Outbound: On the plane to Paris (first leg)

I am sitting on my Boeing 767 on the JFK tarmac. I almost didn't make it. 

I left the office at 2pm, which seemed like a reasonable amount of leeway for a 5:15pm flight. Unfortunately, my E train sat in the tunnel approaching the 65th street station for about an hour. We got frequent updates about an "injured customer" on the local track, and that, evidently, the police and fire departments had asked the MTA to shut down power to both the local and express tracks. Every five minutes we would receive updates with exactly the same information. After an exceedingly long and frustrating period, we were informed the power had been restored. 

Aside: Sounds like a jumper right? If they shut down the power to two tracks, then the 

"customer" would have to have been on the actual tracks. So it was probably more of a cleanup job than anything. Hard to imagine why anybody would ever choose that as their method of departure. Not only would the end require precise timing and have a high risk of serious injury without death, but it's just kinda gross. I would hate to spend my last moments lying in whatever nastiness is on the subway track. 

I hustled to the airport, arrived at approximately 4:20pm, found a check in terminal and entered my info. The terminal informed me that the check in period "was closed" and that I should find customer assistance. Customer assistance informed me that I was too late and would have to find another flight. I voiced my frustration, was told there was nothing that could be done, and then promptly, 30 seconds later, was told that they'd let me through. I made a beeline to security, hustled to my gate and made it with time to spare. 

A flight attendant, for the first time ever, asked me to put my bag in one of those incredibly tiny bag sizers, which naturally was absurdly small. They insisted I check it, which is annoying. I'd say there's a 50% chance it makes it to Frankfurt successfully. 

My flight is one of those hodgepodge code shares. All the pre-flight e-mails came from British Airways, which is handling both legs of my return trip. The initial flight to Europe starts with a Finnair operated by American Airlines flight to Paris, and then an Air France flight to Frankfurt.

Oh great, I am on one of those international flights that lacks the screens on the back of each seat. Can't wait to see the movies they play. 

Aside: I just finished watching Winter's Tale, which greatly exceeded my expectations in awfulness. Lots of unsupported commentary about miracles and how "we are all connected" and such. This movie has Colin Farrell rescued by a magic white horse, 8 MINUTES INTO THE FILM! Honestly one of the most over-the-top schmaltzy train wrecks I've ever seen. Highly recommended in the right company. 

Outbound

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? 

Day 3: Bayreuth

A few frustrations today, not the least of which is the continued absence of my luggage.

I swung by Maisel's brewery, but seems tours aren't until 2pm. That's cutting it a little close to Siegfried, if I want to see Wahnfried, Wagner's house and resting place, and currently a Wagner museum. . 

Unfortunately (as I knew ahead of time) Wahnfried is being renovated and is closed. So I was able to see the exterior and the Meister's grave (also his wife and dog), but not the interior or the museum. 

(Wagner would not be happy with whoever is in his parking spot)

Resting place of Richard and Cosima. 

Resting place of Wagner's dog, Russ. (No, I am not joking, Wagner loved dogs). 

I also swung by the Markgrafliches opera house, the largest in Germany until the Festspielhaus house was completed, and one of the most ornate in Europe. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to me, this was also closed to renovations until 2017 and I was not able to see it. Here's what I missed:

Finally Siegfried was musically impeccable, but its staging was quite a bit more frustrating than Die Walkure. I had previously said the producer seemed to have no idea what made the works great. Now I think maybe he does, and is actively trying to fuck with the audience. The production seemed to consistently introduce random, inexplicable, and intrusive elements at the moments of greatest emotional tension. When Siegfried and Brunnhilde are falling in love, the stage dims to highlight a chalk outline of Marx, Lenin, Stalin and Mao (there is no possible socialist interpretation of this scene). At the climax of the Siegfried/Brunnhilde duet, the emotional high point of the opera, there are inexplicably multiple robotic alligators on stage, one of which eats the Woodbridge, an offstage role than the virginal Siegfried inexplicably copulates with in the previous act. It seemed like a big, and intentional "fuck you" to opera fans.