





This week's destination







A handful of students gather before the city's landmark statue of Johann Sebastian Bach in the center of town to play songs for passersby. Photo: Chen Chenchen/GT



Though modern history remembers Leipzig as an East German city that staged the first grand march for freedom and democracy in 1989, the past 24 years has transformed the metropolis into a post-German Democratic Republic (GDR) darling urban center that inherited musical icons and much federal government-funding for bright colors of infrastructure, making it an enchanting and leisurely place to visit.



The impressive street side café culture nonexistent in Beijing immediately drew me in, as Leipzig offers a quaint and relaxing touch to the outdoor coffee environment so familiar to Europeans. While guidebooks list museums, churches and bookstores to visit, I must say the best part of the city for me was taking in the atmosphere outside, enjoying local beer on delightful patios, and idling at every coffee table with hours of extra sunlight each day given the late arrival of darkness here due to the city's high latitude.



Coming to Leipzig from Beijing is like waking up in a calming and comforting dream. With rush hour nightmares and congested streets filled of pollution absent, we sat and basked in the day and contented in the night, chatting away and people-watching, enjoying the endless sunshine and fresh outdoors among the other locals.



Park yourself across the street corner facing the city's landmark statue of Johann Sebastian Bach, a cultural heritage treasure of Leipzig that celebrates the German composer. Captivating outdoor tables await, and if you're lucky a mini orchestra of kids playing sonatas, much like the adorable quartet with flutes that charmed us with pleasant melodies one afternoon. Crowds are supportive, too. I remember one old man, with his silver hair dancing in the breeze, smiling along as others applauded when the music ended.



Summer nights are short in Leipzig. Even at 10 pm, the vault of heaven is at most a shade of deep blue, rather than completely dark. Candlelight flickering at outdoor café tables under big umbrellas lights up the city, bringing a warm glow to the central square through to the corners of the city where time-honored universities stand. Even as the day draws to an end, it is hard to feel tired when the soft lights and cozy atmosphere adds to comfortable conversation over a glass of wine or a late-night cup of tea or coffee with that special someone after a long day.



Music to the ears



Due to jet lag, I woke early the next day, even before the garbage truck drivers started their day. Weaving in and out through the small alleys of Leipzig, I passed countless outdoor cafés, their white chairs still stacked and giant umbrellas closed. But bright flowers and stemware gleaming through the windows still made for a picturesque scene, enwrapped in the softness and quietness of dawn. The Leipzig in front of me was still and ever so peaceful, not awake yet.



After my walk, I went back for a rest before refueling with a hearty German serving of milk and almonds. It was enough to energize me for my next wander, this time with a "music map" in hand. The city map shows where one can easily find all the dream venues of the world's classical music, such as the Bach Museum, the University of Music and Theatre "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig.



With huge music notes embedded in slabs of stone on the streets under your feet, finding your way to each musical palace is made simple. In a bid to boost Leipzig's reputation as the classical music capital of the world, the musical map, a name card of Leipzig, is unparalleled to anything I've seen elsewhere.



Music is everywhere in Leipzig - it is as much a part of the lifestyle of the city as are its wonderful outdoor cafés. Street artists are everywhere. I encountered a young college boy playing the cello, off in his own world as he bowed along with the music, his eyes fluttering open for seconds at a time and his head bobbing up and down. Under the sunlight of Leipzig, his dream of playing music had come true.



Even on my way back to the hotel when night fell, the street artists still had not retired for the day. As I wrapped a scarf around me, deep melodious sounds coming from a single violin were enough to warm me. A young man and woman were caught up in an intense duet under the high eaves of a street side building. It was late and the streets were mostly bare, so it was doubtful they would see many more coins being put into their violin cases - perhaps it was more a last song of the night for themselves to enjoy.



East Germany remembered



As much as we wanted to continue a lazy stroll through the city, filling up on coffee and sitting back to listen to more street artists, we knew that our limited time in the city meant we would have to pass on the tempting offer for now, if we were to see any historic remains of East Germany.



More than two decades after the collapse of the Berlin Wall, the division between eastern and western Germany, while still evident in some places, has for the most part, faded. And like other cities in the country's east, Leipzig seems eager to shake off its label as an "East Germany city."



According to scholars, East Germany today continues to evolve, from a political concept to a geographic one. And that to me was evident as I walked the streets of Leipzig, where the grand Monday demonstrations were staged in 1989. Though I felt a sense of excitement in the air, I also couldn't help but think how similar these streets seemed compared to others in West Germany.



Perhaps an equally interesting time for me was contrasting Leipzig against its sister city of Nanjing in China. Having spent seven years living in China's history-rich eastern city before moving to Beijing, I may have felt compelled to notice a strong sense of familiarity on the streets of Leipzig. The two cities are serene and have an eerily similar leisurely way about them. Both also have rebuilt themselves in ways that acknowledge and remember their histories while allowing room for forward-looking development.



To learn more about the profound modern history of Leipzig, we headed toward the Runden Ecke Museum, also the former headquarters of the GDR State Security. We had an appointment with a woman who introduced herself as Regina, in charge of the museum's archives. She told us that she was 30 when she joined the 1989 demonstrations and is now in her 50s.



She was an ardent nationalist, eager to show us all of the "criminal evidence" pertaining to GDR intelligence authorities, which included tons of file cards on GDR civilians, tapes recording trivial conversations between ordinary people, intercepted letters and a machine that is able to quickly select the archive cards of secret agents based on specific criteria such as physical traits and special skills.



She also showed us around a room where bags stuffed with scraps of paper are kept. Part of the secret files that were destroyed by GDR authorities before they evacuated, they are slowly being pieced back together through tedious efforts. She showed us several videos, telling us incredible stories about secret missions.



Today, Germans who once lived under the GDR regime can make an application to come to Runden Ecke and read their own secret archive kept in this museum. They can also apply to decipher the names on their cards and find out who once tracked them and supervised them every day. But as we were told, these people need to be accompanied as it was often their close friends or even family members who did this to them - and it is shocking for them to learn this all these years later.



Today, for the outside visitor, far removed from the history of the country, Germany appears to be one big happy family. Having been fortunate enough to visit both East and West Germany, I can, with first-hand knowledge, say that both places are worthy of a peek. Among them, Leipzig is a sure draw, with its splendid vigor and the way in which it embraces a modern life while not forgetting its past, even its dark days. A relaxing city with a street side manner like no other, it is sure to charm even the most pessimistic of travelers with its endless café hangouts and everlasting sunshine.

Rules of Thumb

When to go: May to October is the best season to travel in Leipzig, when temperatures hover around a comfortable 20 C. The nights here can be long in winter due to the city's high latitude, so best to avoid the season unless you have an inclination toward cold, dark evenings.



What to eat: Pretty much anywhere here is a safe bet in comparison to China. There is a joke that goes something like this: Germans do a much better job with food safety regulations than Chinese do, because once they ensure the safety of their meat and potatoes, then 90 percent of its food is deemed safe. Worry not though, it's not all meat and starch. For something different, check out underground wine cellar restaurant Auerbachs Keller. The smoked filet trout with courgette and horseradish salad or the fried duck breast with brandy-pepper sauce with broccoli and croquettes are both solid choices. Save room for the almond-coconut cake with a scoop of ginger-pineapple or lemon ice cream.



How to get around: The best way to travel in Leipzig is by bike. Bike rental services are available at local hotels. Unlike biking in Beijing, the clean air and shady trees along with the car drivers who generally obey traffic rules make riding around Leipzig a rather pleasant experience.