SFHS GAPP 2025: #5 - Leipziger Buchmesse

March 27, 2025 - Leipzig

Emmy writes:

My day started with a streetcar ride to the Buchmesse. The streetcar was very crowded because so many people from all around the city were trying to get to the Buchmesse. I thought some of the trains in Berlin were crowded, but this was a whole new level. The Buchmesse was gigantic. It had multiple large rooms with tons of booths. We walked around all the rooms, but we spent the most time at the publisher's booths looking at all the different books. There were books for kids of all ages, as well as adults, and books in German and English. Ultimately, we didn’t buy any books because the event was very crowded and the lines to get books were very long. My host sister, Luise, Sofia, Mali, and I decided to leave early because it was too crowded, but we did have delicious Nutella crepes on our way out.

Next, we went to a bagel shop. I was surprised that there was a bagel shop because Sofia's host sister had told us bagels were American food when the Germans had visited Georgia. After eating our bagels, we went to the mall to go shopping. Sofia and I were very excited to shop at an Adidas store in Germany. We also enjoyed seeing the buildings in Leipzig because they were old and very beautiful. After shopping, we went to a bakery to get tarts to share. We had a lemon tart and a raspberry tart. Both were very good. My host sister and I did a little more shopping before going to my host family’s home.

At home, we worked on our homework, and then I had dinner with my host family. After dinner, Luise and I watched a movie before going to bed.

Pictures: Emmy

Nitya writes:

Today, we went to the Leipziger Buchmesse, and the day kicked off with absolute chaos. I forgot to set an alarm and woke up way too late, which meant my partner and I had to sprint to the Straßenbahn—on an empty stomach, no less. It was pure stress, but miraculously, we still made it four minutes early (which, in my opinion, is basically the same as being on time).

Next up was the S-Bahn ride to the event itself, which turned out to be an adventure of its own. The train was already jam-packed when we got on, yet somehow even more people kept piling in at every stop. It felt like a game of real-life Tetris, except instead of blocks, it was just an increasing number of squished humans.

Once we arrived and checked in, we stepped into the fair, and my brain immediately short-circuited at the sheer number of book stands stretching as far as the eye could see. But our true mission? Finding cosplayers. So, we made a beeline for the Comic/Manga-Con area, and let me tell you—what a sight! People were dressed in the most insanely detailed and impressive costumes, and I took so many pictures, including one with my absolute favorite character (which was basically the highlight of my entire life).

Naturally, Praha and I stopped at every single stand that had cute pins and stickers—because we have our priorities straight. At one point, I also let myself get very willingly scammed out of €33 for a single t-shirt. But it was adorable, so I have zero regrets (or at least, that’s what I keep telling myself).

After thoroughly exploring the con, we ventured into the city to eat and shop. We went to an absurd number of stores, bought an equally absurd number of things, and overall, had an absolute blast. If my dad asks, Herr Strecker is 100% responsible for the hole in his wallet—after all, he did tell us to go explore Leipzig.

Final verdict? Today was a wild, action-packed rollercoaster of fun. I felt like a little kid again, completely absorbed in the excitement around me. Final rating: 9/10. The only reason it’s not a 10? I never want to sprint for a Straßenbahn that fast ever again.

Pictures: Nitya

Amelia writes:

Today started out with a bang! No school!! Yippee!! Starting the day off with a nice bowl of muesli and a walk down to the S-Bahn, which was where we were sandwiched together like sardines in a tin can!! After the refreshing blast of fresh air when we hopped out of the S-Bahn, we were greeted by the crowd! It was like trying to swerve your way through a crowd of football fans just minus all the noise. It was a very long line but we made it through all together.

There were several places where we could browse the endless amount of books! We ended up in the manga section where I browsed a bunch of books that I had no idea what they were about, but I absolutely knew that my brother would be thrilled when I came home with several German comic books for him. We browsed a variety from Japan manga to your average American Marvel comic books. I was absolutely through the roof when I purchased them, knowing that my brother would be grinning and giggling when he receives this when I arrive back home.

After some more walking and swerving, we arrived in another part of the book fair where we saw a variety of romance novels and your average literature. We stopped by a famous TikTok author that our exchange partners wanted to meet and wanted a picture with. There I browsed a variety of romance novels that I absolutely fell in love with! (Ha! Get it? Fell in love?? 😂) I then asked this lovely woman where I could purchase these books, and she turned around to me and said “With me, I wrote them!” I had no idea this was the author that had written the book that was in my hand. We had such a lovely and long conversation about her book series! (Her name is Franziska Erhard for those of you wondering.) After purchasing her books, I was grinning from ear to ear. Since she was there, and they were her books, she signed them for me! Now a funny thing that will be the most memorable part of today was her signing my name wrong because in German you pronounce the I’s and E’s and A’s all differently from how you would pronounce it in English. So that was a delightful conversation. We just laughed about how my name was spelled. I walked straight over to Herr Strecker, and he took a picture of me, smiling so big and so bright that you could see it from the moon. My day was absolutely complete with this purchase.

We then headed for some FroYo, and let me tell you, frozen yogurt in Germany is one of a kind. It’s not as sweet and it is not as soft. It’s a very different texture and it’s absolutely wonderful. There’s also only one flavor, but tons of toppings. I got chocolate sauce, mango purée, and pineapple pieces. Now I understand some reading will be like this is such a weird combo, but please do not knock it till you try it because it was amazing!

We traveled back on the S-Bahn where we in fact had a little bit more wiggle and breathing room. We headed into the city of for some lunch and several laughs that would last so long our bellies would hurt! Later some headed off for the university of Leipzig and others ventured off to do some shopping before the weekend. Today was an absolute delight! It was one of those experiences that I will never forget. I hope you enjoyed reading about it. Y’all have a great night!

Pictures: Amelia/Strecker

Okay, reality check: not ALL the kids enjoyed it as much as today's bloggers and their teachers, but it was definitely a new cultural experience for everyone. It was amazing to see thousands of book lovers in one place, browsing millions of books of every genre imaginable. What we also noticed was how peaceful everyone was. There was a single security guard at the entrance with a metal detector that looked as old as Gutenberg's original printing press, and inside the exhibition hall we saw a few more security guards, but they were mostly making sure nobody was jumping the crazy lines in front of certain teen literature booths.

The Manga Comic Con was also fascinating. Many people of all ages dressed up in creative and incredibly detailed costumes. All of them happily posed for pictures with our kids.