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Read more about our travels around the former DDR
Our next major stop was the city of Leipzig. However, on our way we thought it would be rude to miss out on at least two more soviet memorials en route.
Neustadt-Glewe
Onwards the next morning our first drive of around 45 minutes was to Neustadt-Glewe’s Soviet Memorial (Sowjetischer Soldatenfriedhof). This memorial is dedicated like many others to the many Soviet soldiers who died in liberating Europe from the NAZI’s.
Stendal
We got back in the car to continue our journey towards Leipzig via the Soviet War memorial (Sowjetischer Ehrenfriedhof) at Stendal, around 1 hour 30 minutes away. This memorial contains the remains of 262 Soviet soldiers and officers who fell in 1945.
The main obelisk in the memorial site has this quote from Stalin:
“ETERNAL GLORY
TO THE HEROES WHO FALLEN IN THE FIGHT FOR THE
FREEDOM AND INDEPENDENCE
OF OUR HOME!
STALIN”
In the southeast corner of the complex there is a sculpture depicting a Soviet soldier.
There is also an impressive red star planted into the side of the memorial site, shown below.
Leipzig
Our journey from Stendal to Leipzig is around 2 hours and 30 minutes long. The very cool and busy city of Leipzig is one of the biggest publishing cities in Europe according to our blue guide. Our guide also alerts us to the fact that Lenin stayed here and that the Russian Marxist newspaper Iskra (the Spark) was produced here. During the DDR, Leipzig was an important trading centre which culminated in the annual fair attended by manufactures, engineers, and scientists from the Soviet Bloc.
For us Red Tourists with less than half a day available, we focused on two places to visit; the N’Ostalgia museum Leipzig and the Gedenkstätte Museum in der „Runden Ecke“/ Memorial Museum in the “Round Corner” (Stasi museum and archive).
Starting at the N’Ostalgia museum, we entered this small building with one staff member who gave us our tickets to enter. The museum is floor to ceiling DDR and is two floors with multiple rooms, with DDR era items such as tv’s, motorbikes and clothing absolutely crammed in.
This enormous storage of vintage brick-a-brack is an impressive collection and is perfect for the Red Tourist. You can look through things, touching as you go as well as exploring all the bits and bobs you want.
Whilst this will not take you long, it is well worth a visit and for those interested in taking a bit of the DDR back with you, there is a small shop selling the usual DDR made materials.
Leaving the museum we head for the Gedenkstätte Museum in der „Runden Ecke“. As we arrive we have just over 1 hour to walk through the building, accompanied by a very good English audio guide. This building was used by the Stasi locally and includes information around the operation of the Stasi, methods and the ideology that underpinned the state security service. As an aside, whilst we did not go to the Stasi HQ in Berlin on this trip, we have been before and would recommend doing this in Berlin.
After another long day and with most things starting to close on a hot evening, we head for our nearest craft beer bar to take in the last rays of sun on offer and enjoy a cold drink. Goldhopfen - Craft Beer Bar Leipzig is the first stop. This trendy bar includes a really interesting inside with low lit rooms with Jazz playing loudly and a few tables outside to be part of the hustle and bustle. Whilst you can get some local craft beers, these are mainly pilsner and lager based.
Our final stop of the evening is Cliff’s Brauwerick Leipzig, the bar is downstairs in a basement/cellar like space and is fitted out with huge wooden tablets and high chairs, which gives it the distinct feeling of being in the hull of a large ship. The IPAs here are really recommended and for those wanting one for the road, these are also available.
Loving this post on Leipzig? Read more about our Red Tourists road trip around the former DDR here.
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