My day in pictures

Today we got started at about 11am. We took the tram to the city center which is where all the cool stuff is basically. Pictures follow

This picture and the one after it are inside the hauptbahnhof or train station. This was the largest train station in Germany until the one was built for the world cup a few years ago. This is where I will go to take the train to the Bavarian Alps and other places. We walked around the train station for a while. There are a lot of places to eat and shop here. It's basically a mall. It was amazing how quiet it was for how many people were there. Also, I am noticing how different Europeans dress. I've always thought that but it's true. Really, the men especially. They wear capris and such. They seem to be more interested in the latest fashion, but it's wierd fashion. haha.

There were a lot of choices on where to eat in the train station, but I decided on AnDes. Several ACU people ate there with me as well.

This is what it looked like. All of the menus were in German obviously but the food looked delicious. I asked the man in front of me if he spoke English because #1 I didn't know what anything was and #2 I didn't think I could say it even if I did know. Thankfully he said he spoke a little. I asked him what was good and he said, "everything." So I said, "Ok, then will you order me what you got?" So he did. The waiter kind of laughed.

So this is what I got. Looks good right? Well it was. I figured if a German liked it, it had to be good. It was mashed potatoes and I think ham that was cooked kind of like a shnitzel I guess with a gravy. Also sauerkraut!! It was really good! It cost about 3.5 Euros. The people had more trouble ordering. The just pointed at stuff to order...I don't really think theirs was as good.

After we left the train station we walked around the city center. The first stop was the Church of St. Nikolai, built in 1165. This church has a lot of history and represents freedom for many Germans. In the 80s, this was the site of monday night prayer meetings which became demonstrations and the center of a peaceful revolt against the Soviet government. You could say things inside the church that you could not say outside, so this became a meeting place for thousands.

 As you walk into the church and look straight up this is what you see. So pretty! They also had the organ being played in the church, that was pretty to listen to.

Then when you look straight ahead you seee this. The architecture was just awesome and there was so much religious art to look at. It would be so cool to go to a church with so much history and such moving things to look at.

 This is the ceiling of the main area. It is so beautiful!

 Here is me standing at the front of the church. Behind me is the altar. This church was founded a Catholic church but has been Lutheran since the Reformation.

At the front of the church there were these sculpted scenes in I guess limestone. This one is of Jesus with Pontius Pilote and the people around when they were yelling "crucify him." It may be hard to see.

 This is of Jesus on the cross.

This one is Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey.

 Here is Jesus praying in the garden. I just thought these were cool and just a taste of what the art was like in that church.

 Looks like a family group. Singing some Spanish music.

This is basically the courthouse. It was built in 1250. The arched areas used to be the marketplace.

Winegeart's son planking on a large golden egg...hilarious.

 This is another famous church in Leipzig called St. Thomas church. This is where Johann Sebastian Bach was a cantor and where is remains are buried!















In front of the church is a statue of Bach. Here is me with it!

 Beautiful stained glass everywhere!

 Looking at the front of the church. There was a woman singing and that echoed throughout the church. There were also Germans in there meditating which was cool to see. I sat down for a little while and just looked around...it was awesome.

This view is the back of the church and also shows another awesome ceiling.

Me standing up at the front!

 This is the pulpit and altar. It was interestingly placed I thought as it is not directly in the front but rather with pews on all sides of it. There is a little staircase that winds up to the actual pulpit area.

The back of the church, you can see the organs.

Here is a view if you were sitting in a pew.

 Just a German boy enjoying the fountain. So funny.

 We stopped and got icecream yum! It was peach...very sweet but good.

A little river type thing runs throughout the city. They said you can rent a canoe and go around. Hopefully I will get to do that while I am here!

This is a plaque on the outside of the church that says, "city and parish church St. Nikolai."

So that is my day so far. My professor was saying how when the Socialisits where in power they were an aethestic government, but there is evidence of God everywhere and scripture posted on many buildings. He pointed out one that said, "the word of the lord endures forever." This was on a building right across from the St. Nikolai church and I'm sure it was encouraging to christians in that time. Also on the outside of the St. Nikolai church were crosses saying things like "remember yemen," and other places going through struggles. Winegeart said the Germans are very sensitive to others going through difficulty because of their history.

I am really enjoying my stay so far. The hardest thing is the language barrier. I can't read anything! England will be a breeze after this. The rest of the day I will go on a run and then possibly watch the US women's soccer team play. Then we have an orientation type thing at Winegearts flat and we have to go over the Opel case. That's all for today.