No one will take a Shine to this roadside candy machine

I came across this roadside candy machine in Leipzig. A few things stuck out: first of all, it was blue.

Second of all, like many things in Leipzig, it's been tagged with graffiti. I saw "redröm" tagged on it. I had a suspicion that it was the German take on "red rum," and I think it is, as "Mörder" if it's reversed.

Sometimes I think I'd love to see security footage to find out what roadside candy machines go through. (Although, having seen some of them looking really jacked up, I'm then  not so sure that I would want to know!)

Interesting juxtaposition with the poster in the window too!

Is the Leipzig Card worth buying?

Some cities offer special discount cards for tourists. The cards often offer transportation on the local bus, tram, and subway system, in addition to discounts and free admissions to local museums and attractions. When I visited Leipzig, I made the decision to buy the Leipzig Card because I thought it might be worth it from a cost-saving perspective. Was I right? Is it cost-effective to buy the Leipzig Card?


Let's look at my thought processes for buying it. My trip to Leipzig was from Friday-Monday. I planned to visit some museums and take public transport. I usually buy a day pass for public transport since it works out to be cheaper than buying individual tickets for most of my wanderings. For example, the day ticket was 6,90 euro, whereas individual tickets are 1,80. It would only take four trips to make it worth it for a day card. Four trips would really be two roundtrips.


The Leipzig Card is 10,90 for a one day or for 21,90 for three days and includes public transport and discounts on museums, stores, etc. It also includes free entrances to some attractions, though this is limited. Since my visit was 3 days and it averaged out to 7,30 a day, I thought that it would be worth to get the card.


However, upon tying up the trip, I had to re-evaluate that. I didn't realize how compact the main sights are within Leipzig. I stayed mostly in the center of the city, pinpointed on the map as Markt. In that vicinity are many museums, stores, restaurants, etc. My hostel was right in the area so I didn't need transportation to that either. I found several free museums that took up a lot of my time. I also could have used very little, if any, public transportation. In order to try to get my value out of the ticket, I did take some tram rides to see the city but I could've walked.


I used the card to get a discount at the fine arts museum (I think 2 euros discount) and on a bus/walking tour (4 euros). I only heavily used the travel portion on one day. My take is this: I don't think it was money totally down the drain but had I realized how easy it was to see most of the sights in a compact area, I probably wouldn't have bought the card. For those considering it, it would be wise to figure out how far everything you want to see it and if the discounts are worth it to justify buying the card. For a short visit, it might worth it just to walk and visit free museums.

My week: October 11 ed.

Man, I've been bad about writing these weekly wrap-ups (not that they're all that exciting, but they work as a nice means of remembrance for myself). I haven't been so great about writing regularly in the blog, either. I don't know that this situation will improve since my second German class is starting soon and there are many projects occurring at work right now. At least I won't get bored, though I do have the firm belief that if you're bored, you're boring ;)

-I had a meeting with my tandem partner and attended the VHS class. In the VHS class, it's really become more of a review of B1 (so I guess it's similar to what the VHS calls B1+). While I would like to focus more on conversation, I'm also happy enough with reviewing grammar since that's always needed. I like listening to the teacher talk; he has a very calm, reassuring way of speaking and a nice cadence.

-Since it was a three-day holiday weekend, I decided somewhat last minute to take a trip to Leipzig. It had been on my mental list (which, for the record, has no rhyme or reason) of places I'd like to visit. My main travel partner C had moved back to the US so this trip I went by myself since it was so last-minute. I lucked out, however, and bought some Sparpreis train tickets for 26 euros each way (with seat reservation) after BahnCard discount. It can be difficult to find train tickets at a good price if one doesn't book early (up to 30 days in advance) or super late, such as several days before with L'tur. The problem with the latter option is that cheap tickets aren't always available so soon before departure.

I also booked a hostel through booking.com but realized that if I had booked directly with the hostel, I would have gotten a better rate. The frustrating thing is that one must call the hostel though. I don't enjoy doing this; I'd prefer to do everything online. The hostel has a website but the booking capabilities are limited and the website directed me to call since not all of their available rooms were listed online (why?!).

I had found another hostel with good rates and I tried calling at 10 p.m. since I figured it would be a quieter time to inquire about reservations. Well, the woman couldn't help me because there was only one person on staff at the time. Argh! That certainly didn't help with my frustration and dislike of having to call places instead of being able to book instantly through the hostel's website.

I left for the trip on the Friday night after work. It's about a 5-6 hour high speed train ride to the city and I got in really late. However, the party at the club next door to my hostel was ready and waiting for me! I could have even arrived at 4 a.m. and they would have had the music booming. Sigh. It was so loud that I could still hear it in my room when I had my earplugs in, but at least it was mostly muffled.

That's how I learned that Leipzig doesn't have a set closing time for its clubs and restaurants. Usually, it's 10 p.m. or 12 a.m. in many other cities. I think I'm getting old because I was wishing for a closing time. To be fair, I also don't expect to get a great night's sleep if I'm at a hostel.

I might write more about the weekend later, but to sum up the rest of it: I wandered around town and admired the architecture; took a walking/bus tour; visited museums; did some window shopping; and took the time to do whatever the heck I wanted to do. While I usually prefer to travel with a friend, it was also a positive experience for me to enjoy my own company and set my own schedule.