The Leipzig Experience

Today was our first full day in Leipzig and we are so tired! We did a lot of walking today, and our feet are almost as tired as we are! Stephen Shewmaker gave us a tour of the city today, and we got to see a lot of interesting places. We visited several old churches (including the one that Bach played in), ate brats at the train station, visited the University of Leipzig Student Library, and toured "The Center," which is sort of like the downtown area of Leipzig. We also learned how to ride the trains, how to exchange our money, and how to try to ignore to the stares of Germans who enjoy laughing (and pointing) at huge groups of American tourists.

The group in The Center.

Detailed ceiling art at the Nikolaikirche Church

The entrance to the student library.

My favorite picture of the day!

Thomaskirche (the church where Bach played)

Me, Jenny, and the Shewmaker's daughter Alexandra outside of the Thomaskirche.

Today, we also met with an American named Crister Garrett, a professor at the University of Leipzig. He talked with us for about an hour about the German culutre, and we learned a lot about East Germany before and after the wall came down. It was very interesting, and we enjoyed speaking to someone who spoke English!

We finished off our evening at a restaurant called "Bar Fusz," which means "Barefoot" in English. The waiter spoke a little bit of English, but informed us she couldn't find the English menus. We tried to read the menus, but we were definitely in over our heads. Some of our group decided to use the method of closing their eyes and pointing something on the menu to order, but when they landed on "fishcurry," they changed their minds quickly. Most of us got schnitzel, which was an excellent choice. It was a great first German meal!

Things I love about Germany:

1. The relaxed atmosphere

2. The green trees

3. The food (so far!)

4. The architechture

5. The weather! (The high was 65 today)

Things I am still adjusting to:

1. The time change (I literally thought I was going to die this morning when we woke up.)

2. Being stared at everywhere we go.

3. Learning to respond in German, "danke" instead of "thank you"

4. The sun rising at 5 am. Thanks to British Airways for providing an eye mask for sleeping.

5. Adapters and converters...I hope I don't break anything!

Tomorrow: We meet with a man from the Leipzig Eagles pro women's basketball team where they'll present us with a business challenge for us to solve in teams...stay tuned!

I'll leave you with a picture of last night's sunset....it was a sunset to rival the West Texas skies!

Love you all.

-Sylvia