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Friday, October 2, 2015

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Franziska in Staubsauger--Leipzig 2











Franziska in Staubsauger--Leipzig








In Staubsauger [Vacuum Cleaner] Bar, bartender Franziska was reading Mumia Abu-Jamal's We Want Freedom: Ein Leben in der Black Panther Party.



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3 comments:

Eddie said...

Linh,

Nice to see that you have landed on your feet in Leipzig at a friendly watering hole with a nice (!!) bartender.

Good luck there. We spent a day in Leipzig during the 2006 World Cup. The only match at the tournament that wasn't a sellout. Iran and Angola playing to a 1-1 tie, if I remember correctly.

Even a short stay left fond memories. Staying in a resident's apartment booked through the city tourist office complete with warm hospitality (despite a joint inability to speak each others' languages) and breakfast. Pre AirBNB--fuck them, by the way.

Veggie doner kababs for two or three euros. The glorious train station.

I bet the place has gentrified in the last nine or so years.

Looking forward to your photos and reports.

Eddie

Linh Dinh said...

Yo Eddie,

My friend Olliver has been in Leipzig 15 years and he said the place has changed considerably. I'm certainly struck by how cosmopolitan it is, with plenty of hip, international spots. Looking for references to the USA, I've spotted bars with names like Big Easy, Texas and Papa Hemingway, all within half a mile of each other.

West Germans are moving in and there's a new, ugly-as-sin Catholic church built by these new comers. I talked to a guy who got quite animated about the East Germany, West Germany divide. He pounded his heart, then my heart as he was talking.

I met a Palestinian owner of a Doner Kebab stand. He came here from Jordan, and has been in Germany for 20 years.

Quite a few Vietnamese here, and I talked to a woman from Hanoi.

In the Western part of town, there are Russians and Ukrainians, Olliver told me. I'll probably walk there tomorrow.


Linh

x larry said...

amazing in a way. but i see this all the time. europeans 'know' a lot about the u.s., and are very interested. they know the hippest music that i'm barely beginning to discover myself (some people anyway). i'm generally, or always, left cold talking to them though. why? they don't know what it FEELS like. still, it shows me one thing: american is fucking interesting, at least it used to be.