On Thursday 26th June 2008 we caught a flight from Birmingham International to Frankfurt, Germany aboard a Lufthansa 777. With a flight time of only 1hr 10mins theres barely enough time to eat the complimentary sandwich. It was nice to be met at the airport by a good friend, especially after our tearful goodbye in England.
With our backpacks on we weaved through the airport, the heat combined with the unaccustomed weight of our packs making us sweat. A short car ride later and we were at the Borsig, the site where a few of my good friends live. The mood of our arrival was somewhat subdued as two of my friends had just put their dog to sleep an hour before we turned up.
We only spent enough time to get our weekend packs ready and to bury Mogli the dog next to his favorite lake before jumping into the car and heading towards the Fusion festival in East Germany at Larz. Pulling a caravan behind us, whilst great to have also meant the drive would last ten hours. After six hours of driving we all decided to spend the night parked at the side of the road. After making several attemps to park straight, we finally managed to crawl into bed and slept peacefully.
With an early start the next morning we made good time and reached the festival around midday on Friday. The festival was already well under way and finding somewhere to park with the caravan proved to be pretty tricky. The Fusion festival is held every year on an old Soviet military airfield complete with several aircraft hangers. The attitude is very relaxed with no police presence and no trouble. Everyone is there for a good time and it felt safe and welcoming. The price for the three days varies depending on whether you pick up a ticket in advance or pay on the door, but considering this is a three day festival, the price is extremely good value for money. If money is tight, there are a few options at the festival which might appeal.
- Fill one bag with trash and take it along with the top portion of your ticket to receive 5 Euros
- Sign up for work at the festival when you get there to earn 30 Euros. There are various jobs you can do for 6 hours.
- Collect certain empty beer bottles and plastic cups for a recycle refund of 50 cents per bottle or cup at the bars.
This festival isn’t really about big acts playing, but there’s some great music to listen to, primarily dance music of some sort. There are numerous stages to go and check out and new areas are being added every year. On the last night we watched the Burnt out Punks perform their live stage act which was very different and well worth watching if you have a chance.
My friend Dan (Village Idiot) performed on the dub stage, not his usual techno set, but he played to a grateful audience who cheered and applauded him at the end of his two hours.
After three days without a shower and reluctant visits to the porta loos we decided it was time to leave the festival. In fairness they do offer a shower at a cost and what they call royal toilets which allow you to relax in a little more cleanliness.
For more on the Fusion festival click here
For this and other interesting articles on Germany, click here
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