nd I took the high-speed train from Berlin; along the way, R2 and I OD'd on sugary German pastries while R worked on his laptop. At Leipzig's pleasant if enormous train station we met R's really lovely friend L, who walked us around the city center. Leipzig was how I imagine old Germany, far more so than ultramodern Berlin: clock towers and gabled houses and markets in the town square. Sort of Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg. We saw St. Thomas Church and Auerbachs Keller, a restaurant where Goethe set a scene from Faust. In one mall, we saw--I don't know what it's called--a metal pool, of Chinese 
origin I believe, with brass handles on the sides about shoulder width apart. By gripping the handles and rubbing them in just the right way, you could cause the water to ripple hypnotically and generate a weird bone-shuddering sound. R loved it. Also in Leipzig: nude mannequins in storefronts, advertising sunglasses.We had a scrumptious lunch in a "student-y" place recommended by L, with seating in an outdoor patio. Then we rented some bikes for the day, which turned out to be a great call: biking was a fantastically easy way to get around in Leipzig, and there were
usually far more bikers than motorists on any given street. The four of us rode over to L's apartment, where we drank tea and viewed various YouTube videos concerning Snuggies.Our strength recovered, we rode over to the river to rent a boat. As it turned out, we were the worst rowers on Earth; our poor vessel went zigging and zagging from one bank to the other making precious little progress. (I am confident the restaurant patrons watching us from a balcony on the bank were greatly amused by our antics.) In our defense, I think that there was something wrong with that boat. Happily, we weren't in any particular hurry and could just enjoy the beautiful day on the water.
We then went ba
ck to L's and ate delicious cake from the bakery next door to her house. Next, we biked out to see a famous monument to Napoleon and the Battle of Leipzig. I was impressed-- that thing was massive! A tall sandstone monument, high on a hill overlooking the surrounding countryside, very Masonic in style and fronted by a long pool that reminded me of the reflecting pool in Washington, DC. Bordered by woods and mellowing in the twilight, it struck me as a wonderfully peaceful place. Afterward, we enjoyed another amazingly good meal at another little place recommended by L, in a pretty neighborhood. We all agreed that Leipzig seemed like a great place to live. Afterward, L and I saw the boys off at the train station and left our bikes at a drop-off point there.What a wonderful day--great weather, great town, great food, great company. A really nice last day of all my travels!
