With an entire day free, I got brave and decided to go by myself to one of the outdoor classical music performances so ubiquitous in this area. It was part of the Moritzburg Festival for international music students and is directed by Jan Vogler. He also directs the annual Dresden Music Festival that Gee Kin and I attended the past three years.

Everyone was encouraged to bring picnic lunches and when they say picnic, they take it to a whole new level. Granted, it was an older crowd, but each party had a fully equipped picnic basket complete with wine glasses. They did sell bratwurst on buns that took the standard back down but it was a definitely well-heeled crowd. I guess the 25€ entry fee left a few behind at the door, including me.

I tried negotiating in my lousy German that the reason I deserved a discount is that I got lost getting there and therefore couldn’t help it if I was a half hour late. I got passed over to the directrice and after presenting her with a choice of 50€ or 10€, I managed to convince her to take the latter. She looked exasperated, but didn’t want to disrupt the performance that was within earshot of the ticket table.

Proschwitz is a palace on a hill near Meissen, about an hour from Dresden. I walked over 3 miles in each direction to the top of a shade-starved hill and back down in the blazing heat. The shady lawn was very luxurious. I would have paid the 25€ .

Photos:

1 and 2. Shots of crowd, with a fully outfitted linen table in the second picture.
3. Typical couple in foreground and upper crust couple behind them. Note proper picnic baskets for both, a prevalent theme here
4. Musicians under the canopy
5. The back yard of the palace
6. Sign indicating “Nazis Not Welcome Here”–evidence that the problem exists in the wine growing area around Proschwitz where I trekked
7.  View of the city of Meissen in the distance from the train station