Woosh...

And so this was Christmas.

I didn't feel very much like Christmas this year.
Maybe it was the fact that all those customers and outdoor staff stressed me out and I had been working overtime for the last few weeks. So, everything I had intended to prepare or obtain in advance was postponed and only the most necessary was done (like, helping my son with his maths stuff). Suddenly, it was Christmas. Surprise, surprise.
I didn't tinker with the Christmas cards this year; I bought some and sent them in time (and I sent more than last year, just to receive less than last year...).

The only time I felt somewhat like Christmas was on the last but weekend, when we made a trip to Leipzig and Dresden by train. I love to go by train, it is so relaxing. You move towards your destination and don't have to pay attention to traffic; you can sleep, read, and - best of all - look at the scenery. You can even get up and walk around. That's terrific.

We had a wonderful afternoon at Leipzig and then headed on to Dresden.

Today, I'm going to show you just some photos of Leipzig with a short commentary, and leave Dresden for another day.

We hadn't been walking for very long in Leipzig, when we stumbled about "Auerbachs Keller".
Goethe was quite impressed by the vaults of this building which still contain a restaurant; this is where his play "Faust" is set.

There are a lot of shopping arcades in Leipzig, the "Mädlerpassage" leads to that vault.
(You can see a Mephistopheles statue on the left hand side.)

Outside, it was cold and clear.

The "Neues Rathaus" ("New Town Hall").

On the back side of that building. Blindfolded.

Somewhere near. On the front of a bank building.

Detail of the above.

Yes. Every now and then, doors fascinate me. Dunno why. Or maybe I do.

My family's feet on the cobblestone of Leipzig.

This is a cute little shop near the market square. Gotta love those tiny little shops with the old shelves and paintings... (the kid in the stroller seems to be bored anyway)

Then, I had seen this house from afar and it looked so colourful that I had to go near and take a look at it. It looks like a little Chinese palace. It's art nouveau, Chinese style.

Now look at this mosaic!

Most of these pics didn't make it into the family album. My appreciation for aesthetics and that of my husband are diverging. And he wouldn't want to keep so many pics anyway. It's the crux of digital photographing that you just TAKE the photo without having to think at that moment, because you don't have to pay for development and copy of a film. But I do have some serious problems discarding photos. And other things, besides.

Another view into a shopping arcade. Have a look at the relief and the wrought-iron work above the doors.

This is in another arcade, looking up. Stained glass windows and blue and golden tiling. Again, art nouveau.

This detail reminded me of a portal I had seen in Edinburgh earlier this year.

A little kiddy riding a he-goat? A sprite?

Leipzig is a great place to walk around and look and wonder. So many arcades, so many details.
But after some hours, our feet were sore and we had to move on to Dresden, where we had booked a hotel, anyway.

This is a view looking down two storeys from the level where the platforms are.

The central station of Leipzig is very big. In fact, there used to be two stations that were merged once. A few years back, they renovated everything, and now, it's a three-storey mall with a railroad-connection ;-P