Why do I continue to think: after this deadline, things will calm down. Two days after my last deadline, I'm in the office at 2 AM again, and I'm going to be working Saturday and Sunday as well for another deadline on Monday. Sklaverei, no doubt, but I am still loving my firm.
I have so many overtime hours, however, that these last three weeks I hope to be able to take a couple of days off. As many of you know, I am trying to get tickets to this year's Wagner Festspiele in Bayreuth. Tickets generally are obtained eight years in advance. A friend of mine, however, is the editor of Das Orchester magazine here in Berlin, and he's also good friends with the woman who controls the tickets for the festival. (I refer to her as the Lord of the Ring.)
A couple of weeks ago he mentioned the possibility that he might be able to get me tickets to one of the performances, but on very VERY short notice: i.e., the DAY of the performance. Now, if I had a private jet, getting from Berlin to Bayreuth wouldn't be a problem. But I am restricted to more modest means of travel, which requires a bit more logistical resourcefulness.
On Thursday, he told me there might be a chance that I could get a ticket to Friday's performance of Die Walkuere. The Lord of the Ring, however, only knows this at 10 AM the morning of the performance, which starts at 4 PM. And when the doors shut to the festival house, there is no way to get in late. I went to the Deutsche Bahn website to see how I could get down to Bayreuth in time. There is only one train that would allow this possibility, leaving Berlin at 9:55 AM.
So this morning, I got all dressed up and headed to Berlin Hauptbahnhof, the capital's glittering new central railway station, taking a leap of faith that I might luck out. I stood in the magnificent arrival hall and stared at my cell phone, waiting for the call that would let me know if there was a seat available.
This was cutting it close; if a seat were available in Bayreuth, I would have to get on the train and buy a ticket en route.
So, there I am, standing by Gleis 10, and finally the call came, a bit earlier than I expected. But no luck. So, rather than heading to Bavaria, I got on the S-Bahn and headed, extremely overdressed, to work.
There is another chance that I might get a ticket to Tuesday's performance of Goetterdaemmerung. I am going to the train station again tomorrow to see if I can't get the cheaper fare of 29 Euros each way, provided that it's refundable. Because otherwise, I am going to be paying out of the ass get to get down there if I buy the ticket on the train.
Tomorrow, in addition to heading the office, I need to get up at 8 AM and head over to the old apartment of my friend Chris, who is moving up in the world and has purchased a sweet little pad in Prenzlauer Berg. I offered to help him move his stuff. You know I am so staying in his new downstairs guest room (yes, the apartment has two floors) when I come back.
My enthusiasm for Bayreuth kind of dissipated when I read they turn off the AC during the performances so as not to interfere with the delicate acoustics. Watching 5 hours of Parsifal inside a building being baked by the summer heat just didn't hold the same appeal to me. But I probably say that so that I can feel better about not having tickets. Good luck!
Posted by: R | August 13, 2007 at 12:35 PM