I got my Richters mixed up (see previous post). Of course it’s Gerhard who does the art. Max does the music.

Leipzig is a grand old town. It feels like it’s had a major facelift in the last 20 years. All the old buildings have been refurbished and fancy new ones have been added. Every retail brand in the Western world has an outlet here.

The rail station – absolutely huge – has become a massive shopping arcade on three different levels. You feel at times as if you’re on one of those mad ocean liners that travels between Stockholm and Helsinki, jam-packed with tiers and tiers of bars and shops and walkways. At least at a railway station you can escape – if you can find one of the many fiendishly placed exits.

The main art gallery is also a barn of place. It has one of everything from France and two or three of everything from Germany. The highlight, to my mind, is the Friedrichs. There are two paintings of ships at dusk that so detailed and moody and allegorical – exquisite.

The old buildings in the centre of town are equally grand and imposing. It’s very warm and sunny here so the cafes that line every square are doing good business. There are some very imposing sundaes being scoffed and a lot of beer and local lemonade being quaffed. Generally the Leipzigers seem to love a bit of flaneur-ship and a lot of retail therapy. Definitely Western consumerism has done a number on Leipzig. I wonder what any surviving old communists make of it all. It’s not NATO it needs to be frightened of, it’s McDonalds and Starbucks, Lidl and Ludwig.

Frankly, having recently visited Manchester, Barnsley and Scunthorpe, I reckon there might be a bit to learn from the Germans about how to ‘level up’ an old city seemingly far from the centre of government. But I reckon too there must have been quite a lot of EU money involved, so on that score, Scunthorpe is fucked.

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The Bach museum was an absolute treat. In the garden there, even the birds seem to be musical, chirping as if they all have an understanding of a mystical pattern of sound their individual contributions can fit into. The museum holds all kinds of interesting treasures – Bach’s hand-written scores, the only portrait of the man made in his lifetime, the remains of his organ, ancient violins, trumpets and oboes, objects found in his coffin, a detailed family tree with details of his ridiculously large family. He must have spent all day writing and all evening procreating. I’m surprised he lived as long as he did.

Off to Dresden next. It is getting hotter and hotter here. Not sure I’ll be able to walk about as much if the temperature keeps rising.