As was my custom I enjoyed a small breakfast and two pots of good coffee from the buffet and ate it outdoors, rather than in the huge buffet room. A day which began cloudy later blossomed into full sun with temperatures in the mid 80s F.
I texted Ciaran to suggest I pick him up and we drive up to the theater box-office to see if there were any ticket turn-backs for tonight. His text told me that he was already up there, on foot and the cupboard was bare. He said he would go back when they reopened after lunch and try again.
We drove up and collected him then drove downtown via the Ring road to avoid the pedestrian zone.
Parked the huge beast in a tight spot in Franz Liszt Street and walked to Wagner's house and grave so Ciaran could pay his respects.
The morning was wearing on and so it was a good idea to get lunch out of the way, outdoors (of course as it was sunny) in the pedestrian zone from a little pub we hadn't tried before (but will return to). I haven't had a meal in Germany yet where I didn't lick the plate and sometimes it is so good I go over to the next table and lick their plates-they are too polite to say anything.
I dropped Ciaran back up to the Festspielhaus after lunch and returned to our hotel. I was sitting outside on the Wagner bench before going up to the room when I got a text from Ciaran saying a tout was offering him a ticket at 75 Euros over face value. He asked if he should take it? YES!!! was my reply. The face value was I think 180 E.
So now tonight's Opera would be really special as I had been telling Ciaran about Bayreuth since 1999 and now he was going to finally see what all the fuss was about.
Once again the well-oiled machine that is us on holiday clicked into gear. No rush, no panic, no forgetting anything-just a smooth process of getting where we need to be without drama.
It helps to start the day in the Arvena's breakfast patio......
It's our decompression time to sit and wait for 4 o'clock to come around. Most patrons have the same idea and are standing around in their finery with glasses of champagne or beer, talking-mostly in German but other nationalities voices filter through. My ear is of course tuned to English so I hear the many Brits and few Americans in the crowd. Some still down to the pond or visit the then current exhibit focusing on Jewish singers and musicians whose lives were changed by the Third Reich back in the 1930s and 40s. Very sobering to read each story.
We are in the here and now, drawn by the lure of the music and musical theater at it's sublime apogee.
All we need is for Ciaran to show up with his ticket (which he did) and we await the summons to take our seats for Tannhauser.
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