Our first visitor!!

Blogufs:

This past weekend we had our first visitor.  By way of a friendship with K Mill, we met his friend from University of Kentucky, Jason Omer.  Turns out Jason is in Stuttgart working- a mere 4.5 hours away on the Autobahn.  

So Omer came over Friday night- arriving around 7.  We had a few beers, watched some great online videos (Ghost ride the whip!), and caught up.  When L Mama went to bed, Omer and I walked downtown to find some action.  We had a beer at Morison's pub, but the joint was dead.  So we were headed home when a group of 30 or so came strolling through town chanting in English.   We were obliged to follow. They led use straight to the town square and a row of bars.  We went inside and had a Beam and soda (homage to Kentucky) and watched as the joint cleared out as soon as we sat down.  So we called it a night and walked home.  

In the morning L Rizzy was making quite a scene- so sleeping in was not an option.  Fair enough.  We all showered up and headed towards the Zentrum.  We toured around town and took picture and we had 1 pm reservations for lunch at Auerbachs Keller.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auerbachs_Keller

This place dates back from 1438.  Really?  Amazing... we had a great table, great service, great beer, and great food.  L Rizzy got a free bid from the waitress so everyone was happy. 

We left here, walked around more, then walked down to the Promenade.  We picked up a few things for L Mama's dinner recipe and then hopped on the tram to the Völkerschlachtdenkmal (Monument to the Battle of the Nations).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Völkerschlachtdenkmal

Commemorating Napoleon's defeat at Leipzig in 1813, it is the largest war monument in Europe.  It has 500 steps to the top... but it felt more like 2 grand, Polly.  The architecture was great and the views were nice.  L Mama and L Rizzy hung out at the base of the joint since the narrow stairways couldn't handle the stroller.  

After this we headed back to the flat and ate a great dinner prepared by L Mama (Rosemary Chicken, potatoes, and salad with Niyant dressing).  After L Rizzy crashed, Omer and I headed out again to the street of bars and had a drink.  It POURED down rain and a river was flowing underneath the table we were sitting at in the street.  Once it stopped raining we went home.  At this point it was 1:30am so the Ohio State game was just coming on.  I suffered through 3 hours of the worst football ever.  Joe Bauserman is not good.

The next morning we had some breakfast sandwiches and Omer and I set out across the street to explore the abandoned building.  The trailer to the movie is below.

When Omer left both L Mama and I were homesick.  It was nice to hang out with someone so fun and American, but it did make us miss the States more!

Auerbachs Keller

Checking out the menu

L Rizzy kinda liked his high chair

The waitress gave him a free Auerbachs Keller bib

Appetizer sampler

L Rizzy as Beethoven 

Omer making L Rizzy smile

No open container law in Leipzig!

Völkerschlachtdenkmal (Monument to the Battle of the Nations)

Amazing stone sculpture inside

Tight winding stairs to the top!

L Rizzy enjoyed it from the ground

Omer and I explored the abandoned building across the street

There is a new movie coming from J Resnick Films this fall

And a quote:

"Monuments and archaeological pieces serve as testimonies of man's greatness and establish a dialogue between civilizations showing the extent to which human beings are linked."

- Vincente Fox