station, we found the appropriate tram and took it over to the stop that should, in theory, have been right next to our hostel. After getting lost down some questionable alleyways in a desolate, not-exactly-well-lit, abandoned part of town, we began to feel a little nervous, but we eventually found the appropriate door. Exhausted from the double ordeals of traveling and feeling nearly certain we were about to be mugged, we paused to catch our breath, Skype our families, and get settled in. We finally ventured out at 9 PM and headed over to the Thomaskirche for a service that would, disappointingly, turn out to be nothing more than a Christmas play, although hearing the whole story in German was not an uninteresting experience. 

Knowing that there would be a Midnight Mass (one that actually took place at midnight, something I've never witnessed in the States), we stayed after the play was over, which was definitely worth it - we were rewarded with a manageably short (given the lateness of the hour) all-chant service featuring the Thomanerchor, the boys' choir that Bach himself directed nearly 300 years ago.

Though the night was freezing, and we again found ourselves having to walk for a bit longer than was comfortable through what proved to be another scary section of town, we made it back to the hostel alive and in one piece, slept for all of six hours, and got up early to get to the Christmas morning service (again, something I've never experienced in the US) back at the church.

On the program for Christmas morning? Cantata #1 from Bach's Weihnachts-Oratorium. And it was good. 

Being churched out for the moment, we went out to see Leipzig and to try to have some semblance of a normal Christmas. We made friends with some rather large Christmas trees, 

It was bigger than it looks

saw Leipzig's enormous City Hall,

Also bigger than it looks

the Gewandhaus,

Nice.

and opera.

Majestic

Our Christmas dinner? Indian food, if you can believe it, at a nice-ish place in the middle of town. Full of this unconventional Christmas dinner, we went home, Skyped our families some more ('tis the season, you know), and went to bed.

Our last day in Leipzig once again dawned a bit earlier than was preferable, and we manically packed to check out of the hostel, culminating in Laura's throwing the remainder of our payment, in cash, through the retractable window of the hostel's office's door. Waving our arms like maniacs in front of the oncoming tram in an effort to get it not to run us over to stop and let us in, fortune, and the tram's driver, smiled on us, so we were able to get to the Thomaskirche on time for the service. This morning's music was Cantata #2 from the Weihnachts-Oratorium. After it was over, the church silent, and the people gone, I finally got the chance to (metaphorically) kneel before The Man.

There he is

The rest of the church was cool, too.

My homage paid, we set off into Leipzig to see a few more things before it was time for us to leave. Cool, serious things included the Mendelssohn-Haus,

Who knew he lived in a mansion?

the rebuilt Paulinerkirche (an interesting note about the Paulinerkirche: It was originally constructed in the 1400's, survived World War II--not something many buildings in Germany can claim--and was then tragically demolished by the Communist government of East Germany in 1968. Who would do that? A replica of it--what you'll see below--began to be constructed three years ago, except that this incarnation of it is completely fronted by glass, top to bottom. Ridiculous),

How cool is this?

and a museum documenting the history of East Germany from the end of the war up through reunification, which was fascinating, chilling, and insightful, all at the same time.

Slightly wackier things that we saw included an abstract monument to philosophy

Yes, those are naked dudes holding power tools

and an office building that looked unsettlingly like a face, right down to its beady little eyes, doubling as windows.

A little creepy

At four o'clock, our driver--as we had booked a rideshare--came and picked us up, whisked us down the autobahn at 180 kmh (!), and dropped us off safely back in Munich, all for the low, low price of €20. And so ended our Christmas Getaway.

It was, by far, the most unusual Christmas I've ever had (not that I make a habit of observing it, though my life has somehow conspired to always put me in the position to do so), but a fun and satisfying one. The one thing I had really wanted to do, I did, and though neither of us could be with our families for it, Laura and I got to spend it together. All in all, a good trip.

Tomorrow we'll conclude our whirlwind tour of my vacation, glossing over many important details, as has been, and must continue to be, my custom herein. Thanks for reading, and I hope to continue not to completely disappoint you. Until then -