Monday morning our train took us to the historic Saxon city of Leipzig. Jim's friend Wolfgang showed us the gigantic train station and then drove us to our hotel. A couple of hours later, Wolfgang took us to the Mendelssohn house, where the great composer lived and died. Many of his possessions, including a group of his fine watercolors, are on display. In a special room, one may also "conduct" his works, aided by a computer (see photos.) Then we went to the 1920 monument that commemorates Napoleon's battles in the city. This powerful and sculptural building sits on a hill surrounded by an impressive landscape that includes a graceful reflecting pool. Then Wolfgang took us to his suburban house where we had a coffee and tea hour with his gracious wife Birgit. Around 6 pm Wolfgang drove us to the man-made Stornthaler Lakes where we had an outdoor dinner at a local restaurant. After dinner our friend showed us the vintage automobile and ephemera collection of the restaurant owner; it was like stepping back to the DDR (communist) era with Russian, Czech and German cars from decades ago. Our last stop before returning to the city was the poignant ruins of the 14th century church at Wachau. The church ruins reminded me of the superb Romantic paintings of Caspar David Friedrich. Today Wolfgang will once again be our gracious host in Leipzig with visits to many more attractions including the J.S. Bach museum on our agenda. - Dan
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