Not exactly a lot of things done today except taking the Zug (train) to the other major Saxon town of Leipzig (pronounced lipe-zish in German), a neat university town. I arrived at an awkward time around 1. Checking in at my hostel and dropping my stuff off, my first and only real stop of the day was the Leipzig Zoo. By far the best zoo I have been to, and one of the coolest things I’ve done so far. By all accounts the main grouds are similar and are as impressive as any other zoo, but the main treasure lies in the massive enclosed arena called Gondwanaland. In it is a near literal rain forest. A somewhat hot, yet extremely very super mega humid enclosure with hundreds of trees, animals, displays, and a jungle cruise. The enclosure features three distinct jungle themed zones: South America, Africa and Asia, with related plants and animals, many of which were free to roam the whole land inside. (It was mostly all birds inside though.) The zone features tree hikes, rocky trails and history lessons, and different trees, such as pineapple, mango, kakao and other trees with fruits. The cruise was very unique in that it first takes you through a dark cave passing displays and screens festuring projections of animals and historical events of the formation of the Earth. Also it had a gift shop! A GIFT SHOP!!! I spent a very long time in there before heading out late in the afternoon and just directionlessly wandered the city for hours passing by a neat church, and the medieval castle styled city hall and the ‘Bundesverwaltungsgericht’ one of Germany’s 5 supreme courts. Through the university and through a park. This was all at the awkward late in the afternoon, yet too late to go out and do much. Most businesses here close much earlier than in the US.

Tomorrow can’t come soon enough.