really makes you think about the possibility of biological warfare. The museum was good, but I was tired and couldn't enjoy it to its fullest.
Laurie and I made out way back to the hostel about 7:30. It is 10:00 now and I think I am ready for bed. Tomorrow we leave Berlin. We could do so much more but we are moving on. It has been nice to be in one spot for a while.
August 8, 2003
Well, it's time to move on. Laurie and I caught the 10:16 train to Leipzig. It took about two hours to get there.
We walked to the information center and then went to go find our hostel. We walked to the wrong hostel. The one we were suppose to be at was by the train station. So we walked all the way back. It really wasn't that far. By the time we got there, we were able to get into our room.
The people were nice and the place was OK, but nothing like the last place. The name of the place is the Backpacker's Globetrotter Hostel. It has a kitchen, a lot don't. This kitchen was small and messy. People haven't been very good about picking up after themselves.
Laurie and I went to search for a laundromat. There was one in a cafe. We are finding out that there are fewer people speaking English here. Laurie and I walked around while the wash was in. There are a lot of museums for famous classical composers. One is Bach. He lived here for 33 years and was cantor for the St. Thomas boy's choir. Bach's tomb is inside the church.
When Laurie and I finished the wash, we went back to the hostel. It was very hot out. I just layed on my bed and read and eventually fell asleep.
After a short snooze, Laurie and I walked to the train station. This station is suppose to be Germany's largest. It has two floors of shops, set-up like a mall. The grocery store was in there. There were lots of food shops displaying all kinds of good looking items. For dinner, I picked up half a chicken. It was delicious. It is still hot out, but once in a while we get a breeze through the window. We are in a dorm room for eight. Only five beds are taken.
August 9, 2003
At 10:30 it was about 95 out. It was so hot and we were walking around in it. We were always looking for a shady spot to walk in. The first place we walked to was the post office and then to the Stasi Museum. The Stasi was the Secret Police of East Germany. Leipzig housed the headquarters until 1989. There were 2400 full-time agents of the Leipzig State Security.
The Secret Police obtained all kinds of information about citizens of the Leipzig region by means of video, wiretaps, surveillance and interrogation. They used many methods that violated the people's rights.
The Secret Police would start recruiting school age children by observation and evaluation. Many teachers would help promote the secret police by promising good and secure jobs.
Many of the displays and documents were in German, but they did have a hand-out in English that explained the displays.
The Secret Police started destroying documents before the fall, but many were saved. It was interesting as well as scary.
After the tour of the Stasi museum Laurie and I walked to the zoo. We spent about four hours there. It certainly wasn't the San Diego Zoo, but it was pretty good.
Laurie and I went back to the hostel. We had enough of the heat for the day. I layed down for a little while and read. It was quite hot to even lie down. I got up and Laurie and I took a long walk to one of the parks.
On the way back we heard music. It was coming from the square. There was a stage and movie screen. They had a video of violin player and orchestra performing. Laurie said he is well known, but couldn't think of his name. The tape would have the music with the violinist and orchestra playing in different settings. It was pretty crowded in the square. All of the tables from the different cafes were filled. We were told they play music from 2:00 to midnight if people are still there. Sometimes it would be live performances and other times it would be taped.
On the way back to the hostel we bought pizza slices for dinner.
August 10, 2003
Right now I am sitting at a cafe that is part of a fortress called the Festung Ehrenbreitstein. The Rhine is below us. This is where the hostel is located. Besides the train we had to take to Koblenz, we had to take a bus from the train station and then a ski lift to get to the hostel. I would say that this is the most unusual
and best settings of all of the hostels that we have stayed in. The price of the hostel includes breakfast. We also signed up for dinner because there isn't a place to cook. So far the room, breakfast, and dinner, it only cost 20 euros. That is about $22.50. So the only thing we did today, so far is travel. We took the train to Frankfurt and then a train from there to Koblenz.
So I am enjoying the nice breeze and the shade of a tree and the view below. It is funny. As I was traveling on the train looking out the window, I was thinking the landscape looked like home. I could have just stayed home to see it. Now it is very different and very pleasant.
For dinner we had liki a beef stew, but only beef, spatzel, green beans, and blueberry mousse like thing for dessert. They gave us plenty of food.
After dinner Laurie and i walked down the hill to the Rhine River. We wanted to see how long it would take us since we had to do it in the morning. We then had to walk back. That was for exercise. The chairlift stopped working at that time.
