Are you a fan of the dark? Do you listen to obscure music?…read more Is your wardrobe mostly shades of black? Have your parents said they're concerned about your "phase"? Want to have company in your darkroom? Then come to Leipzig for the Wave Gotik Treffen (WGT)! Every year, for over 28 years now, the city of Leipzig turns BLACK. Shops decorate their windows, restaurants have special items on their menus and every hotel room in town is booked. That's the time when about 20.000 goth people from all over the globe come together to celebrate their lifestyle, fashion, music, and friendship. With over 200 bands, many readings, art exhibitions, theatre, renaissance fairs, and MORE there is nothing that can't be done at the WGT. This is no ordinary festival, this event (Wave Gotik Treffen = wave goth meeting) is a goth-family-style​ event that spreads out over the whole city of Leipzig which gives you the opportunity to visit different locations and dress up so even Nosferatu gets jealous. I'm coming to the WGT multiple years now and I always feel at home and love to connect with friends and find new people/bands/authors/artists/... to celebrate!

The Wave-Gotik is when once a year all of Germany's Goths descend on Leipzig in ever fancier and…read moremore complex costumes. They once came to protest. Now they come to be admired and photographed. It is quite a sight.

I came to Leipzig for a Wagner festival that they had in May 2016. The Leipzig Opera put on three…read morerarely performed early Wagner works: Die Feen, Das Liebesverbot, and Rienzi. They were performed on three consecutive nights on a weekend in May. This made it ideal for a visitor since I could stay for four nights and take in three operas plus go to the symphony on my fourth night. I have now been to several of the main opera houses worldwide and thought the Oper Leipzig was truly outstanding, especially in terms of the performances and the acoustics in the building. I had not heard of any of the singers and they seem to have company singers that they use in their performances, but I thought almost all the voices I heard were outstanding and on a par with top international talent. The Leipzig Gewandhaus orchestra, which plays with the opera, of course if one of the top orchestras in the world, and their performance in the operas was really the high point. The staging for all three operas was excellent. I am usually in favor of more traditional stagings, and the Leipzig Oper did a few modern adaptations, but I didn't find that it distracted too much. The building itself is not ornate like the Semperoper in Dresden or the Wiener Staatsoper. However, I think the outstanding acoustics and the excellent sightlines and comfortable seats give you really all you need. One problem, though, is that it was fairly warm while I was there and they do not seem to have very good air conditioning in the building. It is interesting that they have very large portraits of their singers posted in the lobby areas, with each singer in two different poses. The selection of refreshments is very good and prices exceedingly reasonable. I got a glass of wine during intermission for just three euros. The prices of the opera tickets themselves are also exceedingly reasonable, with top seats in the front orchestra section ranging around 75 to 95 euros. I definitely recommend this opera house and look forward to visiting again for their innovative and excellent performances.

Last night, I watch the ballet of Othello (the last performance of the year before summer) I will…read morenot pretend I am an expert. In fact I am a British Army Medic. I had very little expectation before arriving to something I believe would be "boring".... (how fun can a ballet be right?).... The whole of the second act I was I tears. I felt so Involved. I do not have the penmanship of Shakespeare to explain to you how good this performance was. Whos every job it is to select the props should be given a medal. The head female dancer (probably has a title I don't know) as she was dieing let out short breaths as she danced that were somehow so powerful. Maybe every ballet is like this. I doubt it. However a day later, I'm sat in Starbucks and it's the only thing I can think about. Thank you so much...

Daily food specials... Usually €6.00 and less. Great value for the money. Across from the train…read morestation. Bar/restaurant side is smoke free. Gaming side... Not so much.