That evening, we joined the other lecturers, event organizers and physics students at a beer garden near the Institute.  We had delicious beer and food and found ourselves stuck (luckily under large umbrellas) in a huge thunderstorm.  We drank some more beer thinking it would pass, but finally gave up and took a taxi back to the hotel.  We got drenched from the rain just during the run from the taxi to the hotel's front door!  

Gerald had another morning of lectures to give, so Elyse went off exploring again.  Most of the museums, etc. don't open until 10 am, so she explored the neighborhood (where she noticed the effects of East German times) and walked through a huge park that is on the edge of town. Her first stop that morning was the "Museum in the Round Corner", once the headquarters of the city's secret police (or Stasi) and now a museum describing their techniques and impact.  Luckily there was a guide in English for her to read, but even without it once could sense how deeply the Stasi's power permeated society.  The exhibits included costumes (e.g., wigs, fake noses, etc.) and surveillance devices (e.g., button-microphones, secret cameras, handbag-recorders) that could have been something out of a bad spy movie if one didn't realize that they were all real.  There were explanations on how letters were read, copied, and often confiscated; on how even people's scents were stored (below, left) in case dogs needed to track them down later; on the cameras placed everywhere to keep track of people's movements and meetings; and on how the millions of documents were filed, stored and - when the end was imminent - attempted to be destroyed (below, right).  There were exhibits of how the government got and kept its power using warnings about the presence of enemies amongst "regular" people and of those enemies' plans to undermine the fabric and values of society.  There were stories of lives ruined by one negative statement and of the constant fear of a misstep that permeated society.  But it was the photographs of the thousands of people with candles in front of the St. Nicholas Church and in the streets, despite the threatening presence of the police and the knowledge that people were risking everything by being there, that really "got" to Elyse.  It must have taken tremendous courage to stand up - peacefully - to such power, to reject the idea of an omnipresent enemy, and to demand basic rights of protest, freedom of thought and of expression.   A potent reminder of police-powers going overboard in the name of "national security".
Elyse needed something a bit more "upbeat" to offset that visit and she decided to visit the Museum of Fine Arts on her way back into the center of town.  It is housed in a bright, new building and had a good collection of paintings by the "old masters" and by German artists which she enjoyed seeing.  But her heart wasn't in it - it was a beautiful day and she felt like being outside and exploring the streets of Leipzig.  She also knew that her rendezvous with Gerald scheduled for mid-afternoon at the St. Thomas Church to hear the choir (in case you forgot, we really liked the choir's performance), so she went through the exhibits fairly quickly. 

We were lucky enough to be in Leipzig at the end of the annual Bach Music Festival.  We had an extra bit of luck being there on the night of a special concert in honor of conductor Kurt Masur's (below, left) 80th birthday.  [Masur had been conductor of the Gewandhaus Orchestra in Leipzig (where the concert was held) for almost 30 years, along with having been conductor for the London and New York Philharmonic Orchestras. Apparently he had also been involved in protests against the East German government.  In any event, although he was born in what is now Poland, he has clearly been adopted by the city of Leipzig.]  We knew we wouldn't be able to get tickets (never mind that the cheapest tickets probably cost about 200 Euros / $350), but they were broadcasting the concert on a big screen in the Augustusplatz outside the concert hall, so we got there early and found good seats right by the fountain outside the hall.  We could hear the applause as famous folks entered (including special guests Kofi Annan and his wife) and see the dressed-up folks enter on the red carpet while we sat in our jeans outside. After a brief rain spell, it turned into a beautiful evening and eventually the plaza was filled with thousands of people (below, center) enjoying the music and conversations on the stage.  Harald Schmidt was the moderator/MC and he was (apparently) very funny, but also clearly respected the ability of Masur and of the orchestra. The concert itself was incredible and it included a performance of Ann-Sophie Mutter (below, right) on the violin (apparently she had been mentored by Masur and they have been close friends for a long time) that was absolutely fantastic.  It was actually better than being inside in some respects, especially with the close-up shots on the big screen of the musicians and Masur conducting.  There was a fair bit of reminiscing (that we only partially understood) and we left about 2 1/2 hours into it to get a late dinner.  The concert was still going on when we walked by on our way back to the hotel. We stopped to hear a little more music before moving on - what a special treat to end our visit.

DRESDEN

We had heard wonderful things about Dresden, especially from our friend Karin, so we decided to stop there on our way from Leipzig to Prague (we had to change trains there anyway, so we just extended our layover time).  It was a beautiful day, so we left our luggage in a locker at the train station and spent the next four hours exploring the city. We felt a bit foolish doing such a quick tour, but it was infinitely better than not seeing anything of Dresden.  Much of the city's splendor has been rebuilt after the severe damage it experienced during WWII and it was fun just to walk around.

We first came upon the gardens at Zwinger - Baroque "pleasure grounds"  created in the early 1700's.  They are massive, ornate and beautiful in their overdone way.  The fountains were going, the gilded towers were shimmering in the sun and there was a perfect sky to offset it all.  We walked along the walls up top first and then headed into the courtyards below.  As you can see, they didn't skimp on their gardens!