Thursday, May 13, 2010

Our day off



























































Yesterday we didn't do anything manly for Männertag, the other use of Ascension Day here in Germany. Instead, we did something very unmanly, and visited the kids' great grandmother in Leipzig. In addition to having some very delicious coffee and cake, before the visit we stopped off at the Völkerschlacht Denkmal, a giant monument to the Battle of Nations in 1813 when the Germans beat Napoleon.
Above you can see a picture of it being built back at the beginning of the last century.







































One of the many details on the facade near the entrance.





















































































Inside there is a circular crypt with these giant figures.
























There is now also a museum, where you can view Napoleon's death mask.
My first fateful trip to Saxony back in 2001 also included a day trip to Leipzig and a visit to the Völkerschlacht Denkmal. A lot has changed there since then. They started charging admission, but the monument is also being renovated, there is now an elevator to go to the first outdoor platform, chain link fence to keep you from jumping, as well as new informational exhibits and a museum.







Aufzählung







Later on, we also visited the Wildpark in Leipzig-Connewitz with Great Grandmother. This is a very nice, large park with free admission! It was originally opened in 1906 with some deer, later expanded, and now is a huge place with many animals which live in Europe, as well as some playgrounds and restaurants. There we saw this lovely lynx.



































Of course there were some obligatory deer, as well as tons of wild garlic! Grandmother asked us if we liked wild garlic, and said we could collect some even though it is forbidden. When we got to a place on the trail where there were no other visitors, she said "Now you can collect some!"
This may sound far-fetched, but whole areas of the park smelled like garlic from this wild herb!

1 comment:

virginia bed and breakfast said...

These are all the very gallant, elegant and graceful architectures which are too great and magnificent as well.