Leipzig - a gem of Saxony!

Leipzig, Deutschland. 7th May, 2023.

Sleep broke at 04:00. Then, perhaps I fell asleep again and woke up to the alarm at 04:45. Got ready in a jiffy. Were down at the reception at 06:45; on the dot; and as scheduled. Breakfast was just being laid out, so instead of packing it and eating it clumsily on the train to Leipzig, we sat in the restaurant and relished it.

Left the hotel at 07:00, under a dark sky. Walked to the tram stop of Orban, luggage in tow. Tram no. 49 trundled up in 3 minutes and we rode it till the stop of Zuede, two stops away. Entered Bruxelles-Midi railway station, checked the indicator for the platform for our train. It was indeed no. 11, as informed on the DB app. There was an elevator to go up to the platform but we were not comfortable using it. A young guy passing by was requested to help and he obliged, showing us which button to press to go up to the platform. He went on his way, expressing regret that he couldn’t accompany us to the platform. We abandoned the idea and took up the strenuous but safer task of lugging the suitcases up the staircase! The laborious task completed, we parked ourselves at a spot on a clean, long, wooden bench on the equally clean platform. As expected, there were very few people around. Waiting at such platforms is a pleasure rather than an ordeal, as is the case back home!

The train – a swanky, white DB Inter-City Express arrived and docked at the platform at 07:40. It looked as if it had just arrived from the laundry! The doors were opened at 07:50 and finding our seats – two window seats on opposite sides of a table; stowing our suitcases on the rack above with the help of a fellow co-passenger; settled down to enjoy the ride to Frankfurt. The journey was great, with the express touching 270 kmph at times. A lovely white dog with brown patches was also on board. Her name was Bella, I learnt later. As usual, I befriended Bella while Urmila maintained her distance!

Reached Frankfurt am Main Hauptbahnhof a minute before time, at 11:30. Frankfurt brought back memories of last year’s near-miss at the Flughafen! Made our way to platform no. 8 to await the train to Berlin, via our destination – Leipzig. Watched a departure to Muenchen, at 11:50. Our train soon arrived and we easily located our seats. This train was pretty crowded so we were thankful for our reservations. This train was fast too and touched Leipzig a minute before time, at 15:09.

Exited the platform and were soon in the concourse. Were very impressed with the station! Sparsely populated, huge, clean and glittering! Easily the best station we had seen in Europe on all our trips, so far! There were two levels further down, housing all the inviting restaurants and shops. When we exited the station, we were awestruck by its building! A huge, light-khaki stone building with a red stone roof! Awesome! Outside the station ran tram lines, beyond the lines lay a huge garden. The road that ran to the left and right was spic-n-span. Tall, robust buildings-mainly hotels- bordered either side. There was enough greenery too. Our first impression of Leipzig was excellent!

Had no difficulty locating Kurt-Schumacher Strasse, which was right outside the station’s west side entrance. After an initial curve, the road went on straight ahead, with buildings lining it to the left and a wide, open area with sand and soil-suggesting imminent construction- to the right. Found no. 21 – a huge, four storeyed building with a formidable brick-coloured door at its centre. Keyed in the code which had been messaged to us by Leon Apartments; and the door unlocked itself and opened a wee bit. Had to push it with all my strength! We were in a short corridor at the other end of which stood the back door. Just before the back door started the staircase, to our right. On the opposite wall of the staircase was fixed a key box. Punched the code and retrieved the key to our apartment, no. 3. Just then, the main door opened and two young boys with backpacks entered. Apparently, they too had a booking in one of the many apartments of that building. We asked them which floor was second floor (recalling our confusion at Baden-Baden 4 years ago!) and they confirmed, much to our dismay, that it was the second floor after the ground floor! ‘Dismay’ because the building was old and had no elevator! We groaned but had to do the inevitable! Each of us took his/her time going up the spiral, wooden staircase (the steps were broad enough), one step at a time, the backpack/handbag on our back/shoulder, one hand holding the railing and the other the suitcase! Safely negotiated the two floors and with a sigh of relief, set the bags down before apartment no. 3.

Opened the main door (with a proper key, thankfully!) and stepped into the apartment. It looked smashing! We were inside a small room that served as a sort of store room, having a vacuum cleaner, a shoe rack and metal pegs to hang one’s coat/hat/umbrella. (I recalled James Bond entering Miss Moneypenny’s office and smilingly throwing his hat like a Frisbee onto one such peg!) It led into a huge living room, well furnished, with a row of large, curtained windows overlooking Kurt-Schumacher Strasse, on the opposite side. To the right the living roomed opened into a big, well-equipped kitchen cum dining; to the left lay the bedroom, equally clean and beautiful. The clean, glittering washroom lay to the left, immediately as one entered the apartment.

Arranged our bags, handbags; had a wash; and then stepped out. Walked to the Hauptbahnhof for a bite. It was chilly, thanks to strong winds. Ate at KFC, inside the station building. Then caught tram no. 16, just outside the Hbf. Rode it till its last stop, constantly admiring the clean and aesthetically appealing city. Leipzig is truly charming, uniform in its beauty and upkeep. We have seen so many cities and towns in Germany now but this city ranks as the best we have seen! Possibly the cleanest! Loveliest! Returned to the Hbf by the same tram. Hurried to the apartment as the winds had become chillier!

Drank Jack Daniels and tea; to the accompaniment of Indian snacks. Called it a day by 22:00 or so but not before unintentionally bringing down the white, external curtains of the bedroom, in an effort to draw them aside!