Day 5: Dresden -> Leipzig

Today was a much-needed mostly mellow day. We woke up early and left our hotel in Dresden. We drove to Leipzig, checked into our apartment and then went to the Hauptbahnhof (main train station) to return our rental car. We were surprised by how modern and full of shops the train station was - it was more like a mall than a transportation hub. We had lunch and did a grocery shopping at the stores in the train station, since no stores here are open on Sunday. The train station was rather impressive from the outside, as well. We returned to our apartment and organized some details for the next couple of days, while the boys worked on their school work. We had a meal of Maultaschen, Frikadellen and Käsespätzle - all quite tasty. Tomorrow will be a busier day. We are excited to see the birthplace of the protest movements that led to the fall of the DDR. As we went over tomorrow's plan with the boys they had many questions about the protests and the stasi, about the Cold War and the limits of human conscience. We had a rich conversation. It is great to see the boys so curious about the lives of others.