Neuanfang

Wacken Open Air

Hope you've all had a fantastic Christmas and New Year, guys! :3 This chapter is a bit longer than the previous ones, purely because there's been such a wait. Enjoy! <3

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The next week at work dragged in the unfortunate way that time seems to do when you're especially looking forward to something. That particular something was Wacken Open Air festival, which was the final festival that Rammstein would be playing at that summer. Having researched how to get there, we had decided that the easiest way would be for me to be picked up at the airport in Hamburg, and driven to the festival grounds. 

I had endured a million questions at work since I had arrived back on the Monday, everyone was incredibly interested in Richard and how he had flown to Scotland to randomly visit me. They had decided that he was a romantic and definitely a keeper, and were very impressed that we were "moving in together" already.  Thankfully, I was now free from work and on my way to the airport to begin my journey.

Arriving in Hamburg a couple of hours later, I retrieved my hand luggage from the compartment and left the plane, making sure that I had remembered to pick up everything from my seat - it wouldn't have been the first set of earphones I had lost to an airline! I walked along the tunnel connecting the plane to the airport and into the arrivals area, looking around for a familiar face. Eventually I found two! Paul and Schneider had come to collect me. Schneider noticed me first, and started to walk towards me, but Paul noticed soon after and shoved past him, grinning wickedly at me and I stopped dead, laughing as I tried to guess what he was up to. 

"Hi Paul!" I squeaked, as he caught me by the waist and threw me over his shoulder, my bag dropping to the ground. 

"You're here!" He cheered, and turned to walk out of the airport entrance with me still over his shoulder, me still squealing as he tickled my sides. I'm sure we attracted more than a couple of strange glances, but I barely had time to notice as I was carried outside. Schneider followed us at a more sedate pace, he had retrieved my bag from the ground and had thoughtfully brought it with him. Paul put me down on my feet and I pinched his cheek jokingly, making him poke his tongue out at me. I laughed and turned to greet Schneider with a hug, and thanked him as he passed my bag back to me. I put it over my shoulder, and he left to collect the car from where it was parked, leaving me alone with Paul. He slung his arm around my shoulder and kissed me cheek, more than a little bit hyper.

"Who gave you Red Bull? I'm going to kill them!" I laughed, wiping at my cheek where his kiss had landed rather wetly. 

"No one, I'm just excited." He insisted. "One more show, then some well earned time off!"

"Where's Richard?" I asked. I had half expected him to be the one to collect me, and while I was happy to see Paul and Schneider I missed him.

"He and Flake drew the short straws." He explained. "They are doing radio and phone interviews for most of the afternoon."

"I see." I replied. I knew that none of the band particularly liked giving interviews, and they tried to take it in turns as much as was possible. Anyway, I would be seeing him before the day was done and that was enough for me!

Schneider drove up shortly after in a black SUV, Paul let me ride up front and he sat in the back. We chatted and caught up on our lives since Download, Richard had told me most of the big news but it was nice to hear the smaller details of the boys lives. Schneider proudly showed me pictures on his phone of his baby son, and as far as babies go he was definitely one of the cutest! Schneider promised that I would get to meet him during the weekend, as they were driving back to Berlin the next day. The car journey went by surprisingly quickly, and in no time we were parking up beside a large tour bus, surrounded by the familiar black trucks that carried all their stage equipment. There were already loads of people milling around setting things up and working hard. Again, I was impressed at how efficient the whole stage set up was. Grabbing my bag from the back of the car, I followed Paul and Schneider onto the tour bus, where I was greeted by Ollie and Till, who seemed to just be chilling out and recharging their batteries before the show. I hugged them both, and after sitting with them for an hour or so, they told me that it was time for their pre show meet and greet. I went with them, for a lack of anything else to do, I didn't want to spend the evening on their bus by myself!