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Showing posts with label Leipzig. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Leipzig. Show all posts
Things to do in Leipzig: Best Eis in the City?
If everything goes well, today we will be heading to stilinberlin's ice-cream market.
Which, I'm hoping, is exactly what the name suggests.
And because of this event, and because we are generally Eis-schweinchenen (how do you make a 'chen' plural German people?), our conversations of late have gravitated somewhat towards the discussion of icecream experiences. Yesterday, my friend was describing the most amazing pistachio icecream in the world- which apparently exists at Berlin's Hokey Pokey ( I don't know.. he still refuses to take me to -trying to keep all the Eis for himself I suspect)... and I thought of this:
The prices aren't cheap for Germany- 1.30 for a 'normal' flavour, and 1.60 for the premium- which includes the heartbreakingly delicious pistachio.
We also chowed down on the dark chocolate (seen above with Andy), which somehow managed to not only be dark, but- unlike most 'Zartbitter' eis in this country, also creamy and not overly sweet.
Plus a brownie (below)- which I would struggle to find any fault with.
Nonetheless, if you're not capable of eating your way though quite the same quantity of icecream as us, you should probably just head straight for that creamy green flavour giant.
Do you notice that my clothes have changed between the two photos (above and below)?
Different outfits, different days.
The great thing about a weekend trip is that it's totally ok to visit your new favourite icecream joint two times in two days.
Which, I'm hoping, is exactly what the name suggests.
And because of this event, and because we are generally Eis-schweinchenen (how do you make a 'chen' plural German people?), our conversations of late have gravitated somewhat towards the discussion of icecream experiences. Yesterday, my friend was describing the most amazing pistachio icecream in the world- which apparently exists at Berlin's Hokey Pokey ( I don't know.. he still refuses to take me to -trying to keep all the Eis for himself I suspect)... and I thought of this:
If ever a thing truly captured the essence of another thing!
I'm a chocolate girl myself- but Andy is extremely nutty, is all about the nuts, likes pistachio. And I think pistachio is a better measure of the greatness of an icecream joint, because it seems so much easier to get wrong.
Meet Milchbar Pinguin- which is right in the centre of Leipzig, near S-bahn Marktplatz. (Pretty surprising huh? I always expect high-traffic areas to have low-quality produce!), and produces some of the best pistachio icecream that we have ever gotten our sticky little paws on.
We also chowed down on the dark chocolate (seen above with Andy), which somehow managed to not only be dark, but- unlike most 'Zartbitter' eis in this country, also creamy and not overly sweet.
Plus a brownie (below)- which I would struggle to find any fault with.
Nonetheless, if you're not capable of eating your way though quite the same quantity of icecream as us, you should probably just head straight for that creamy green flavour giant.
Do you notice that my clothes have changed between the two photos (above and below)?
Different outfits, different days.
The great thing about a weekend trip is that it's totally ok to visit your new favourite icecream joint two times in two days.
Milchbar Pinguin is on S Marktplatz in Leipzig, on the corner of Katharinenstr., and Boettchergasschen.
Things to do in Leipzig: Botanical Gardens
It's not just because I'm a plant biologist* that I say 'Always Visit the Botanical Gardens'
*in any case, I'm a molecular biologist not a botanist, so I pretty much only know our model plant 'arabidopsis', and tobacco
But if you're visiting a foreign land, or even looking for something to do in your home town on a quiet weekend, and the weather is fine- what could be better than idling away the day, in the sun, looking at beautiful flowers?
If you're in Leipzig, there's are some extra special reasons to visit the Botanical Garden-
The plants are sprawled over rockeries, or tucked into tidy walk-through-able beds, neatly labelled with the scientific species name- and, in case you're into that sort of thing- the German common name.
You can spend a good amount of time just roaming around outside, but if you're into tropical plants, desert plants, orchids and butterflies, you might consider pyaing the extra 4 euro entrance fee to get into the 'super special' section of the garden.
By no means is this necessary- as I said, there's enough to please anyone in the free sections of the garden, but you can look at the cost as a small donation for the continued upkeep of such a beautiful place.
This butterfly was attacking the other one. I'm not sure why- I think they were both males so.... competition?
As a plant biologist- looking at pale plants just makes me think 'sick'. These guys even look like they've come out in some sort of rash!
Entering the Purple Garden.
Although this guy is hanging on...
I have an incredible soft spot for poppies- they ran wild in our garden when I was a kid. They are absolutely useless as cut flowers- pick them and the petals immediately leap from the flower- but I guess that just means you have to enjoy them in the 'wild'.
And this beautiful fellow, the flowers hanging demurely amongst their greenery:
The Leipzig Botanical Garden can be found near the University, on Linnestrasse., 1, 04103.
*in any case, I'm a molecular biologist not a botanist, so I pretty much only know our model plant 'arabidopsis', and tobacco
But if you're visiting a foreign land, or even looking for something to do in your home town on a quiet weekend, and the weather is fine- what could be better than idling away the day, in the sun, looking at beautiful flowers?
If you're in Leipzig, there's are some extra special reasons to visit the Botanical Garden-
- The Leipzig Botanical garden is the oldest in Germany (it's been around since the 16th century!!),
- it has 7000 species from around the world (perfectly arranged by taxonomy- it's the German way), and -
- it's Mostly Free!
The plants are sprawled over rockeries, or tucked into tidy walk-through-able beds, neatly labelled with the scientific species name- and, in case you're into that sort of thing- the German common name.
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| A Plant Biologist, Contemplating A Plant |
^Greenhouses, reminding us that some plants have gotta earn their way (by being studied), and that the weather is not always so lovely in Deutschland.
You can spend a good amount of time just roaming around outside, but if you're into tropical plants, desert plants, orchids and butterflies, you might consider pyaing the extra 4 euro entrance fee to get into the 'super special' section of the garden.
By no means is this necessary- as I said, there's enough to please anyone in the free sections of the garden, but you can look at the cost as a small donation for the continued upkeep of such a beautiful place.
This butterfly was attacking the other one. I'm not sure why- I think they were both males so.... competition?
As a plant biologist- looking at pale plants just makes me think 'sick'. These guys even look like they've come out in some sort of rash!
I love what a hot mess these demised Pfingstrosen. Incidentally, we were in Leipzig for the Pfingsten long weekend (Pentecost in English), but the Pfingstrosen had long since seen their best days.
Although this guy is hanging on...
I have an incredible soft spot for poppies- they ran wild in our garden when I was a kid. They are absolutely useless as cut flowers- pick them and the petals immediately leap from the flower- but I guess that just means you have to enjoy them in the 'wild'.
And this beautiful fellow, the flowers hanging demurely amongst their greenery:
What do you think? There are definitely worse things to do with your time than idle through a garden eh?
Things to do in Leipzig: Völkerschlachtdenkmal
BAM!
Andy has a strong desire to make me suffer through as many steps as he can possibly manage.
I truly suck at any kind of climbing. I like to blame the 'One Lung' situation- I huff and I puff and I look like a sweaty freak... but we all know that the truth is that I'm just insanely unfit. And my beloved seems to have some sort of secret wish to be a fitness guru, tricking me into climbing things whenever we go to any city.
He might just like it when I make this face.
Good no?
Meet, the Voelkerschlactdenkmal or the Monument to the Battle of the Nations. It's 91 m tall, has over 500 steps, and Andy wouldn't let me use the elevator.
Incidentally, the Denkmal (which is really more 'Memorial' than 'Monument' auf English I think), was built 100 years after, and in memory of, the 1813 Battle featured in our previously visited panometer. Turns out, that because Germany wasn't really a thing yet (unity came later), many German-speaking people died on both sides of the fight.
Here's the wiki link if you're really into that sort of history. And if you're more into some of the back story with super beautiful images, go here.
If you're not into the history, the real reason for visiting is this: it's totally decked out as some sort of Communist-meets-Lord-of-the-Rings man cave inside.
What was even cooler? While we were there, there was a band in the foyer doing sound check for the WGT event later in the evening.
And they were actually playing the soundtrack from Lord of the Rings!!
Let's pretend that this guy is trying to provide you with a sense of perspective, and not just being a weird little man eh?
So we climbed up some stairs, and there was a pretty nice view to be had.
But apparently there was more climbing to do.
We still weren't at the top! I tried to hide, so there wouldn't be more steps. But Andy found me, and forced me ever upwards!
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Finally!
The last section of steps is quite disgustingly claustrophobic. Narrow, winding, low roof. No air, not much light.
But as always with tall things, the view is pretty cool from the top (although not convincingly different from the view from 'nearly the top', so I'm not going to add photos here).
And we were the only ones up there!
Denkmal level completed!
I think entrance to the Denkmal costs 8 euros- but we were given a ticket by some folks as they left (the tickets apparently last the whole day?). Possibly not on the very supportive side. Sorry Denkmal.
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