The Christmas market is built all over the inner city and has a lovely feel to it within the historic buildings of the city all around. Many drink and food stalls but also a great offer of arts and crafts are available to enjoy and purchase. Definitely worth a visit to get into the Christmas spirit.
Every year, my boss invites his department head team on a little pre-Christmas trip somewhere outside of Berlin. This trip has become a tradition we all look forward to. It is a thank you to us, to wrap up the year, to spend time together, and to explore the areas outside of Berlin. In 2016, we went to the beautiful city of Leipzig in Saxony. For me, this was a special treat as I spent two years of my life in Leipzig when I started in this industry. I went to the Hotel and Catering College in Leipzig for my hospitality degree many moons ago and enjoyed my time back then. I had not been back much, so I was very much looking forward to this trip.
From the train station, we walked to our hotel, the beautiful (link: https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=10074&awinaffid=727981&clickref=F%C3%BCrstenhof&ued=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tripadvisor.com%2FHotel_Review-g187400-d199723-Reviews-Hotel_Fuerstenhof_Leipzig-Leipzig_Saxony.html text: Fürstenhof,) a former Starwood Luxury Collection Property. Located in a historic building this is the city's oldest luxury hotel. The building was once the private property of a wealthy banking family and became a hotel in 1889 with a further restructuring in 1913. Starwood has now run this hotel since 2000 with its 90 rooms and 10 suites. We were welcomed by the General Manager of the hotel in the beautiful festive lobby and checked into our lovely big rooms straight away. A personal welcome note and a bright, modern room greeted us and made us feel at home straight away. The hotel is in an excellent location in Leipzig, walking distance from the main train station but also just minutes away from the inner city and many of the historic sights the city has to offer. Great hotel, fantastic location, very friendly staff - we felt very much at home straight away.
After getting settled, we met in the lobby for our two-hour bus tour of the city. Our guide Christel wore a traditional outfit to match our historic bus and introduced us to the beautiful sights of the city in the typical local dialect. Our tour led us past the "Thomaskirche" which was home of Johan Sebastian Bach and has had a very famous boys choir for more than 800 years. We then continued on to the new town hall, the Gewandhaus, past the beautiful train station and the Westin Hotel which is a hotel built by the Japanese during the time Germany was divided. Then we drove on to the part of town called Gohlis, past the famous Zoo, and then stopped outside the house where Friedrich Schiller used to live for a quick peek. Our tour then took us further through a residential area of the city called "Waldstrassenviertel" where all houses were built in Wilhelminian style and they are all still intact and looking very pretty. Many of the houses have little towers and gazebos which the men used to build for the wives back in the days when women couldn't go out on the streets alone. Sitting in their gazebos drinking tea with their friends, they could watch what was going on outside. A beautiful part of the city which is perfect for just walking around. We then continued on to the Arena Leipzig and the soccer stadium of RB Leipzig, a team that made it into the first division (1. Bundesliga) in 2016 and has had a very successful season so far. Afterward, we drove to the south of the city where we saw glimpses of the musicians quarter, Plagwitz and its waterways, the Karl Liebknecht Straße which is famous for its nightlife and of course the big monument that is the "Völkerschlachtdenkmal" which is 91m high and remembers the fight outside of Leipzig in October 1813 which led to Napoleon's defeat. On this two-hour tour, we got a taste for the city and all of us definitely want to come back to explore it in much more detail. So much to do, see and discover!
The Christmas market is built all over the inner city and has a lovely feel to it within the historic buildings of the city all around. Many drink and food stalls but also a great offer of arts and crafts are available to enjoy and purchase. Definitely worth a visit to get into the Christmas spirit.
The train station of Leipzig is a sight in itself. It is probably the prettiest train station I have ever seen and it is not only a station but also a shopping destination. It is a terminus station, located in the north of the city. Leipzig became an important destination for the German rail system back in 1837 and is today in 12th place of the most frequented train stations in Germany. You have great connections all over the country which helps to make this city a great weekend break destination.
