Coming from a small country, Lithuania, I have been vagabonding in Berlin for two months, trying to find a serene place to stay in and rest from all the obstacles I have already faced. Lithuania has a population of three million people, whereas Berlin is a city of the same number of individuals, searching for a better life in the German capital. Theoretically, the whole country could inhabit the city; I notice the difference whenever I am searching my way out in a crowd. The feeling of metropolitan spirit, embracing the eclecticism of various cultures, has given me the impression of diverse nature of the city. Having the aim of constantly stepping out of my comfort zone, I wanted to spin Berlin’s roulette wheel of both possibilities and challenges and came to Berlin for my internship at a small publishing house, Simon Verlag für Bibliothekswissen, so that I could gain some work experience within the field of publishing.

Simon Verlag für Bibliothekswissen was my key to open the door to the Leipzig Book Fair. Visiting Leipzig for the first time, I encountered its charm and mesmerizing history. Strolling around and greeting the statues of Goethe, Bach, Mendelssohn, passing the sculpture of Faust and Mephistopheles gave me the great pleasure of listening to the inner music of the city. Auerbachs Keller, a kind of time machine, and the noise of cheerful people watching the performance at the restaurant put a spell on my imagination. The place that ignited Goethe’s creativity was bewitching me. I could not stop smiling in the meeting venue of imaginations, as I was sharing the table with writers and a publisher. The atmosphere created a special feeling as though we were the characters of the play, inspired to talk and share our experiences. Time was flying fast and the magic of Auerbachs Keller was left behind when we went outside to face a cold March night. Without a doubt, cold reality can kill imagination very quickly.

I discovered the Leipzig Book Fair as a replica of macrocosm, encompassing a great variety of publishing houses and even greater range of books. Five huge halls formed five universes where readers could get a possibility to come into a close contact with publishers and search for new books. I had four days to explore five labyrinths where different cultures represented their countries, publishers, representatives of publishing houses and artists were attracting people and many events were taking place. Trying not to get lost, I was following Ariadne’s thread and listened to several presentations about book design in China: The Charm of Chinese Books. Books themselves are becoming intriguing, charming and provoking pieces of art. The birth of a book is a long and interesting process, involving a great number of talented people. Constant mingling with people and noise led to natural tiredness and fatigue. However, cosplayers formed their own universe within the fair and brightened the celebration of books. The Book Fair, a festival of books and great ideas, made me vagabond among different people and try to escape the crowd. Paradoxically, I wanted to run away from a mecca of readers by simply opening a book and reading it.