Trip is beginning shortly. Since I am traveling alone I expect to have some downtime, particularly in the evenings, and may or may not end up passing it by recording my impressions. I'll send this around via some blog platform tbd so as not clog inboxes or demean myself through facebook updates.
My flight is at 5:15 out of JFK. I am leaving from the office, skipping out on a fascinating, full day meeting about data migration and database workflows. Hopefully I can get the notes.
I have some concerns about a very tight travel timetable, particularly regarding a Paris changeover. If all goes according to plan, I will arrive in Bayreuth at approximately 2pm CEST, which will allow a few hours to check in to my hotel, change into a suit and pick up my tickets at the Festspielhaus. A delay, however, would put the first performance in jeopardy. Given that it's Die Walkure, the greatest piece of music ever written, this would be extremely disappointing.
Weather in Paris shows some possibility for thunderstorms. Similarly, my flight into Paris has a very poor on-time rating. My layover is only 50 minutes, and De Gaulle is a sprawling airport. We shall see.
My agenda is as follows, with some room for improvisation. I am flying into Frankfurt Flughaven, then immediately taking the train from the airport to Bayreuth in Bavaria, with a change of train in Nuremberg. Bayreuth will be my base for the first several days, with performances of Die Walkure on the 19th and Siegried on the 21st. I plan to use the 20th for a day trip to Nuremberg. On the 22nd it's onward to Munich where I will spend a few days enjoying big, foamy beers and sausage. I have already booked a ticket for Le Nozze Di Figaro at the Bayern Staatsoper and a day trip to Schloss Neuschwanstein. After Munich I intend to take the train to Mainz (home of the other Gutenberg, after Steve) and will head up the Rhine River through Riesling and castle country. Upon reaching Koblenz up river, I will probably either continue north up to Cologne, or head west to the Mosel for the world's best Riesling terroir. Whichever course I take will conclude with a train to Franfurt, either briefly yo the city or straight to the flughaven, denuding on the timing. I'll arrive late Tuesday night and return to work on Wednesday the 30th.
Aside on anti-semitism and the holocaust: Many of the places on this trip will be forever associated with the Third Reich and holocaust. Bayreuth was home to Wagner, the anti-Semite, Nuremberg saw Nazi parades and revocation of Jewish citizenship (Nuremberg Laws), Munich saw the Dachau camp and, no fault of the Germans, the '72 Olymipc murders.
For this reason, this trip can be an opportunity to relax and enjoy the things I love, or it can be a sober reflection on past crimes and evil. Honestly, which would you prefer for your next vacation? Hitler killed 6 million Jews... why should I let him ruin my vacation too?
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