Last Day in Leipzig

Today being Saturday, the Leipzig Book Fair turned out to be a ghastly competition to that lovely feeling of being squeezed in the middle of a crowded subway in Tokyo. As soon as I had finished my day schedule (though not my schedule for the day – I still have work later this night), I fled and walked through Leipzig. Which was lovely. Sunshine, the cool air a welcome contrast to the recycled stuff in the halls, and those old Renaissance houses mingled with baroque buildings.

I visited the Nikolaikirche, which looks as if it has been renovated only recently, and in style, too. Definitely the first church for me where green is a dominating colour on the ceiling. The columns end in Corinthian capitels which are plastered and painted to look like palm tree leaves, and they in turn mix and mingle at the ceiling. Hats off to the baroque architect; ‘twas a charming idea. Of course, the Nikolaikirche is famous for two things: 1) Bach (though he’s even more connected to the Thomaskirche) and 2) 1989. I remember those days when we were all watching the Monday demonstrations that started with the vigils in this church on the news. It still amazes and humbles me to think of the courage the people of Leipzig – and those who came here to join them – showed. They couldn’t know, no matter what they hoped for, that Gorbachev wouldn’t send in the troups a la 1968 and Prague, or that Honecker & Co. wouldn’t use the East German army in massive fashion. They couldn’t know they would succeed, and that the Iron Curtain would collapse. On the other hand, they probably all recalled what had happened to the workers in East Berlin in the 50s who had demonstrated (which was when Brecht suggested that the government should dissolve the people and elect another). They had grown up in a dictatorship which a secret service to watch their every move. (When the Stasi files became available later, one got the impression that one out of three must have spied on their neighbours.) And yet they went, demonstrated and chanted that reminder a lot of dictators, and, alas, democratic governments claiming to act for “the people” could use quite often: Wir sind das Volk, i.e. “We are the people”.

Tonight, as I said, there’s one more appointment to go, and then tomorrow I’ll leave the city. Incidentally, on my way here, in the train, I had the opportunity to finish my Very Secret Assignment for babficathon, and kathyh, speediest of beta-readers, already mailed it back to me, calling it wicked in the process.*g* Given that I had some time just now, I worked in her corrections. So does anyone know when wel’ll start to post our stuff, and how we go about it?