Hi from Leipzig, birthplace of Bach

3 July
We've just spent two nights here in Leipzig, Germany, at a kind of hostel where the rooms are very spacious, and where the bathroom and kitchen facilities are shared. It's on a very busy road, so there's lots of traffic noise, but that doesn't worry me, thanks to my trusty earplugs!
I've noticed that Easwt Germany seems quite a bit more rundown in places than either Holland or West Germany, tho' there is an effort to restore historical buildings. The roads are also in a state of disrepair, and in some places in the city, there are large blue pipes running above the ground, which were apparently placed there during communist rule in order to provide heating to the city.
Yesterday there was a visit to the castle where Luther translated the Bible into German, and because it was on the top of a high hill, there were lots of steps to climb. Each day we do heaps of walking, which is a good balance to all the sitting we do when travelling. At the end of the day, we were treated to some magnificent organ music when we visited St Thomas Cathedral here in Leipzig - where Bach is buried. The weather is getting hotter and more humid - yeterday it went up to 32 degrees - so we're all very grateful for the air-conditioning in the vehicles.
In my last update, I mentioned all the people we've been learning about, but forgot to mention the places, so here they are:
In Holland: Amsterdam; Wittmarsum and Pinjum (Menno Simens, the father of the Mennonites); Dokkum, where Boniface was murdered; Zwolle, home of Thomas a Kempis; Deventer (Brothers of the Common Life); Epe (YWAM base); Naarden, Utrecht (Commenius); Venlo (Willibrord, St Martin,); Aachen (Charlemagne and Alcuin); Cologne, Fulde (Luther); Wartburg, where we had lunch near the castle; Eisenach (Bach); Erfurt; Leipzig, Wittenberg (where Luther nailed his 95 theses to the cathedral door); and Halle.
Photos, from bottom to top:
A very unfortunate sculpture on the side of a cathedral, portraying Jews as pigs (from Luther's time); a memorial to the Jews on the pavement beneath; the ten commandments in pictures; the original version of "A Mighty Fortress is our God", written by Luther; our group having lunch outside the Luther museum; in front of a statue of Francke, who started a school for orphans; "Cop Shop" is actually a place to do copying!; St Thomas's Church - where Bach served - in Leipzig; Gordon and I in front of Bach's statue.