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Oberammergau 2010 & Travel Planning
By MountainMama | March 23, 2008
Ever heard of Oberammergau? Know how to pronounce Oberammergau? (It’s “OH-burr-am-er-gow”)
It is a tiny village in Bavaria, Germany, whose residents who have been performing a day-long Passion Play every 10 years since 1634. After months of suffering from the plague, Oberammergauers made an oath to God that they would perform the “Play of the Suffering, Death and Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ” as long as they were further spared from the plague. Indeed, after the vow was made, the plague took no other victims from the small town.
The elaborate staging of the Passion of Christ, from his entry into Jerusalem to the Resurrection, is up to seven hours long, with an intermission for a mid-day meal. It is held in a magnificent open-air theatre that seats more than 5,000.
The only reason I’ve heard of this play is through my work at the travel company Globus & Cosmos, where I was on staff in the mid 1990s. The Globus Family of Brands operates escorted tours to the event that draws hundreds of thousands of tourists from across the globe. Really, the only way an Average Joe is likely to see the world-famous play is to book a vacation with a tour company.
Tickets to Oberammergau performances, which will run May to October 2010, sell out quickly. So do rooms at the local hotels. But the escorted tour operators have already booked accommodations and tickets in bulk. Still, visitors who want to see the performance, in which 2,000 actors, singers, musicians and technicians take part, have to secure their spots on trips sooner than later.
Which brings me to my question of the day. How far out do you book your vacations? Typically, I have a hard enough time thinking about next week, let alone two years from now. Indeed, most of my family’s trips are planned just a few months in advance; we have a rough idea, “We’re going to visit Grammie in August,” but I usually don’t set the dates and book plane tickets until a few months out.
While I’ve thought plenty about how I want to celebrate my 40th birthday and 10th wedding anniversary in 2009 (ideally on a Windjammer cruise, if the company gets its financial act together), I haven’t booked a thing. With young children, I need to plan around school vacations, start and end dates, and extra-curricular activities and sports, and sometimes I just don’t know those dates til closer to the events.
How about you?
Topics: Budget Travel, Destinations, The Cookie Jar, Travel News |
TravelMuse
March 23rd, 2008 at
Mr. CajunMama and I planned a long weekend romantic getaway to Memphis about a month before we planned to travel. Our son took ill, so we had to cancel.
We try to take one family vacation each summer, but don’t really plan the logistics until a few months before the actual dates.
Sometimes waiting for last minute deals saves an entire family money. Even being spontaneous is fun too.
March 25th, 2008 at
Not only the actual passion play is very special but also the history of the game is very interesting. http://www.oberammergau.org
September 4th, 2008 at
MountainMama, thanks for the info about Windjammer. I was looking to plan a trip with them in Feb. 2009 and now I think I will look elsewhere.
As for Oberammergau, my travel agency (cruise & tour) is taking reservations for this trip as we speak. We have already sold out one bus and 1/3 of a second and we haven’t even gotten it up on our website yet. I know it is hard for people to plan that far in advance (I’m not sure what tomorrow hold for me yet) but with this trip and it’s unique (once every 10 year) nature, the sooner you book the better. Who know how long it will last?
We are also running into the same forward planning with the 2010 South African World Cup. We want to commit to it, but who know what will be happening during the summer of 2010.
If you’re interested in Oberammergau, shot me a quick email at charlescrull@gmail.com. We have an outstanding tour plan for the occasion!
September 4th, 2008 at
Opps, I’m sorry, do I have to be a mama to post here? I am home looking after our kitties if that helps.
September 4th, 2008 at
No, anyone can post. We love dads!