Vibrant

And now I'm in Leipzig, the city of many things. Fascinating history, a busker on every corner, and a long stretch of lights with colour, sound and smell that make up a massive Weihnachtsmarkt.

On arriving in the city, I was at that awful bit of a cold where your nose drips and you feel just sorry for yourself. In that moment, I usually just curl up and nap or watch TV, but my room wasn't ready for check-in, so I went to the cinema and curled up in front of Shaun the Sheep: Farmageddon (or Shaun, das Schaf 2 auf Deutsch) for a couple of hours. I was the only person in the screening, but it cured me completely. I walked out feeling almost normal, and ready to start exploring. 

Leipzig is busy this weekend, so my affordable accommodation is a dorm room in a hostel. I don't mind hostels when I'm travelling alone - they can be far less isolating than hotels, although this time around I have been enjoying the very comfortable beds and nice bathrooms of the hotels as I've hopped between hostels and hotels. I made a dorm room friend, and we wandered around the market. She is German, and from not that far away, so was telling me all about the different traditions and which foods and crafts I needed to pay particular attention to. Most of our conversation was in German, although she did most of the talking...

Eventually we went different directions, and I continued to wander through, looking for photos. I stood watching this double decker carousel for quite some time, as it went around and around and around. I found myself wondering if carousels and merry go rounds were initially so exciting because they would move at speeds faster than many people would experience. And then I got to thinking about horses and carriages, and then just horses, and all the other ways people have moved themselves with some speed over the years. I didn't reach any conclusions, I just got to thinking.