We've got 2 hours for shopping and sightseeing. Then at noon we have a 3-course lunch at one of the local restaurants. At 2:30pm, the first act of the Passion Play begins. About 5:00pm we break for dinner (at the same restaurant where we eat lunch). And at 8:30pm, the second act begins. The play gets over between 10:30pm and 11:00pm and then we catch a shuttle bus at 11:30pm back to our hotel. It will be a long, but enjoyable day. It's cold though - only about 2°C (36°F) this morning and I think only warming up to about 4°C (39°F). I've got 3 layers of clothes on - a red t-shirt, a pink long sleeve sweater, and a brown long sleeve shirt with a collar that I can flip up if needed. Then I've got my sweatshirt jacket and my raincoat, so hopefully I'll be somewhat warm! Apparently we can rent blankets at the theater, so I'll probably do that too. The theater is outside. Covered, but still out in the cold.
It's now Monday and I'm sitting in the Munich hotel before we head down to Oktoberfest. I thought I'd go ahead and write about the Passion Play day, because I'm sure Oktoberfest will be another full day of writing!
We did a little shopping when we first got to Oberammergau. I needed my shot glass and postcards. I wasn't sure if I'd find a Passion Play shot glass but was hopeful to at least find an Oberammergau one. Our first stop though was for hats and gloves. It was going to be cold and we regretted not bringing any. We got a nice set of Thinsulate gloves and a hat that ended up working really well!
I did also find an Oberammergau shot glass and some postcards. No Passion Play shot glass though. Then in one of the wood carving stores (Oberammergau is well known for their wood carvings and there are lots of stores for it) I found the "neatest" crucifix. "Neatest" is not the right word, perhaps "most unique" would be better. Most crucifixes show Jesus up on the cross with his head still tipped up so you can see his face. This one was was done in such a way that Jesus' body was almost crumpled over at the waist. Almost creepy, but it sure gives a dramatic impression of what he went through! But it was big and kind of expensive, so I didn't buy it. Plus, shipping to the US was 40€, which was a big rip-off because Dad had his crucifix that he bought (about the same size) shipped for 20€. So, I thought about it until after the first half of the play and after dinner. Then I went back and bought it. It's hand-carved and quite stunning.
The play itself was very well done. The choreography of the chorus and the rest of the play was very neat. The chorus was dressed in all white - very striking. It was hard to hear sometimes, and since it was all in German, very difficult for us to understand the words. Our seats were about ¾ of the way back on the left hand side of the stage (when you're facing it). So not the best seats, but the other folks in our group were way up front on the right hand side. Like about the 10th or 15th row. They said it was hard to see much of the stage from their angle, but they had a front row seat for the crucifixion! The theater holds just under 5,000 people.
The story is embellished a lot from the Bible. The base story is there, but a lot of added stuff too. So that made it a little hard to follow too. Anyway, it was a spectacular production and I'm glad I got to see it.
We got to our hotel around midnight and had to set our alarms for an early morning! Getting up at 4:45am tomorrow because our shuttle bus picks us up at 6:00am for the ride to the Munich airport.
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| This was the hotel we stayed at in Bad Kohlgrub - it was 2 towns away from Oberammergau | The flowers on the balcony are just beautiful! | Josef & Karin - saying their good-byes to us in Oberammergau |
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| Some of the shops in Oberammergau. Notice the giant crucifix in the center. | The majority of the shops have beautiful paintings on the outside | Dad on one of the Oberammergau streets. The streets were filled with people doing shopping before the show. |
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| Dad in Oberammergau. There actually is a cross up on the peak of that mountain - it just doesn't show up "on film". | Angie in Oberammergau. Notice the painting on the building across the street. | Dad & Angie |
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| This was the restaurant where we were assigned to eat dinner during the intermission of the play. Again, notice the paintings on the building. | Inside the theater - this was the view from our seats | A self-portrait inside the theater. The guy behind me was a priest and he gave us some pointers for Rome. |
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| Dad & Angie - this was taken by one of the guys behind us | ||