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Finally, the next tour starts. The Suffering Life Festival takes place in Wachenroth. Of course, I do not manage to start just in time. The car must be loaded. A woman only and all kinds of camping stuff … this takes some time. Particularly as we have at 8 in the morning already 25 degrees in the shade. This is not fair!But sometime the last herring is also stowed away and I start the engine. Let's go to Leipzig. There I will meet my friend Jeanny.

The highway is relatively empty. And with exception of a few lunatics who hop from lane to lane it is also very peaceful today *hi hi* Nothing can bring me out of calm today. I have around 500 km before me. We cannot surrender already after a few minutes.

Just in time the white Ford rolls into the multi-storey park house at the central station of Leipzig. Yes, my runabout, you were here already. Not even two months ago ;) So fast it sometimes goes. Jeanny's train is also over punctual and thus time still remains for a coffee and a painkiller. Who dealt with his paranasal sinuses, knows what I write about. And who don't know this, does not want to know … In the coffee shop the strawberry pieces laugh even more temptingly than all other. And I become weakly *ha ha* Nobody can require that I carelessly pass such sweet things.

At half past 12 we start from Leipzig. The distance to Nuremberg is the longer way. But the journey runs smoothly. No traffic jam, no accidents and the building sites are minimally small … Nuremberg should be a nice town. Nevertheless, next time I try it by train. Then I do not need to drive endless around the railway station with my car.

Today a lot of crowds are on the way in Nuremberg. Two other Open Airs are signposted. Everything chic and nicely, but we want to go to Wachenroth. Wherever this may be *ggg*.

There is some time left until the train from Vienna will arrive. After this long journey I need first a good coffee. Then we walk to the platform. And of course! The train is not in time!!! Thus we know the ICE's. Every time very expensive and hardly any in time *gggrrr* We enjoy ourselves meanwhile about the endless train announcements. Correct me if needed. But I never was at a railway station on which the one and same train announcements so often one after the other was brought. And the whole still with a echo. And after we have heard the announcements long enough to be able to parrot them perfectly; finally, the train from Vienna arrives. Now the hectic search begins. Where is our Rempi? However, finally, after a few minutes we are lying in each other's arms. Here we go!

The first station is Mc Donalds. I am not really hungry and poke around a little bit in Jeanny's chips. When we leaving the railway station we can feel the whole force of a South German storm. It is raining and hails. I am really glad that we have not gone from the parking house yet. This looks not good. How may it go for the visitors of the other festivals in Nuremburg? Hopefully, the weather is better on the Suffering Life … After a while the hail decreases and, finally, we can leave for Wachenroth.

Sometime we arrive the place of the event and search a quiet place for our tent. On the edge of a field we find a nice place. Our neighbours are coming immediately to welcome us. There is a big hello around our car. Then we pitch the tent. Oh my gosh! I have pitched that the last time 10 years ago. We look a little around. After half an hour we have got it made. The tent is ready. Now we can turn to the next problem: Please, where can we get now a beer quite fast? After this hot day we absolutely need cool and fresh drink. So we head for the festival area. At the entrance we get our ribbons and then we can rush into the happy crowd, finally.

Wachenroth is one of the smaller summer festivals. But exactly that is what I like. The atmosphere is friendly, almost familiar. We walk and look around. There are A lot of merchandising stands which offer all possible stuff. Several times we must smile really. In particular about some clothes for the metal ladies. No, that is not our level. Not yet *g* And what is quite important now? BEER!!!! A little specific feature of the Suffering Life: Here we must exchange the good euro in a "Suffering Live Dollar", before we get our beer. The Bavarian beer very needs getting used to for me as a black beer fan. But the second beer is much better …

Then it draws us to the "big" party tent. On time for the start of "Vendetta". The guys are great. Indeed, the audience is so numerously before the stage not yet. But there is copiously space to the moshing boys before the stage. After "Vendetta" the band "Gurd" is now in order. I must confess, I have not dealt with most bands of this festival before. Live everything sounds much better mostly anyway. Thus we cannot longer resist the hard guitar reefs of this band.

n the next intermission we slowly move in the direction of stage. We suppose that the tent will fill all of a sudden if Ensiferum are playing after the next band. Then we should stand where we feel finest: Front-row!!!!!

Now, however, the last band before "Ensiferum": "Severe Torture" is a Death Metal band from the Netherlands. Also not badly. Indeed, we must find out very fast that Marvin probably loses some hair while he is banging his head. And thus, we have to cover immediately our beers... Generally it looks incredibly jocularly on the stage ground. Bundles of hairs of all colours are blown by the wind in all possible directions.

Then the last intermission. Ensiferum let itself time. But all of a sudden the tent fills. The people stand packed close. And, finally… Emmi starts to build up her keyboard. Janne tampers with the percussion. Pete and Markus scurry busily above the stage. They tune their instruments and clear the last details. Then the stage empties briefly …, however, really only briefly … the tent is silent before the stooooooorm … *ggg*

As Ensiferum alludes the first song, the audience is not to be braked any more. A girl is intent upon the stage diving. (A little later we hear that the audience was unnerved and has dropped her sometime. But she has probably done nothing to herself.)

Today Pete is incredibly well on it. He smiles and also seems to have a wild fun, like the rest of the band. But also the audience has some highlights to offer. Beside a naked *ggg *, there is smart neon-green … (what actually?) to see. Power to yourself a picture of that. *g*. And at the end somebody still presents itself in a pretty little bathrobe with sweet house slippers delightfully to be looked. The people rave. But Ensiferum not know what nerves are and carry on to play their songs.

It is a gigantic surprise for us that they have „Old Man“ on the set list. For it I miss "Lai Lai Hei" painfully. 

The set list:
One More Magic Potion
Tale of Revenge
Deathbringer from the Sky
New Dawn
Old Man
Little Dreamer
Into Battle
Windrider
Token of Time
Blood is the Price of Glory
Treacherous Gods
Iron

And then it also is over again. The time passed like in the flight. Indeed, Ensiferum are the headliner of this evening, but not the last band. Unfortunately, thus there is no encore. After the gig Ensiferum disappear quick as a flash …

But the next band is raring to go: Beloved Enemy. The heated up audience continues to celebrate a wild party. We remain near the stage. Expectedly, my ears are deaf anyhow and my voice disappeared in the nirvana.

The last band of this night: "Die zwangsversteigerten Doppelhaushälften". I have no notion how to translate this band name, sorry. And I ask myself who thinks up such names, please? The texts are amusing and the guys put up a big front on the stage. And the audience celebrates further and further and further. Meanwhile it is half past two.

Because we must leave early on Sunday (once again the curse of the job), we duck out slowly in the direction of tent. However, we are stopped by our nice neighbours at their tent and get stuck there. Rempi already is hitting the pillow, while we are sitting down on a chat. But against half past three I also stroke the sails. Tomorrow another 500 long autokilometers wait for me, and it is not the best to drive while I am bleary-eyed. So I leave and let Jeanny together with that sweet mead *brrrrrr* in the "care" of the neighbours. I creep dog-tired in my sleeping-bag … A long day comes to an end. But the most important for me is the fact that this day was one of my best days ;)

Suffering Life gets in any case in my calendar for 2009.  Hope they can come up with such a good line-pp again. And, above all, I hope that I can get some free days again ;)

Perhaps it also works much better with electricity supply. I think for the bands it was a little bit silly "to be mute" so often *ggg*

Horns up guys ;)