March 12 - Friday in Leipzig

The Russian Church in Leipzig - a memorial to the Russian soldiers who died in the Battle of nations.

Inside the Russian church.

Gerhard and Elfrieda stand outside the Russian orthodox Church in Leipzig

A brownfield site is the former gas works, where gas was made from browncoal. No plans yet for this building.

One similar brownfield building is now home to the Panorama centre, the current theme is Amazonia, based on the Brazilain rainforest.

Here Elfrieda examines the detail; yes, she did find the snakes.

At the entrance to Amazonia.

A view from farther away gives you a better sense of the scope of the project.

Breakfast with Marita and Gerhard.

We started the day by having breakfast with Gerhard and Marita at their apartment. Afterwards Gerhard took us to the Amazonia Panorama exhibit. Yadegar Asisi's representation of Humbolt's legacy was absolutely fabulous. I felt I was actually in the Brazilian rainforest. This experience took about 2 hours, and it made me want to come back to Leipzig next year for Gonwandoland. We bought a DVD of a film we saw; it shows how the panorama display was created - amazing!

Commemorating the 1813 Battle of Nations

On the way to our hotel, Gerhard decided to stop at the Russian Church. It was built to be a remembrance for the thousands of Russian soldiers who had died just outside of Leipzig in the 'Battle of Nations' in 1813 against Napolean. If you want to see something amazing you can also visit the memorial just outside the city. It is as large as a pyramid, and was built in the early 20th century as a remembrance for the soldiers of many lands who died in the 'Battle of Nations' just outside Leipzig. When we saw it in 2006, they had just begun cleaning and restoring it, starting from the top and working down. The plan is to have it done to mark the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Nations in 2013.

Jane's parents arrive
Later in the day, Gerhard and Marita joined us for an evening meal at the hotel. By then Charly and his mother had arrived with the e-piano. Six of us sat down to an enjoyable meal, and soon after Jane Duncan's parents from Austria came in and sat next to us.