So, after breakfast on day 7 (I've figured out that it was Saturday), we head back to town. You wouldn't think there was that much to see in a town of 72,000, but there you are - we have been pacing ourselves.
Most of you know that Liszt was Wagner's father-in-law (the infamous Cosima was Liszt's daughter), and there is a Liszt Museum in town.
This, however, is Wagner's piano, n which Parsifal was composed...
....and this is the infamous Cosima....
Finally, Liszt's pianoforte...
...and the requisite picture of son-in-law Wagner.
Both Peter and I like ""house" museums - it is kind of neat to see where the great ones lived and worked...
Off to the nearby Hofgarten (this is why German's speak such good English - it is just like German!)...
And, of course, the opera. A picture of today's outfit has been edited out to prevent shame (mine) and embarrassment (yours), but, in spite of (or because of) the rain, the grounds are lovely....
.....and here are the trumpeters, actually doing the fanfare from the balcony....
And what about the performance, you might ask? Well. It was the Valkyrie, and this time there were boos. As usual, not for the singers or the or the orchestra (the scene with 8 of the 9 Valkyries singing was particularly smashing), but for the staging, which was worse than un-understandable, it was distracting. Brunhilde was filling bottles with explosives in the supposedly moving scene with her father, Siglinda was moving bales of hay around Sigmund, while wearing evening clothes - well, you get the idea. Another evening with my eyes (mostly) closed. But I still wouldn't trade it for anything am still thrilled to be here, and am still loving the experience.
We again joined up with new friends Bob and Don for late (REALLY LATE) dinner at our hotel, more laughs and good conversation, and on to bed.
Day 8 is Sunday, and, coincidentally, a "free" (as in no opera) day. We (I should say Peter, of course) planned a day in Nurenberg. Yes, that Nurenberg, home of the Nazi heartland. No more swastika banners, however. Although the Allies smashed the town to rubble, it was painstakingly rebuilt some years ago - minus the banners.....
As to be expected, the German train experience was lovely (although the ticket purchase via machine was not intuitive.
We again got caught in a squall, but it soon passed. Being Sunday morning, the churches on our list were having services and not open, so we wandered some of the streets....
.....and got to some of the (many) churches later. These are St Stebald, Our Lady and St. Lawrence - one or all or the above.....
...and something known, literally, as The Beautiful Fountain...
....more walking, seeing the Albrecht Durer Haus (see note on house museums above), with stops for coffee and, later, lunch at a lovely echt-German inn...
....had to include the sign in the coffee house...
....and a final church view....
Perhaps we shouldn't have left the German Historical Museum for last. It was worth at least five hours - we could only manage one (albeit a nice one - it was like the Cloisters, the Metropolitan and the Modern all rolled into one) before we headed back to the train station and back to Bayreuth.
We decided on Pizza for dinner - neither Peter nor I could manage another German meal.
And now you are up to date. today (Monday, day 9) we are heading for a private tour of the Wahnfried Haus - the Wagner museum closed for renovations except for a selected few - and, tonight, Sigfried.
So, more anon...
Most of you know that Liszt was Wagner's father-in-law (the infamous Cosima was Liszt's daughter), and there is a Liszt Museum in town.
This, however, is Wagner's piano, n which Parsifal was composed...
Finally, Liszt's pianoforte...
...and the requisite picture of son-in-law Wagner.
Both Peter and I like ""house" museums - it is kind of neat to see where the great ones lived and worked...
Off to the nearby Hofgarten (this is why German's speak such good English - it is just like German!)...
....just behind the Neues Schloss (not quite so intuitive - the New Palace)
And, of course, the opera. A picture of today's outfit has been edited out to prevent shame (mine) and embarrassment (yours), but, in spite of (or because of) the rain, the grounds are lovely....
And what about the performance, you might ask? Well. It was the Valkyrie, and this time there were boos. As usual, not for the singers or the or the orchestra (the scene with 8 of the 9 Valkyries singing was particularly smashing), but for the staging, which was worse than un-understandable, it was distracting. Brunhilde was filling bottles with explosives in the supposedly moving scene with her father, Siglinda was moving bales of hay around Sigmund, while wearing evening clothes - well, you get the idea. Another evening with my eyes (mostly) closed. But I still wouldn't trade it for anything am still thrilled to be here, and am still loving the experience.
We again joined up with new friends Bob and Don for late (REALLY LATE) dinner at our hotel, more laughs and good conversation, and on to bed.
Day 8 is Sunday, and, coincidentally, a "free" (as in no opera) day. We (I should say Peter, of course) planned a day in Nurenberg. Yes, that Nurenberg, home of the Nazi heartland. No more swastika banners, however. Although the Allies smashed the town to rubble, it was painstakingly rebuilt some years ago - minus the banners.....
As to be expected, the German train experience was lovely (although the ticket purchase via machine was not intuitive.
We again got caught in a squall, but it soon passed. Being Sunday morning, the churches on our list were having services and not open, so we wandered some of the streets....
.....and got to some of the (many) churches later. These are St Stebald, Our Lady and St. Lawrence - one or all or the above.....
...and something known, literally, as The Beautiful Fountain...
...with Peter rubbing the magic gold ring for luck...
....more walking, seeing the Albrecht Durer Haus (see note on house museums above), with stops for coffee and, later, lunch at a lovely echt-German inn...
....had to include the sign in the coffee house...
....and a final church view....
Perhaps we shouldn't have left the German Historical Museum for last. It was worth at least five hours - we could only manage one (albeit a nice one - it was like the Cloisters, the Metropolitan and the Modern all rolled into one) before we headed back to the train station and back to Bayreuth.
We decided on Pizza for dinner - neither Peter nor I could manage another German meal.
And now you are up to date. today (Monday, day 9) we are heading for a private tour of the Wahnfried Haus - the Wagner museum closed for renovations except for a selected few - and, tonight, Sigfried.
So, more anon...
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