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AmericansInLeipzig
Frequently Asked Questions
Treffen-works:
How do I buy tickets?
First: what are the "tickets"? At the WGT, the way it works is you purchase
a paper ticket (usually very beautifully printed). In Leipzig, you
turn in this ticket for a wristband {"bändchen"}
that you wear for the entire Treffen as your admission pass for all
Treffen events. The color of your wristband indicates what kind of
ticket you have. - a basic ticket, or the Obsorgekarte, which includes
camping privideges and some other goodies [see the next question, "What
is the Obsorgekarte?"]
There are two options for buying tickets: buy them in advance, or when
you get to Leipzig. Personally, I recommend
buying your tickets when you get to Leipzig (read below for details).
I used to say "strongly recommend," but the new PayPal option may
be a way to avoid all the bank-charge issues that were a big problem.
I still strongly recommend against using the bank-transfer method.
Buying the tickets in advance
The tickets are usually a few Euros cheaper when you buy them
in advance, but then there is a per-order shipping charge added on
to the total. If you
are purchasing several tickets, the discount will outweigh the shipping
fee [see "How much are tickets?"]
- but usually the cost difference is small one way or the other. The big
advantage to buying tickets in advance are that it is one less thing
for you to worry about when you get to Leipzig (you'll
still need to get the wristband, however). Also, if you are
buying an Obsorgekarte,
which includes the camping ticket and are limited in quantity to
9999, you will be sure to get them before they sell out (no one has ever
reported that the supply of Obsorgekarten
has
run
out, but the WGT Webmaster says it was close in 2004).
When you buy your tickets in advance, your beautifully-printed
tickets are mailed
to you a month or two before
the date of the WGT. When
you get to Leipzig, you take your ticket with you and trade it for your
bändchen (you get to keep the ticket
- they just tear off part of it) - see the "buy tickets when you get to
Leipzig" section below for the locations.
If you make your payment too late for the tickets to be mailed to you, they
will be held for you to pick up at the AGRA. The shipping fee will
still apply, even though your tickets are not being shipped.
As of 2005, there are two ways to purchase your advance tickets: PayPal or direct
bank transfer. In either case, go to the WGT website's Ticket Order page [link]
and fill out the order information form. You will receive a reply e-mail that
has further details. The WGT organizers
have said that we can expect to see the ability to purchase tickets by
credit card someday, but not for 2005.
2005 update: PayPal is being accepted. Even
though there has been no formal announcement, and there is no info
on either the German or English WGT website, PayPal
is being accepted for payment for
WGT tickets for orders from outside of Germany.
As a test, I initiated a ticket order from the WGT website, and the
reply e-mail has a link to a PayPal page that would let me complete the
transaction.
Note that if you use PayPal, all the PayPal fees are paid by you [see "How
much are tickets?"].
If you choose not to use PayPal, the
advance-purchase transaction is not straightforward : the reply e-mail
you get from the WGT website includes a pdf invoice that
contains a bank routing number
for their
account
in Germany and a "total charge," which does not include the mystery
bank fee (see 2003 update, below). Then you have to go to your bank and
have them wire the money to Germany, for which your bank will
likely
charge you
another
fee. None of these processes
are automated, so there could be delays, but no one has reported that
they have
ever paid for tickets and not received them.
2003 update: People who purchased tickets
in advance were quoted a price for their tickets. After wiring the
money to the WGT organizers,
a reply was sent saying that the amount was not enough because it didn't
include the cost that the management's bank charged for the international
wire transfer! No one knew what that amount was in advance, nor were
they
told that they
would have to pay an extra amount for their fees! In the end, advance ticket
purchasers either had to complete an additional wire transfer with extra-extra
fees, or their tickets
were placed on hold at the AGRA, and when they arrived in Leipzig, they
had to pay to extra amount to bail out their tickets.
Our advice: buy the tickets when you get to Leipzig
Personally, I always
buy my tickets when I arrive in Leipzig. I find that it isn't worth
the
hassle
of
the advance
purchase,
or the
risk
of the tickets
being misprocessed
or lost in shipping. By buying our tickets
on Thursday afternoon, before the actual start of the Treffen on
Friday, we avoid the significant lines for tickets and wristbands {bändchen}that
you'll likely
find on Friday.
Tickets are usually available starting on Thursday afternoon at two
of the primary venues: Werk II (just steps
off the strassenbahn stop at
Connewitz
Kreuz),
and
AGRA (the main Treffen venue).
To get to these locations, look at the maps in the Reference
Documents section. Even if you buy advance tickets, you have
to go to one of these locations to trade in your ticket for a bändchen. In
2003, the lines for wristbands at Werk II were minimal, while the lines
at AGRA exceeded an hour (even advance
ticket holders had to wait in these lines). In 2004, we had to wait
about 15 minutes at Werk II on Thursday afternoon- and we found
some old freinds and made new friends while we were in the short
line.
What is the Obsorgekarte?
The "basic" Treffen ticket includes admission to all the events
associated with the Treffen (concerts, band signings, marketplaces, dance
clubs, films, etc.). As of 2005, the basic ticket also includes transportation
around Leipzig (most importantly the streetcars, but also local buses
and regional and suburban trains)
for the four days of the WGT, Friday through Monday.
The
Obsorgekarte is
the
fully-inclusive
ticket
for
the
Treffen.
It
includes
everything you get with the "basic" ticket, plus access to
the camping areas, the WGT program book, and a goody-bag, which
is usually a sampler CD.
Some Americans choose to buy the Obsorgekarte so there is nothing else
to worry about. I have always just bought the basic ticket, which is
good for access
to all the Treffen events, and then picked up the program (which costs
about €5,00) at the same time if I wanted it. I don't need access
to the camping areas (although sometimes
they work well as shortcuts) and don't usually want the CD.
How much are tickets?
Obviously, the ticket prices are subject to change from year to year,
so check the WGT website [link] for
current information.
For
2005, the basic Treffen ticket, purchased in advance, is €54,00.
It is likely, then, that if you purchase tickets when you arrive in
Leipzig, the tickets will be about €56-58. For advance purchases,
no matter how many tickets you buy, there is an international mailing
fee of
€8,00, plus the mystery bank transfer fees [see "How
do I buy tickets"]. If you order using PayPal, one ticket costs €65,04,
including the €8,00 shipping fee so it seems the PayPal
fees
are around €3,00.
If you want to purchase the Obsorgekarte privileges [see "What
is the Obsorgekarte"], that adds €20,00 to the basic
tickets (for a total of €74,00
if purchased in advance).
For a parking ticket, which allows you to park near the AGRA (although
there is no guarantee that there will a space for you to park), the
cost is an additional €14,50.
Where do the bands play?
The venues that are used for concert performances are spread all over
Leipzig. A map of Leipzig is distributed when you turn in your ticket
for an armband;
it includes the schedule of band performances. A similar map, with some
of the major venues marked, is available in the AmericansInLeipzig Reference
Documents section.
The primary venue is the AGRA [website,
German-only], which is Leipzig's agricultural fair grounds (think "East
Germany cow of the year contest"). The main
hall has capacity for 10,000 people, plus a mirror-image hall that is
used for the vendor's
marketplace
and a few
other smaller halls.
Here are some of the other main venues:
- Werk II [website,
German only]: a former industrial facility on the
strassenbahn line that runs to the AGRA from downtown Leipzig. There
are several rooms there,
and the space is used year-round for performances.
- Völkerschlachtdenkmal: the enormous monument to the Battle
of the Nations [see "What
else is there to do around Leipzig?"]. Sometimes a stage is set
up in front of the reflecting pool, and the interior Krypta, with
its soaring 80m high dome, can
host "calmer" performances. There is a permanent choir that
uses the acoustics of the Krypta.
- Haus
Leipzig [website, German only]: a downtown hall, just outside
the city ring. We call it "Heiss Leipzig" because it
can get so hot.
- Haus Auensee: a large hall on the northwest outskirts of Leipzig.
It is far from any other venue (plan on about 1 hour from AGRA),
and a 10- to 15-minute walk from the nearest strassenbahn stop. It
is
surrounded
by forest,
and
is a
year-round performance facility. Usually bands are programmed there
so that you can plan on going there and staying there (like, one
whole day will be synthpop bands) since it it far out.
- Parkbühne: an outdoor stage in a large park adjacent to downtown
Leipzig. Not far, but it can be difficult to find because it is in
the park, and a 10-minute walk from the strassenbahn (also 10-minutes
from downtown).
- Moritzbastei [website,
German only, but great pictures]: right downtown, it is actually
built into the old city walls and
catacombs, dating to the 1500's. There are several stages and dance
floors that usually run all night. It is a student-run facility of
the University of Leipzig, and offers café food in addition
to beer and wine, all at very reasonable prices. The rooms for live
performances are small, so if you want to see a band there, get there
early! Bob says: "Mortizbastei
is the most amazing place, probably my favorite in Leipzig."
- Schauspielhaus. A true theatre (it's name is literally "Playhouse")
on the west side of the downtown city ring, with seating for 672. The
problem is
that the bands
that performed there in 2003
(like QNTAL,
Chandeen, and STOA) could easily have filled four times as many seats!
If you weren't there hours in advance, you couldn't get in. Very civilized
compared with the other venues - seats and carpets!
Where do I buy stuff?
There is a giant market at the AGRA that runs during the entire
4 days of Treffen (but closes mid-day on Monday). Plan on buying
a
lot of
music, clothing,
and accessories - there are lots of things that will bring you endless
questions of "Where did you get that" when you get back home.
Cash only, except for Xtra-X, the biggest vendor there. [Recently,
more and more other vendors have also accepted credit cards, but don't
count on it!]
Of course, most individual bands have merchandise available immediately
before and after their performances (cash only!), at the venue where
they perform. There are also "villages" around
where specific crafts can be found, such as the Pagan village at the
Torhaus Dölitz or the Viking village at the Moritzbastei.
In downtown Leipzig, there are a couple of stores of interest. The
Gothic Store has the "dark" merchandise that is very popular
in Germany: canes and staffs, silver goblets and chalices, skulls,
dragons and figurines.
There is also a branch of Hautnah, a German fetish store (a smallish
location - the main Hautnah is in Berlin), featuring latex
and vinyl clothing. Both stores
are open special
hours over the Treffen weekend, not staying closed on the weekend as
is typical in Germany.
For music shopping, don't miss the legendary WOM (World
of Music). [Bad news: the Leipzig WOM closed in 2003, but there
are still several locations in Berlin. We didn't like them quite
as much as the old Leipzig one, though.]
What is there to do besides see bands play?
Each year after the Treffen, I am surprised at how much was going
on that I never found out about. Certainly the band performances
are the
focal point of the festival, and there is absolutely no way to catch
all the bands that
you "just
can't miss."
Of course, there is also shopping [see "Where do I buy stuff?"].
During the day, there are usually band-signings, as well as film screenings
and literature
events. Schedules for these events are usually buried (in German) in
the Treffen program, and often advertised by the scene magazines at
their booths
in the
AGRA marketplace.
The areas around the Torhaus Dölitz (just north of the AGRA campgrounds)
and the Moritzbastei become theme villages: a Renaissance village,
Pagan village, or
a Norse village. There are generally performances, demonstrations and vendors,
and food as
well.
Also, in recent years, there has also been a daylong fetish space at Werk II.
At night, as the bands wind down, the dance floors warm up, featuring
guest DJs from around the world - and many are big names in the scene.
Usually, one hall in AGRA is converted to a dance space that runs
until after
the sun comes up. In downtown
Leipzig, there are two joints that offer dancing until well after
sunrise. The Moritzbastei
[see "Where
do the bands play?"] has
several floors hopping, along
with live bands and other events, and has low-cost café and
bar offerings (the Moritzbastei is student-run). Dark
Flower is an around-the-year goth
club, and during the Treffen they are packed all night long. Dark
Flower, Moritzbastei and AGRA .
What time of day are things happening?
The short answer? All day. Usually, there are live shows
starting in the early afternoon and continuing into the early morning
hours. During the daytime, there are opportunities to shop, see the
theme villages, film screenings, and literary events, or be a tourist
and signhtsee around downtown Leipzig [see "What
else is there to do around Leipzig?"]. From the time they leave
their lodgings, people attending the Treffen are in full Goth regalia.,
and part of the unique environment of the WGT is seeing the streets
of Leipzig full of Gothies, day and night. And yes, even the local
Leipzigers come out to see the outfits - the local papers have articles
about the best places for Grufti-Spotting!
Evenings of course are usually reserved for the major live performances
all
around the city, and lately have been arranged so that there is one
"midnight headliner" at the AGRA (which usually starts well
after midnight). After that, dancing and drinking are the focus
of activities, and you won't be alone if you wander back to your
hotel, campsite, or
apartment well after the sun has risen!
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