(with some remarks about the operas)
Happy to have made the trek, disapproving of much of what they saw at the opera, but liking
most of what they heard,
George and Allen have returned from Bayreuth. (We've dared to include a few review comments.) It was in the 90s
the whole time, and there is very little air-conditioning available--only the restaurant at the hotel,
and not the opera house, which got very, very warm. We saw "The Flying Dutchman,"
"Tanhaüser," and "Lohengrin." The first pictures, above, are the ones everybody takes in front of
the Festspielhaus, where they never expected to be and don't expect to be again.
The two above are taken from the small portico on which the band plays a theme from the opera and summons Wagnerians to the act that is about to begin.
George and Allen outside the Wahnfried Museum,
a marvelous collection of
historical records of performances and sets from the early years of the festival.
· 
The bridge across the canal, and George on it.
The Rathaus, and a fountain near the Margrave's Opera House.
Allen at the back of the Margrave's Opera House.
Bayreuth is a smallish town, but there are some wonderful old things to see. The pictures
below were taken on the grounds of the palace, filled with trees and statues, including some
moved inside to protect them from the weather.
