Axel: Hello. Greetings to everyone. We are starting something of a new season of “Welcome to Leipzig. The podcast for your trip to Leipzig”. I’m Axel and I’ll be exploring Leipzig and the region together with you guys. But I’m not doing this alone. I have a new colleague with me, Klara. Hi, good to see you.
Klara: Hi! Hello, Axel. And from me to: Welcome to our new season. I’m really looking forward to exploring Leipzig together. So, Axel, what’s on the agenda today?
Axel: Well, actually, a home game for me, because I never get tired of telling people that I’m a rower and accordingly, have a deep connection to Leipzig as a city of water. So, I ask myself, how can I show this important aspect of Leipzig to you?
Klara: Okay, so are we going to your rowing club now? And you’re going to teach me how to row?
Axel: No, that will probably go beyond the scope of the podcast. Besides, I can’t exactly offer a rowing course for all the listeners. Instead, the two of us are starting today at ‘Stadthafen Leipzig’ - or in English: Leipzig city harbor - and throwing ourselves into a canoe. The special thing here is that we are getting the all-inclusive package. We will still have to paddle, but everything around it is perfectly organized.
Axel: But more on that when we get there.
Klara: Okay. I’m curious.
Intro: Welcome to Leipzig - The Podcast for your trip to Leipzig.
Klara: We’ve arrived at the ‘Stadthafen’. We are here on Schreberstraße and I noticed that we’re surprisingly close to the city center.
Axel: Yes, from the center, it’s maybe a 20 to 25-minute walk. By public transport, the most central stop is ‘Westplatz’. You can get there from all directions, and from there it’s maybe another five-minute walk.
Klara: Now I’m really curious about what our tour looks like.
Axel: Today, we’re starting from here, going through the lock via the ‘Floßgraben’, that’s a rift canal to Lake Cospuden. That’s a really popular swimming lake in the Leipzig region, and it’s so big that there’s obviously plenty of day-long leisure fun there, but we have to get there first. We get our boat from our guide, and we have already met him. He welcomed us here at ‘Leipzig Stadthafen’: Paul, hi.
Paul: Hi, Axel. Hey, everyone. How are you doing?
Klara: Fine. First, we moved inside. Can you explain what’s all the noise outside is about?
Paul: Yeah. So we’re actually finishing up construction on the new extension of the city harbor. It will be a whole new facility. There will be a big restaurant there, event locations and even possibilities for private citizens to keep their boats if they want to use the Leipzig rivers on their own in their own free time.
Klara: Great.
Axel: I invited Klara to an all-inclusive canoe tour to the lake, and the boat is being transported back to the ‘Stadthafen’. How does this work?
Paul: So, you guys let us know in advance if you want to leave the boat at the lake, and then we take care of everything else. At the end of the evening, we just put the boat on a big transport rack and cart it back to the city harbor, so that the next day everyone else can do the same tour over again. So it’s not just a one-time thing. You can do it every day because we take care of everything else.
Klara: And how do we get back from the lake to the city center?
Paul: So, there’s different options that you have. One of them would be with us. You can rent a bike and you just have a bike ride through the woods. There’s lots of green spaces around Leipzig, and you can bike for about 20, 30 minutes and you’ll be back in the city center. Or your other option would be public transport. There’s a pretty good bus connection straight to the lake.
Axel: But you have to know in advance, that’s not a, like, spontaneous decision you can make at the lake?
Paul: You would have to book this in advance. You would have to let us know, because then we will have to organize the transport back, obviously, and we’ll know to greet you there, to know that you will arrive and not come back to the city harbor at the same day.
Klara: So, what other offerings does the city harbor have?
Paul: So we have a whole range of options for our guests. We don’t just have the city harbor, we actually have a few different places where we offer our services. Another one would be in the ‘Scheibenholz’, which is a park near the horse race track in Leipzig, and it would be most of the same options. We just rent a few smaller boats because it’s a smaller location. Then, obviously, we have our station at the Lake Cospuden, where you will be leaving your boats. You can buy some snacks, we have a little kitchen there, a little bar. And then the last one that we have is at the Hainer Lake, where we have these party floats that you can rent with your friends, maybe with your company.
Axel: Can you come with small children? Is there something like a minimum age?
Paul: There’s actually no minimum age. We supply life vests for everyone who wants to come. Kids have to wear them. It just important to note that when you book the boat, every child needs its own seat. So if you’re two adult and a kid, you need to have a three-seater boat and not a two-seater, even if the kid is small.
Klara: If I don’t have any clue which tour I want to make, can you give some advice?
Paul: Yeah, we have a great team of guides and we all do the tours multiple times a week, so we will know where to send you. We have these maps that we give you and on them it’s clearly marked in a color coded scheme where you could go and depending on how much time you bring, maybe what your preferences are, if you want nature, if you want more cityscape, our guides will be happy to advise you.
Klara: I can come to you and you just tell us what’s the best for me?
Paul: Mhm.
Klara: Okay, great. And what do you need to be aware of on the water?
Paul: Of course. I mean, Axel already told everyone that he’s a rower, so he’s well aware of this. There are rules that you have to abide by, just like on road traffic right in your car. We will explain all of these to you, and you get a handout with all of the signs and what they mean. For example, if you’re not allowed to enter a certain waterway, if it’s a one way, or maybe if the bridges are too low for you to pass through, things like that. And our guides are all trained in this and they will let you know.
Klara: Okay. Sounds reassuring.
Axel: What is your favorite offering of the ‘Stadthafen Leipzig’? What would you recommend to your friends or people visiting the city?
Paul: I mean, I’m more of an active guy, so I would always choose one of the canoe tours that we do. And actually, I have a bit of a combination thing that I like to do, and we’re going to talk about this later. My favorite tour is also the one to the Lake Cospuden, just because it’s so calm, you go through the protected nature area. If you’re lucky, you can see a kingfisher bird. And then at the lake, we actually have these SUPs that you can rent. And for me, I’m not very experienced with it, but on a hot summer day, it’s always fun to just pedal across the lake on your stand-up paddleboard. And we even offer some yoga-, stand-up paddleboard yoga courses. And that’s fun if you want to try something new. I fall in the water all the time, but it’s still fun.
Axel: Are there some kinds of guided tours that you offer?
Paul: So, we have two kinds of guided tours. One of them would be the motorized motorboats, where we have a captain, 22 people fit on the boat, you book it and there’s a few different options. Either they lead you through Schleußig and Plagwitz, which are these neighborhoods in Leipzig with great industrial history. And now they have been renovated, made very beautiful and they will tell you all about it.
Paul: The other option is that you take a guided canoe tour with one of the guides that I talked about, who will explain everything to you. They also do the‘Karl-Heine-Kanal’, which is named after this famous industrial person from Leipzig, and they give a little tour. Or we can actually pedal the small Leipzig circuit, as we call it, where it’s nice combination between the ‘Auwald’, which is a, you know, a specific nature habitat that we have in Leipzig, which we’re really happy about. And also the cityscapes. Or the last option for the guided canoe tours would actually be the ones that you guys are looking at today, where we pedal with you all the way to the Lake Cospuden.
Klara: That’s great. So you can combine sightseeing and outdoor activity in these guided tours.
Paul: Yes, yes. And we always have a good team there with you, we all have training and we will help you have a good tourist experience in Leipzig. Axel: Actually I took one of these tours, like, three weeks ago with Captain Marco. He is like a really authentic captain with a long red beard. And it was great.
Paul: Yeah. And then last but not least, I would like to mention, obviously, the place where we are now: the ‘Blüthner Café’ is right next to the new city harbor. And I touch on it a little bit, with the new big restaurant would be a la carte Mediterranean cuisine. There will be this event location that you could rent for parties, maybe office parties, or if you’re a big group, traveling here fits up to 100 people. And of course, so when you’re about to start your trip, you don’t have to be all hungry and thirsty. There will be a takeaway spot as well where we can offer you some conveniences for your boat trip.
Klara: Yeah, that sounds perfect. I mean, the ‘Blüthner Café’ also has an outside area where you can sit outside.
Paul: This would maybe be perfect for after you’ve finished your boat tour, maybe the guided one with the captain, and you can sit here. It’s a cafe first, and then in the evening it turns into a wine bar with a wide variety of little snacks and wines.
Axel: Now that we got some instructions on how to behave on the water, I think it’s time for us to go on the water. You can get us a canoe that we hopefully fit in?
Paul: Yeah, sure. We got a bunch of them out there. We’ll find one that works for you guys.
Axel: All right, let’s get to it then.
Paul: Okay, guys, now that we got you sitting in the boat, I hope you’re all ready to go. There’s a few more things you should pay attention to. Since you’re going to the Lake Cospuden, you will be crossing through a nature protected area. It’s protected for the birds, the kingfishers, that are highly critically endangered. For that reason, they are dedicated time slots where you’re allowed to pass through: from 11 to 1 p.m., from 3 p.m. to six and from 8 to 10 p.m., okay? All right. And just so you guys know, the maximum size of boat that is allowed to pass through the nature protected area is a three-seater. Bigger boats are not allowed because the water is very shallow. And you would, you might run aground.
Klara: Okay. We keep an eye on the clock, on the watch.
Paul: Yes.
Axel: Okay.
Paul: All right, guys, have a good time.
Axel: Thank you.
Axel: Oh, there’s one of these big guided tour boats coming.
Klara: Oh, right. What are we supposed to do now, Axel?
Axel: Yeah, we have to take a right and wait for them to pass the bridge.
Klara: Good. Do you want us to move closer to the-
Axel: To the shore.
Klara: To the shore?
Axel: Yeah.
Klara: Okay. At right?
Axel: It is like, it’s like on the street: Always stay on the right side.
Klara: Okay, so I paddle.
Axel: Yeah.
Klara: That’s good. Yeah, I think we’re doing fine. It’s enough space for everybody. Hi, guys.
Another boat: Ahoi!
Klara: Ahoi!
Klara: Okay.
Axel: Can you guess what these signs might mean?
Klara: Okay, I see a sign that is rectangular. One half is white and the other red.
Axel: Yeah. Can you guess on which side we are supposed to pass the bridge?
Klara: Oh yeah, that’s a good hint. White seems to be the side where we go, right?
Axel: Exactly. Red always means you shall not pass. That’s, yeah, you can keep that in mind. And fun fact, this is Germany’s bridge with the lowest height that you can actually ship through.
Klara: Really?
Axel: Yeah.
Klara: Okay.
Axel: So keep your head down.
Klara: Yes, but if I just sit like this, that should be fine, right?
Axel: Yeah, that’s, that’s fine.
Klara: Okay. Yeah, it’s actually really low. I think it’s like twenty centimetres above my head. Maybe thirty. Okay, but I still have to pedal.
Klara: Good. And with the motor boat, how are you supposed to do that?
Axel: I don’t know if you saw the guided boat. All the passengers inside had to keep their heads down.
Klara: Oh, okay, yeah. Okay. There are a lot of bridges, I think.
Axel: Yeah. Leipzig has even more bridges than Venice.
Klara: No way. Really? Another record. Is there anything I have to pay attention to regarding who has priority when I’m canoeing?
Axel: Yeah. This huge passenger boats like this up front-
Klara: Oh, yeah.
Axel: -they have the priority. You have to wait.
Klara: Okay.
Klara: Because we are not in a work condition, right?
Axel: Yeah.
Klara: We’re leisure.
Axel: Yes.
Klara: Mhm. That’s one of the boats that Paul was talking about with the guided tours who explain nature, birds and flora and fauna. Hi, guys.
Another boat: Hi.
Axel: And besides that, it’s always muscle power before machine power. So these huge boats are some kind of exception here on the river. Yeah, but here is another sign that says ‘Trainingsbetrieb’, which means this is some kind of a training area. Because we are right now passing one of Leipzig’s three rowing clubs, the ‘Akademischer Ruderverein’.
Klara: Okay. Wow.
Klara: Yeah, sometimes I see people doing competition or trainings as well. I have the feeling that Leipzig is a good place to do rowing or canoeing. I mean, this-
Axel: Yeah. But here in the, on the river, there are no competitions anymore. It’s mostly training. Yeah, here you can see the ‘Elsterwehr’. That’s a barrage. You have to keep quite some distance because it could be dangerous coming too close. So we are gonna stay on the left-hand side.
Klara: Yes. And it’s there to manage the water, right?
Axel: Yes. It manages the water level. And once a year the entire river is empty because they shut down the floating to check whether the river is all right. And that’s, it looks pretty much impressive once all the water is gone. Looks a bit creepy, actually, too, because you can see all those bikes and stuff people throwing in the river.
Klara: Oh yeah. You can hear the barrage a bit.
Axel: Yeah. And by the noise, you can guess that it is a good idea to keep some distance, I guess.
Klara: Yeah. Because you get drawn into it, right?
Axel: Yeah.
Klara: Yeah, yeah, we better keep distance.
Klara:Now, I see signs over there again on a bridge that we are going to go through.
Axel: Yeah. Can you guess what they mean?
Klara: I like this quiz. I like this game. Well, there are signs that looked to me like the ones we have on the street when we have priority. It’s yellow.
Axel: Yeah.
Klara: And also rectangular. Does it mean ‘good, go, go there’?
Axel: Yeah.
Klara: Okay.
Axel: Since you have two of those, it means that you have one way for you. And the red signs mean: do not pass.
Klara: Okay, right. Yeah. That’s easy to understand, but you have to pay attention.
Axel: Over there you can see Captain Marco with the long red beard on one of his tours. I can highly recommend him.
Klara: Super. I can’t believe that we have the luck to see him where you were just talking about him.
Axel: Yeah.
Klara: Good. Now, is swimming in the river allowed, do you know that? Can we jump it?
Axel: It is allowed, but it is pretty dangerous, to be honest, because you have all these sports boats here. And if the sun is going down, you very often don’t see people swimming.
Klara: Okay.
Axel: So I would not recommend it.
Klara: Yeah, rather take the lake.
Axel: Yes. The wonderful Lake Cospuden. That’s the better option.
Klara: But there are more lakes around Leipzig. I think the Markkleeberger lake is also really nice. And the ‘Schladitzer Bucht’.
Axel: Yes. And we have the ‘Zwenkauer See’.
Klara: Oh, yeah, true.
Axel: Another lake for every day.
Klara: Yeah. Another lake for every day.
Axel: So now we are coming close to the ‘Leipziger Eck’. This is where the river splits. We have to take a left if you wanna get to the Lake Cospuden. Because now we are going upstream in direction, yeah, Lake Cospuden.
Klara: Yeah. Okay.
Axel: Now it’s not just upstream, it’s upwind as well.
Klara: Yeah. Are we moving at all?
Axel: A tiny bit, yeah.
Klara: Now I see something coming up towards us, Axel.
Axel: Yeah. You can see another red light.
Klara: Yes, a red light.
Axel: Traffic lights to-
Klara: Probably meaning, yeah, probably meaning stop.
Axel: Yeah. We’re getting close to the lock, which transports us several meters upstream. It’s like a lift for boats. When we get there, we can have a closer look. And I think there’s often personnel that guides you through the lock. And if not, you can do self-service. We can see.
Klara: Okay, so there’s a little entrance, something where we’re supposed to get in with our boat, is that right? Okay. Yeah.
Axel: We have to wait till the traffic light turns green.
Klara: Okay.
Axel: And then the gate will open. We can get in. The gate closes, the water rises, and the gate on the other side of the lock opens. And this is where we can exit.
Klara: Okay, I feel really sure with you, you know, the way you explain all this.
Axel: Yeah. You’re welcome.
Klara: Nothing can happen. And there’s a little duck family wanting to cross with us, I think.
Axel: Yeah. I don’t know if they want to get through the lock as well.
Klara: Yeah, they’re swimming direct towards it, but I don’t think they really want to. It’s just, yeah, let’s see what they’re doing. Oh, yeah, you can also see the signs, right? The green one is to show where you have to go, the red one says ‘please don’t go there’.
Axel: Yeah. I think this guy is waiting for us, so we should get a little closer.
Klara: Yeah, I see, thanks. Hi!
Lock guide: Hallo, guten Tag! Einmal hier an der blauen Leine ziehen, bitte, kräftig.
Axel: Actually there was some kind of guided self-service. The guy told us to pull the rope. This is something you can do yourself if nobody is here.
Klara: Now, the gate opens.
Axel: Yeah, okay. We can go.
Klara: Yeah. Good. It feels a bit like in ‘The Lord of the Rings’.
Lock guide: Bitte vorne links an die Leiter.
Klara: Okay. We’re supposed to go left to the ladder.
Axel: Yeah, you can, we can grab it, but it’s a bit slimy, so be warned.
Klara: Perfect. That’s a good idea. Thank you.
Klara: So now we are two boats in here and the door is closing behind us.
Axel: So now the lock is being floated with water, and slow and steady we are rising.
Klara: Yeah, our boat goes up, right?
Axel: Yeah.
Klara: Okay. I think we went up for one meter, more?
Axel: I think it’s even more, like two meters.
Lock guide: So, dann kann’s losgehen. Ich wünsche euch gute Fahrt, ne!
Klara: Dankeschön! Okay, here we go. I can, I can pedal on this side. I think you wanted to change, right?
Axel: Okay.
Klara: I’m sorry. What do you suggest, Axel? Which direction? Do you want to turn right away or…?
Axel: Yeah, actually, there is no turn. We’re going straight to the Lake Cospuden. You have a great stopping opportunity on the way there.
Klara: Oh, okay.
Axel: There’s a beautiful small forest lake called ‘Lauer’. It’s definitely worth a visit and totally Instagrammable.
Klara: Well, okay, wow, that sounds great. I’d love to see that Forest Lake. You’re not meant to swim in it, though, right? It’s just-
Axel: I don’t know exactly.
Klara: Okay. Forest lake ‘Lauer’.
Axel: Okay. I think we’re now gonna have a peek at the Lake Lauer. And we will hear you guys once we are at the Lake Cospuden.
Klara: Yes.
Axel: Here you then.
Axel: Now, we arrived at the Lake Cospuden and we have been welcomed by Paul again. Hello, Paul.
Paul: Hey, guys. How did it go?
Klara: It went pretty well, I think. We arrived.
Axel: Yeah. And I’m glad that I applied some sunscreen because it’s really sunny and hot today. So I am actually a bit happy that I can leave my canoe here and don’t have to paddle back to ‘Stadthafen’ again. And yeah, once that we arrived here, what would you recommend us to do at the lake?
Paul: All right, so you guys just got done paddling. I’m sure you just want to relax for now. Obviously, we have this beautiful lake scape. There’s a bunch of beaches, you can tan, you can swim, go for a walk. You can even bring your dog, there’s dog beaches here, if that’s what you want to do. And then maybe after some relaxing, I could recommend some culinary options for you if you want to grab a bite to eat.
Paul: you know, still that hunger that you got from all the physical activity that you did.
Klara: Where can we eat?
Paul: So there’s a bunch of options. For one, we have ‘Pier 1’. It’s a little harbor on the lake side of Lake Cospuden, and then there are a few culinary options, such as the ‘Sole Mio’ pizza restaurant. Or if you’re looking for maybe something smaller, you just want to go sit in a cafe, we have ‘Brot und Kees’, and they’re really well known for their all eco grade ingredients that they use in high quality foods. And then maybe, you know, after having a bite to eat, you think, I don’t want to get to tired. So let’s go for a walk. We actually have a great viewing platform at the south side of the lake called the ‘Bistumshöhe’, where you can climb up and you can have a great look all over the lake, surrounding landscape, and also the amusement park that we have in Leipzig you can see from there.
Klara: Sounds like a lot of options.
Paul: And there’s even more to do. Luckily we have a circuit around the lake. It’s 11 kilometers of paved road, so if you bring your roller skates, you can do that. Or you can rent these pedal karts and they have multiple options. If you’re two people, you can, you know, just rent them. They have a sunroof so you don’t get burnt. That’s just another option for you.
Klara: And it’s also quite nice to do some biking around the lake. I do that sometimes. I do really enjoy that.
Paul: Yeah, it’s fun. It’s really well made for that.
Axel: And I can rent one of these ‘Stadthafen’ bikes to do that as well?
Paul: Yeah. So we can have, you can rent the bikes to either go around the lake, just enjoy, maybe go look for a nice swimming spot, put down your towel. And then obviously as we discussed earlier, you can then take it back to the ‘Stadthafen’ itself if you want to get back to the city.
Klara: And what would I do to relax and get all my muscles a bit? Is there anything?
Paul: Yeah, of course if you’re into it, you know, you can do it like our Finnish brothers like to do. We have a lakeside sauna. You can relax, turn up the heat, sweat everything out that you need to sweat out.
Klara: Oh, that sounds good because I feel my arms a bit. Do you, Axel?
Axel: Yeah. I think for sauna it’s a bit too hot today, but that is definitely a good option. Thank you very much for all the tips and the canoe rental. Check out stadthafen-leipzig.com, that’s where I came across this all-inclusive offer. Also, tickets for the ‘Stadthafen Leipzig’ are available at the tourist information. And on leipzig.travel you can also book motor boat tours and guided tours.
Klara: Yeah, and thank you very much also from me for this opportunity, it was great.
Paul: Thank you for visiting guys. I hope to see you again soon.
Axel: Bye!
Paul: Bye bye!
Klara: Well, all that’s left for me to do is recommend that you visit leipzig.travel. Just type in ‘Cospuden’ with a C in the search field and voila! You’ll have lots of suggestions for your perfect day at the lake. You can do the same with other places and topics such as dining, shopping, hiking, crafts, and so on. Give it a try!
Axel: Thank you very much for listening. If you enjoyed it, please leave us a rating and with a free subscription you won’t miss the next episode. Bye.
Klara: Goodbye.
Intro: Welcome to Leipzig - The Podcast for your trip to Leipzig.