It is now 12 years since the Berlin Wall came down and Germany was unified. Tremendous progress has been made in the former GDR since that time, no more so than in Leipzig, up until 1938 the capital of the world fur trade, a city famous for its trade fairs which it still holds in an impressive brand new complex on the outskirts of the city. In 2006 it will be a host city of the football World Cup. Whilst the city looks prosperous and the citizens well dressed one thing has not changed. Unlike Frankfurt or Munich where immigration formalities for UK citizens are just that, at Leipzig Airport characteristics of the old regime still linger. Scrutiny of one”s passport is most thorough, reminiscent of Schoenefeld, (East) Berlin, in 1989.
Leipzig is literally at the centre of Europe, 120 miles south of Berlin and 160 miles north west of Prague. It is now only 90 minutes from Stansted. Operated as a franchise by Cirrus Airlines, Team Lufthansa has introduced a twice daily service to Leipzig/Halle airport using a 48-seat Embraer ERJ 145 regional jet. The airport, one of Germany's oldest, but now also one of its most modern, is situated half way between the cities of Halle and Leipzig. In March 2000 a new 3,600m runway opened and next year the completion of the railway station will give an integrated terminal complex offering a 15 minute service to the city centre, also stopping at the exhibition centre/ trade fair complex. Two million passengers are expected to use the impressive facilities this year.
Cirrus Airlines was formed in 1995 as an executive charter operation based at Saarbrucken and in 1998 began scheduled operations with a service from Saarbrucken to Hamburg. The following year it took over another regional operator Cosmos Air followed by Baden Air in February 2000. Today it operates the single Embraer, four Bombardier Dash 8, two Dornier 328 jets and various corporate jets. Amongst a whole host of routes it flies into Berlin Tempelhof from Baden Baden, Mannheim and Saarbrucken.
One group of people who might find themselves visiting Leipzig over the next few years are purchasers of the new Porsche Cayenne four wheel drive utility vehicle. You can collect your car from the factory and try the vehicle on a purpose-built cross-country test track. Mind you, who would want to get their mint motor dirty!
Leipzig is a city of culture and the home of J. S. Bach for the last 27 years of his life, and also Mendelssohn. Perhaps less distinguished, it was also the birthplace of Wagner. In the Old City area is the Auerbachs Keller restaurant, celebrated in Goethe's Faust. It still is a very popular place to wine and dine after all these years and has a series of mediaeval private dining rooms, ideal for corporate hospitality, perhaps with some music. His statue sits proudly outside the Old Stock Exchange built in 1687. The restored Old City Hall houses the city”s Museum of History tracing the heritage of one of Europe's former major trade centres, now making an aggressive comeback. Also well worth while taking a look at is the massive railway terminal, said to be the largest in Europe, internally rebuilt as a railway, shopping and dining complex over three floors, very clean and spectacular.
Hotel-wise most of the big brand names are represented including Intercontinental, Marriott and Renaissance. Less expensive are the Novotel and Holiday Inn Garden Court, whilst if you want more of the local atmosphere there are plenty of ”Gathaus” available. Leipzig is much on par with London with regard to weather and not as cold as Berlin to the north. It is also flat, making it ideal for a walking tour and has what is termed a ”greenbelt” a series of small parks that surround the central city area. All rather nice.
http://www.leipzig.dehttp://www.cirrus-airlines.de