Taking a break at Bayreuth

All the Bayreuth Festival performances (with the exception of Das Rheingold) start at 4pm and break for one hour between acts, ending between 10pm and 11pm. That leaves a lot of free time to fill, especially as most people arrive soon after 3pm. Some disappear off to the car park behind the Festspielhaus for an unglamorous picnic, or what they imagine is a private marital row in the comfort of their car (even a BMW isn't that soundproof, guys). 

But most just wander around the grounds, or take advantage of the many catering facilities on offer. They all look different, but there's not a huge amount of variation in what's on offer. Let's just say that if you don't care much for pork, your options are halved. (If Katharina Wagner is serious about atoning for the Festival's past, sticking kosher sausages on the menu might be a nice gesture. Just saying.)

The main option is the huge self-service cafeteria. This doubles up as a workers' canteen outside performance times, which may account for its somewhat institutional ambience.

There's a limited selection, which doesn't change each day. This is the antipasti:
 

And here is the pork schitzel with potato salad:

The cakes are not nearly as good as they look, sadly:

There's also a champagne counter at the side of the cafeteria:

And a Bockwurst and Weißwurst counter:

 

Here is the Bratwurst man, doling out his popular Bratwurst mit Brötchen. Huge queues form for this sophisticated hot dog. Add as much mustard as you like!

There are also a number of carts selling drinks and Brezeln (salted bread twists):

 

 

The poshest option is the seated restaurant. I didn't eat here so I can't comment on the food:

Once feeding time is over, people just wander around or chat:

Or visit the statue in the park just beneath the Festspielhaus:
 

Comments

[Tristan]

One of the great joys of going to Bayreuth is the post-opera dinner experience. Whilst the cuisine doesn't vary that much, there are plenty of places to choose from in and around Bayreuth.

My favourite is the Weihenstephan Restaurant on Bahnfostrasse, but it is only one of many.

I once ran into Thielemann (wearing shorts and a vest) at a restaurant on the outskirts of Bayreuth. He was in a private room with his partner, family members and sundry folk. He only just acknowledged my brief and congratulatory greeting (it was after Gotterdamerung) - warmth is certainly not one of his qualities, but who cares when he is so enormously talented.

Lastly - going to Bayreuth and not eating at least one sausage at the interval is like going to Glyndebourne and not drinking at least one Pimm's!

[Vecchio John]

It sounds as if Prue Leith should take out a franchise for supplying picnic hampers as she does at Glyndebourne. But I somehow think a Bratwurst Stand would not be welcome on the manicured lawns in Sussex.

I was once hounded out of the gardens of the Festspielhaus for daring to eat a bunch of grapes on that hallowed ground.

[Steve Wills]

Intermezzo, bringing epicurian verismo to our lives. Any matjes herring? Food of the gods!

My Wagnerian kitsch bargain of all time was a life size greenish coloured clay death mask of Herr Wagner, purchased from a CD shop in Brugges... 8 or 10 euro if I remember... and home on Eurostar all in one piece!

My only good Bayreuth anecdote was when wandering the grounds one August a few years back, not thinking about performances or festivals, but inciting the interest of armed police who appeared out of nowhere and rapidly homed in on me and my partner. After some fairly amiable questioning, it appeared Gerhard Schroder (then Chancellor) was inside and the poster tube poking out of my rucsack had been earmarked as a potential international incident... Given we were quite scruffy and unprepared, it was all wonderfully surreal when 5 minutes later, the doors flung open and hundreds of ultra smart Germans flopped out into the interval sunshine... one day...