Now that it is officially Weihnachtszeit, or "Christmas time", here in Leipzig, there have been lots of things to do and see around the city.
Firstly, the Leipzig city Christmas market opened this week. My roommate, Sonya, who you got to know from my field note a few weeks ago, started working at the market as a waitress for one of the indoor food tents. There, she and her coworkers serve everything from hot chocolate, to fondue, and traditional dishes from this region, such as spätzle (a traditional German egg noodle or dumpling). I visited her last weekend and ordered a warm, yummy apple latte. It was so cozy to sit inside and watch people walking around at the market! This weekend, I also got to explore a smaller Christmas market that took place just outside the city in an old crane workshop. The workshop was active under East Germany, where maintaining the cranes was very important for mining brown coal in the area. Today, the workshop has been converted into a historic site where you can still learn how to make authentic wares out of wood, metal and glass.
