This year has been a lot of travelling so far, and this time I had fun in Leipzig!
So I am aware this blog was long overdue. I have been back for almost two months now, but as soon as I got back in the Netherlands a lot of things were happening in my personal- and work life. I had to take a step back with creating content, but anyway here we are: a new blog! I had a wonderful time in Leipzig, both in the city and at the Book Fair/Buchmesse together with Manga Comic Con. It was a travel experience filled with books, manga, language learning and more!
Monday, March 24
After a long travel day I arrived in the early evening at the beautiful Leipzig train station. Outside the station I got my ticket for the tram which I had to take for 20 minutes to the south of the city center. I had booked an apartment that had a good connection to the messe, the place where the Leipziger Buchmesse and Manga Comic Con is held yearly.
On my way to the apartment I called my host, and well… this was the moment that my host found out I was in fact not German. Whoops! All my messages to her were in German, and I didn’t think much about it. That was until I had to ask my host on the phone in easier German words if that’s what she meant. My host was shocked, because she mostly hosts German speakers since she doesn’t speak much English herself. Once I got to the apartment building we had a good laugh about it. My German is quite good, but sometimes I do have to conform certain things to make sure I understand well. It was a long travel day and after a shower I got to bed. Tomorrow is for exploring!
Tuesday, March 25
Okay, maybe not immediately exploring. First things first, grocery shopping for the apartment and my breakfast. Later in the morning I went back to the city center by tram. My plan for the day? Shopping and walking around. I started my shopping part of the day at a boutique called Milch und Honig. The shop owner is a lovely woman who is crazy about Jellycat! We talked about anything Jellycat and of course I bought a Jellycat from her, the pancakes that used to be an American dinner exclusive.
Afterwards I walked to the mall and explored many nerdy stores in that area before I made my way to Boutique Leon Rockstar. I walked through the park and was mesmerised by the blossoms. At the boutique I again got into a chat about Jellycat, haha. I just love how stuffed animals are now normalised with grown ups! And yes, I got another Jellycat, the capybara keychain that I really wanted to get for my music shelf to accompany Jennie’s latest album.
Even though I already had walked a lot that day, I just wanted to explore more. And I also had two other Jellycats very high on my wishlist that I just wanted to keep on moving. But not before I made a stop at City Comics, I highly recommend this comic shop, it has so much.
I crossed back to the other side of the city center to get to the Marktplatz and wow it felt like I was catapulted into a different age. This square is a wonderful site you don’t want to miss when you visit Leipzig. There was even a market going on that added to the vibe. It felt like I was in a daze walking around there. I went through the Handwerkpassage to get to my next stop, but I was surprised by cute small streets that made me feel like I was still in the same era as back on the square. The last boutique of the day was lieblingskind and quess what? I found the other thing on my wishlist! I got the Blossom Bunny ‘Bloom’. They also had the other one I wanted, Blossom Bunny ‘Cherry’, but unfortunately not in the size I wanted. Nevertheless I was surprised by all the finds that day! And again I had a lovely chat with the shop owner, actually we talked for at least half an hour. It was amazing for my German skills and at the same time I learned so much about the culture of the city and what the Leipziger Buchmesse means for the people who live there.
Afterwards I walked alongside the Thomaskirche and Bach-Museum to get the tram back south, but not all the way back to my apartment. I stopped to see Buchhandlung Wörtersee and Comic Combo, another manga store I would highly recommend. For food I went across the street to An Chay-Vegan Diner.
Wednesday, March 26
Sometimes it rains a lot. Much more than expected, so unfortunately my plans for the day weren’t as reachable. Hopefully another time I can get around to go to the Monument to the Battle of the Nations. But I did go to the Deutsches Buch- und Schriftmuseum. For sure a museum book lovers should visit. Later in the afternoon I went back to the city center to buy some gifts for my friends and my mother.
Thursday, March 27
Today was the day, the start of Leipziger Buchmesse and Manga Comic Con! It was the day I explored all the five halle and I found out about the many (and I mean MANY) events that were going on at the messe. I found out only two days before that there were also a lot of events going on in the city center itself. Honestly, next time when I go I will be much more prepared. So I wrote down the events, besides some business meetings that I had and off I went. This day was just filled with exploring and getting to know all the halle and see what they had to offer.
Friday, March 28
German author day with a bit of manga. First I bought some books to let them be signed by the authors after events I was planning to go to. I started the event day with a New Adult panel of the publisher Forever and their author Gabriella Santos de Lima. Her book spoke to me so it was one of the ones I bought earlier that morning, and after the event I was lucky enough to get it signed as well!
I wanted to chill a bit that morning, so I sat *classic con style* on the ground against the wall eating my lunch, before I got up to go to Tokyopop’s panel in halle one. Lastly I went to publisher Loewe and their panel at one of the bookstores that attended the messe. The panel consisted of one of my favourite German authors, Kyra Groh. The panel was incredibly funny and you could tell the authors knew each other well. Before I made my way back to the apartment, because your girl was tired, I got my book signed and was a happy egg (Dutch expression) the rest of the day. Honestly, that whole day was so much fun, I remember a lot of the laughs I had that day.
Saturday, March 29
Yesterday was a book day, today was a Comic day. I started my day at altraverse to get some manga for me and one of my clients that were attending the con. I also got the latest installment of Spy x Family in German at one of the manga stores.
I would have loved to be able to tell you more about this day, but I was just tired. It was extremely busy at the messe and after my meetings I decided to leave and get to the city center. I got some more gifts and even souvenirs, before I called it a night very early that day.
Sunday, March 30
There was one more meeting and panel I wanted to go to before I officially decided that I was going to tick off the Leipziger Buchmesse from my bucket list. Okay panels, I ended up going to multiple audiobook panels. The main one I wanted to attend was about romance books. I left that day very early in the afternoon, I had done so many things (much more than mentioned in this blog) and learned so much including leveling up with my German skills. This of course came with a price, a brain that felt fried by the amount of information it had to process. So I called it a night, ordered in pizza and packed my stuff to get back to the Netherlands the next day.
Monday, March 31
Another long travel day, but it was lovely to just sit down and relax. My time in Leipzig was wonderful and there are still so many stories left untold. I had some wonderful chats with shop owners and met some great people before and after panels on the messe. I am considering going back next year, there is still a lot more I want to explore and also attend events in the city center. So yeah, it was amazing and I think often about all the memories made.
Do you want to explore my adventure by video? Here you go!:
Love,
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