AmericansInLeipzig

faq

WGT 2008
May 9-12, 2008

AmericansInLeipzig
Frequently Asked Questions

General:

Can I use my cell phone?
Where can I get Internet access?
What else is there to do around Leipzig?
Is beer really cheaper than water?

Can I use my cell phone?

In Germany, it seems that everyone has a "Handy". Why do Germans call a cellphone a "Handy"? They think that's what Americans call it!

Unfortunately, only a few cellphones that are in use in the US and Canada will work in Germany. You might be lucky and have one, but even if you don't, there are some options for you if you think you need to have one at your disposal while you're there.

There is a good overview of cellphone issues available on The German Way website.

Bob, the AmericansInLeipzig tech expert, has written a guide with more specifics, including how to use your GSM-capable American phone in Germany.

Where can I get Internet access?

There are a few places where you can find Internet access in Leipzig. The Bagel Brothers restaurant, inside the city ring near the Hauptbahnhof [see "How easy is it to get vegetarian food"], has an "AOL Internet Station" stand which allows free access to AOL and non-AOL web-based mail services. Here are a few other locations that a listing shows have AOL stands:

100 Wasser, Barfussgaesschen 15 (city center)
Bar Centrale, Nikolaistrasse 3-5 (city center)
Barfusz, Barfussgaessschen 2-8 (city center, next to market square)
Café Kuf, Gottschedstrasse 4 (Gottschedstrasse is a bar area, close to city
center)
Café Puschkin, Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse 74 (bar area south of city center on strassenbahn route from downtown to Agra/Werk II)

There are also some terminals in the Moritzbastei, but during the Treffen the Moritzbastei is often very crowded.

You can try a Google search for "Leipzig internet café," or here is a listing of Internet cafés around Europe.

What else is there to do around Leipzig?

As an old European city, at the convergence of many old trading routes, Leipzig has plenty of history. Known for its connections with great minds, such as those of Bach, Wagner, and Mendelssohn, or Goethe, Nietzsche and Leibnitz, Leipzig was the most-populous city of East Germany, other than East Berlin. It was also the site of the Monday Demonstrations, the peace protests that ultimately brought down the GDR.

A complete guide to what to do in Leipzig is way beyond the scope of this FAQ. Some online searching will undoubtedly lead you to some guides, such as Let's Go, or try the City of Leipzig tourism page.

In downtown Leipzig, be sure to spend some time just strolling. During the Treffen, Leipzig will be filled with Darkies strolling through the narrow streets. Make sure you swing past Leipzig's two most famous churches: the Nikolaikirche, ground zero in the peaceful fall of the GDR, and the Thomaskirche, where J.S. Bach served as choral director and is now buried. And don't overlook the 16th century Altes Rathaus {old city hall}, the only-slightly-newer Neues Rathaus {new city hall}, and the many restaurants, cafés, and eis-cafés {ice cream cafés}. There are also a few stores in downtown Leipzig that you shouldn't miss [for more about downtown shopping, see "Where do I buy stuff"]: Hautnah, the Gothic Store, and WOM (World of Music) [sadly, the WOM is now closed].

Also downtown, and strongly recommended, is the Museum in der Runden Ecke (free admission) [website, new English section!]. This was formerly the regional headquarters of the Stasi {East German secret police}. When the citizens occupied the building during the first hours of the fall of the GDR, they did everything possible to preserve the records of the internal spying organization. The museum is as fascinating as it is chilling. Be sure to ask for an English guidesheet - it's not clear that there is one, unless you ask.

In 2005, Leipzig's major art museum, the Museum der Bildenden Künste Leipzig (Museum of Visual Arts) [website], opened its new home, a very modern building in downtown Leipzig. Just a stone's throw from the Altes Rathaus, the museum's collection runs roughly from the Renaissance to present-day. Particular emphasis is placed on art from the DDR era, when Leipzig was part of East Germany, and Leipzig's impressive roster of painters, past and present (there is even a contemporary movement called the "Leipziger Schule," and the museum has several pieces by Neo Rauch dating post-2000). It's also interesting to see how much art was "removed" under Nazi rule, and had to be reacquired by the museum at a later date. When we visited, I had a nice chat with a member of the security staff who was sporting a lip piercing and her fresh WGT bändchen!

Be sure that you get out to the Völkerschlachtdenkmal [website, English section not active as of this writing], the massive monument commemorating the defeat of Napoleon in the Battle of the Nations, which took place around Leipzig. And when I say massive, I mean it: the black stone monument was the heaviest man-made object in Europe when it was finished in 1913. Inside is the "krypt,"with its 80-meter high dome and 10-meter tall stone statues, where occasionally Treffen bands will perform. For an admission fee, you can visit the museum (there is one museum that covers the Battle of the Nations, with fair English-language descriptions, and another exhibit inside the Krypta about the construction of the Völkerschlachtdenkmal itself), and climb to the top for long-range views.

Finally, what could be more goth than a stroll in the zoo? Seriously, on Tuesday after the Treffen ended in 2003, Shea and I saw at least a dozen other Gruftis wandering through the zoo, and the girl in the gift shop still had her WGT bändchen on her wrist! Zoo Leipzig [website, German only] is actually a very large zoo, and is deep in the process of modernizing their exhibits and expanding significantly. Their primates facility ("Pongoland") is a world-class research center, and is the largest of its kind of any zoo in the world. And where else would you learn that the German word for "skunk" is "Stinktier" (literally, "stink animal"!).

Is beer really cheaper than water?

Yes, it certainly is, even though Jutta claims that there is a German law that water should be cheaper than beer!

When Germans drink water, as a rule they drink bottled mineral water, either with bubbles {"mit Kohlensäure"} or flat {"ohne Kohlensäure" or "stilles Wasser" - if you say "still," they'll get the point}. There is nothing wrong with their tap water {"Leitungswasser"}, but they don't seem to consider it as civilized to drink tap water (probably harking back to days when tap water contained high levels of lead and other contaminants).

And (this is coming from a light drinker) the beer really is fantastic. Just about every city has its own brewery, and the beer is never bad. Never. And it's cheap. And strong. Drink it.