The weather has warmed up, so we have ventured out this week. We also spent a lot of time making plans for the coming months. We have some changes coming toward spring, so we figured we had better poke our heads out of our little burrow and make the most of our time here in Leipzig. We also had a much-awaited moment that was a bit anti-climactic.

We went to three concerts this week. The first was at the University of Music and Theatre Leipzig, the school that Felix Mendelssohn founded in 1843. The concert was presented by two faculty members: Tobias Feldmann, violin, and Boris Kusnezow, piano. They played music by Mozart, Poulenc, Schönberg, and Schubert. It was truly excellent, world-class, and (crazily) free. What a treat!

Then we went to the Gewandhaus (the famous concert hall here) and saw a concert by the Gewandhaus Orchestra. They performed The Wood Pigeon by Dvořák, Kindertotenlieder by Mahler, and Brahms’ 1st Quartet for piano, violin, viola and cello in G minor, arranged for orchestra by Arnold Schönberg. That was a wild ride, made wilder by the fact that we opted for the less-expensive seats, located directly behind the percussion section. When we saw Beethoven’s 9th Symphony in October, those were the seats for the choir. It was entertaining to watch the conductor from the other side–he was really good. The Brahms was especially fun, since we are familiar with the chamber piece.

Lastly, we went back to the University for a concert performed by various music students (with a few members of the Gewandhaus Orchestra sprinkled in). We heard more Mahler, a crazy modern piece by Jolivet, and Brahms’ 1st Quartet for piano, violin, viola and cello in G minor. Did you catch it? It was the original version of the piece we heard the orchestra perform just days before. That was really fun to have the two similar, but very different experiences. The pianist was phenomenal, as were all the other musicians.

The other big event of the week was that we went to the Immigration Office and we picked up our German ID cards. It’s official–we are legal residents of Germany! It only took five months. However, it means that we got to stay past the three months that we would normally be allowed. It was sobering to spend time in the immigration office, knowing how easy it was for our applications to be accepted, when there were people who are really desperate to stay here in Germany who might not be able to. The main difference was a roll of the dice: where we were born. Honestly, after five months, it felt a little “meh”. I thought it might feel more exciting or like a bigger relief. But it will be nice not to have to carry my passport everywhere and it will be really easy to travel into Germany.

We grabbed a couple of yummy meals: Vietnamese before the violin recital and Dürüm (a wrap filled with grilled meat and lots of veggies and sauce) after we picked up our ID cards.

We have an eye to the future right now, since spring is coming and with it, travel season. We are cooking up some plans and it is taking up a lot of our time. I think I will save the specifics for later, however, to keep the air of mystery! I will just say that we are going somewhere fun (but familiar) for my birthday in February and we are going to go further afield starting in March. Stay tuned!

Here is the last of the videos that I was trying to get caught up on. It’s a bit more recent, highlighting our December holiday celebrations.

Muellers on the Loose: December 2023