Germans love to march

On Friday night, Steph and I went out for coffee and apple cake (Apfelkuchen) after work. We strolled around the city for a while and ended up going to an English pub in a cellar in the city center. Being the only native English speakers in the joint, we only stayed for a little bit. We then headed to the main restaurant/cafe/bar drag and had some "sour" beer from Leipzig (Gose Bier). Supposedly, the reason it's actually sour is because of the water source it comes from, which is also why it is and can only be brewed in Leipzig. On our way home, we utilized the $3 tripod I got before we left for some neat night shots.

Saturday was a long day. We got up early to visit a couple of cities in the region: Halle (Saale) and Naumburg. Halle is about 20 miles away from Leipzig and is the hometown of George Frideric Handel, which they are quick to mention. The road to the old town was a bit sketchy, but the main square was beautiful with a nice weekend market taking place while we were there. We stumbled upon an organ concert taking place at the Market Church, so we stayed and listened to one of the oldest operating organs in Europe, and which J.S. Bach christened in the early 1700s. Naturally, they played a piece by Handel and one by Felix Mendelsohn Bartholdy who was also from Leipzig. After the concert, we had a quick lunch on the market from food trucks. I had Asian and Steph had some sausage and fries from a stand named "Don't worry, be curry!" We also saw a sign for a Zumba class, which Steph had to take a picture of. Here are a few pictures from Halle.

The Market Church:

Inside the Market Church:

 Exercise time:

From Halle, we took the train down to the city of Naumburg, where they were having a Cherry Festival. The initial reason we decided to visit Naumburg, however, was the immensely important and huge cathedral dating from the 11th century (!). It is also the site of the "Naumburger Meister" who was a master sculptor nearly a thousand years ago. Being a medieval town we had to march up the hill from where the train station was to where the town actually was. Walking around the enormous cathedral, we walked into where we could enter the cathedral. When we got into the church, we found that we COULD NOT GET IN!!! Needless to say, I was slightly peeved. Apparently, the church was closed for the setting up of an exhibition of the Naumburger Meister for most of June. It reopens on the 28th!

After fuming for a bit and thinking to myself that I thought I learned that God does not take a vacation, we walked toward the Cherry Festival. Like any good festival in Germany, apparently, there was a parade through the center of town. What can I say, Germans love to march! Naumburg also happens to be in one of the northern-most wine-growing regions in Europe, and there was plenty of festival wine to be had. The town was kind of pretty, I guess...and we had a good time nonetheless. I tried to explain what I remembered of Nietzsche (who lived in Naumburg), but decided against it. Instead, I channeled my rage from the cathedral's closing to enjoy the good food and wine.

Flowers along the former city walls:

Naumburg street view looking toward the Kirchfest:

The cherry festival also had something to do with religious Hussites in the 15th century, which was the reason people dressed in silly outfits pushing carts:

 This is another street view in Naumburg, this time without any people:

 The inner courtyard of the Naumburg Cathedral, which we weren't allowed to go in:

 This was the view of the cathedral as we approached walking up the hill from the train station:

After getting back to Leipzig, we got a note from our roommate inviting us out for dinner and a party afterwards. Long story short, we met some Americans, went to an Irish pub, talked some theology with a theology student at the university, and got home at 4 in the morning.