THE PLAN
Wow - it's May! And it's getting to the point in the month where I really ought to try and get a definitive battle plan together for WGT.
Thursday 24th
It looks like the pre-festival group at Castle Harlow is: myself, random_goth, Alyx, Maznige and ms_fashtali. I'll be getting the train from Liverpool Street to Harlow Town by mid-ish evening and then getting a cab, so if anyone else is going the same way and wants to join me, the more the merrier (and cheaper).
Friday 25th
The outbound flight is number FR8926, now departing Stansted at the (slightly later than originally advertised) time of 9:55. Meet-up, unless anybody objects, will be at 8:00 inside the main terminal building, by the big illuminated yellow sign for "Zone G" - this is somewhere in the vicinity of the Ryanair check in desks. Turn left when you go in the main doors and you should see it in the distance. If for any reason we fail to meet up and I booked your flight for you, the reservation number is OSQLLN, so if you give them this and your passport they'll still give you a boarding card. It will take a while for us all to check in our hold baggage and get our boots/jewellery through the X-rays and metal detectors - now imagine about a hundred other people dressed like us trying to get on the same flight. Exactly. This is why we need to be there on time.
We're due to touch down at Altenburg round about lunchtime, where we will have to retrieve our stuff from The World's Smallest Baggage Rotor (it makes the Generation Game conveyor belt look huge and there's always a crush to get to it) and get through passport control to where the bus is waiting. I'm telling you this now because:
There is a handy map of different hotels around the town here, so I suggest you study this and, if possible print it out for reference beforehand.
Finally, we need to get down to Agra, the festival site that's home to the big indoor market, concert venue and camping area which is the hub of the whole event - I'd like to say "let's regroup before we do this," but this might not be entirely practical as our hotels are all over the place. Take a number 11 tram (disregard any letter after the tram number, it makes no difference) towards Markkleeberg-Ost to get there and disembark when you see thousands of goths going through some huge gates. Once at Agra, find a stall where you hand in your ticket and are invited to put your hand inside a sort of medieval torture device which locks the nylon wrist band in place. This band then gives you access to all the different venues and also allows you free rides on the town's public transport network for the following few days. Note: apparently you have to get your wristband before 10pm, otherwise your next chance to do so will be the next morning. And you'll have to miss all the events of the first night. As well as your wrist band, you'll also be given a timetable of when and where all the bands are playing.
That's about it really for getting there and getting settled in. I expect the next four nights will be something of a blur.
Tuesday 29th
The flight home is number FR8927 and it departs Altenburg at 12:55. Again, we'll most likely be getting the bus there and there's only one per day, so don't miss it! It goes from a stand outside the central train station and we'll have to remember to check the times at some point in advance to avoid missing it.
That's it!
Things you should take with you
When I last checked, by the way, Ryanair's baggage allowance is 15kg per person. Their restrictions on liquid containers in hand luggage still apply - see their website for more details. I'm putting all that stuff in my hold luggage to avoid the hassle.
Further reading
I'd suggest having a look at www.sadgoth.com - it's an unofficial English-run site devoted to the festival and taught me much of what I know.
Also, if you have a Yahoo account and haven't yet joined the WGTLeipzigUKGroup, then I suggest you do. Besides having a forum where you can ask people about stuff, there are also decent maps of the town to download in PDF format.
And of course the official festival site for any last-minute line up changes!
And now that's done, we can look forward to the fun stuff...
Thursday 24th
It looks like the pre-festival group at Castle Harlow is: myself, random_goth, Alyx, Maznige and ms_fashtali. I'll be getting the train from Liverpool Street to Harlow Town by mid-ish evening and then getting a cab, so if anyone else is going the same way and wants to join me, the more the merrier (and cheaper).
Friday 25th
The outbound flight is number FR8926, now departing Stansted at the (slightly later than originally advertised) time of 9:55. Meet-up, unless anybody objects, will be at 8:00 inside the main terminal building, by the big illuminated yellow sign for "Zone G" - this is somewhere in the vicinity of the Ryanair check in desks. Turn left when you go in the main doors and you should see it in the distance. If for any reason we fail to meet up and I booked your flight for you, the reservation number is OSQLLN, so if you give them this and your passport they'll still give you a boarding card. It will take a while for us all to check in our hold baggage and get our boots/jewellery through the X-rays and metal detectors - now imagine about a hundred other people dressed like us trying to get on the same flight. Exactly. This is why we need to be there on time.
We're due to touch down at Altenburg round about lunchtime, where we will have to retrieve our stuff from The World's Smallest Baggage Rotor (it makes the Generation Game conveyor belt look huge and there's always a crush to get to it) and get through passport control to where the bus is waiting. I'm telling you this now because:
- There's only one bus per day
- There's only limited hold space and everyone will have luggage, so unless you want to sit with a huge suitcase on your lap, you need to get it onboard quickly.
- The bus ride lasts about an hour and costs twelve euros. I suggest you have your money ready because the last couple of times I've done this it's been a really grumpy driver who doesn't speak English and probably doesn't realise what's about to come pouring out of the airport. Well, that's the worst out of the way. We should now be in the centre of Leipzig, outside the central train station. From here we'll have to go our respective ways to check in at hotels. If you're staying at the same place as me, that's the Mercure Hotel, 1-5 Gutenbergerplatz. I'll hand out copies of the confirmation details nearer the time, just in case we get separated.
There is a handy map of different hotels around the town here, so I suggest you study this and, if possible print it out for reference beforehand.
Finally, we need to get down to Agra, the festival site that's home to the big indoor market, concert venue and camping area which is the hub of the whole event - I'd like to say "let's regroup before we do this," but this might not be entirely practical as our hotels are all over the place. Take a number 11 tram (disregard any letter after the tram number, it makes no difference) towards Markkleeberg-Ost to get there and disembark when you see thousands of goths going through some huge gates. Once at Agra, find a stall where you hand in your ticket and are invited to put your hand inside a sort of medieval torture device which locks the nylon wrist band in place. This band then gives you access to all the different venues and also allows you free rides on the town's public transport network for the following few days. Note: apparently you have to get your wristband before 10pm, otherwise your next chance to do so will be the next morning. And you'll have to miss all the events of the first night. As well as your wrist band, you'll also be given a timetable of when and where all the bands are playing.
That's about it really for getting there and getting settled in. I expect the next four nights will be something of a blur.
Tuesday 29th
The flight home is number FR8927 and it departs Altenburg at 12:55. Again, we'll most likely be getting the bus there and there's only one per day, so don't miss it! It goes from a stand outside the central train station and we'll have to remember to check the times at some point in advance to avoid missing it.
That's it!
Things you should take with you
- A map of Leipzig. Seriously, the main stage is in Agra and it's easy to find, but the other venues are scattered all over the place and some of them are bloody hard to find. The hotels probably are too, come to think of it. They'll give you a map when you get your wristband, but it's shit, so invest in a proper one before you travel!
- Passport. Obviously you need this to fly, but keep it with you when you're out and about. Germans are required to carry proof of ID and this goes for foreign visitors too, if stopped by the police. It's never happened to me yet while I've been over there, but don't say I didn't warn you!
- A German phrasebook might not be a bad idea. Leipzig is in the heartland of the former East Germany; in communist times they were taught Russian at school as a second language, not English. The younger generation may be easier to communicate with, but by no means take it for granted that everyone you meet will understand you, so at least learn to say basic stuff like "please," "thank you," "I don't understand," etc. to avoid looking silly.
- Clothing-wise, be prepared for anything. I wasn't last year; I expected sunny weather, and indeed that's what I got for the first 24 hours. Then it dropped to about 10 degrees and pissed it down continuously for the next two days and I had no warm clothing. So I've no idea what to expect this time around.
When I last checked, by the way, Ryanair's baggage allowance is 15kg per person. Their restrictions on liquid containers in hand luggage still apply - see their website for more details. I'm putting all that stuff in my hold luggage to avoid the hassle.
Further reading
I'd suggest having a look at www.sadgoth.com - it's an unofficial English-run site devoted to the festival and taught me much of what I know.
Also, if you have a Yahoo account and haven't yet joined the WGTLeipzigUKGroup, then I suggest you do. Besides having a forum where you can ask people about stuff, there are also decent maps of the town to download in PDF format.
And of course the official festival site for any last-minute line up changes!
And now that's done, we can look forward to the fun stuff...