My Rammstein Encounter (in Bern)
After a long travel to Bern (travelling from the Highlands of Scotland is never easy) I arrived at my hotel entrance feeling extremely hot from the weather but feeling really excited about the Rammstein concert the next day, my husband asked me as we entered, “did you see the young boys standing outside the hotel?” my reply was “what young boys?” in my haste to check in and get rid of our luggage I didn’t notice them, so he went on to tell me there was two young boys waiting outside clutching onto Rammstein records, perhaps the band is staying here! I thought to myself, surely not?!
After checking in and doing all the boring unpacking we decided to head over to the stadium, I’m the kind of person who likes to know where the feuerzone line is and know the route back to the hotel when its dark. Once outside, we spoke to the two young boys and they told us the band were indeed staying in the hotel! I couldn’t believe what I was hearing and seeing the young boys clutching their records with Pauls autograph did make my heart swell, it was a cute sight, they were so happy!
After doing the long walk to the stadium and being really brave and taking the tram back it was time to chill out, get some dinner then sleep ready for the concert!
We left really early in the morning and got our place in the feuerzone line at roughly 8am, there was already nearly 50 people there, the wait was long but, my god it was worth it! 4pm came we scanned our tickets and ran for the rail which we got at Richards side of the stage! It was so hot all day and it felt even hotter once inside the stadium, it took a couple of hours before the staff realised that we would need water but since it had not been pre planned they could only provide small amounts but it goes without saying that show was absolutely amazing and any tiredness/dehydration completely melted away when the music started! I could not even try and begin to explain what I felt during the show but I am quite sure it’s the same as any other Rammstein fan!
We got the tram back to the hotel from the stadium, we couldn’t enter the hotel straight away as Paul and Schneider were getting out of their car and going in, they went straight into a doorway, I am quite sure it was the staff lift which is not for guest use, after a short wait outside we got into the foyer and went straight to the bar to quench a crazy thirst! Sitting comfortably and rehydrating ourselves, we seen Anar Reiband (Tills manager) coming out of one of the lifts then we seen Jens Koch and some other crew retiring for the evening. Suddenly in came Flake with a security guard, I couldn’t believe my eyes! I got off my chair and went over to them both, I was greeted by two smiles, my heart was hammering in my chest, I could not believe I was standing in front of Flake I politely asked if we could have a photo, I looked from Flake to the security guard, Flake said “yes but please no internet”, I promised both Flake and the guard that I would not post it on the internet, the photo was taken and Flake looked lovely and smiley in it! I then proceeded to tell him how amazing I thought he was etc etc!! I kept my promise and did not post it on the internet, it was then time for bed as we had night two in feuerzone! Safe to say I went to bed grinning, I just met Flake and had an amazing time in feuerzone!
Next morning, we decided to take it a little bit more slowly, I have a dodgy heart and blood clotting issues so made sense to take it easy and not go for the rail again. We walked in for breakfast and sat at a table, across from us was Paul and Oliver with two ladies (unsure who they were) then another larger table with crew. There was something very surreal having breakfast with Paul and Oliver on the table close by which is really silly as they are human have to eat too! So I composed myself and set about having my breakfast and chatting to my husband about the show last night and what time we should go to tonight’s show. During breakfast, Flake also came in for his, he sat at the larger table with crew and I noticed Paul had gone over to sit there too (I did notice how at ease Paul is, he is like a social butterfly going round chatting and laughing with everyone, including the hotel staff 😊), we finished our breakfast and left the breakfast room, after sorting out some things in the room, I headed down to go outside for smoke (or vape my case!) I got outside to see Paul and Jens standing straight in front of me, just like with Flake my heart started hammering in my chest, I took a big deep breath and took two steps forward… “Paul” I managed to stammer out, he looks at me and smiles and I manage to ask him for a photo, he grins and says “of course” before I can say anything back to Paul, he asks, “where are you from?” I replied “Scotland” I also joked about my funny accent and Paul replied “oooohh I love your accent” and laughed, by this pointed I am shaking so badly but grinning like the cat who got the cream!! I had my phone in my hand and I’m not sure if Jens could see me shaking but he took my phone off me to take the photo, so not only did I get to meet Paul, Jen Koch took the photo!! My brain has gone to mush, there is so much I would of liked to say to Paul but I only managed to thank him so much before it was time for him to go into his car, I also spoke to Jens for a small while but I won’t go into detail about that as it was more a personal conversation about shyness, he is a very sweet man! Jens left, I walked a few steps away leaning on a wall trying to process what just happened, my husband came out the door and could see my beaming face, I had tears in my eyes, I was just so overwhelmed with happiness! (nothing was said about posting the photos on the internet but I decided not to post the photo online, even though the cat was out of the bag so speak and word had gotten out where the guys were staying, it just didn’t feel right to do so).
Back inside the hotel, still grinning, myself and my husband ordered some Coco-cola (full sugar which is unheard for me but hell I needed the sugar!) After a while we thought we better head to the stadium, he had forgotten his sunglasses so left to go to the room, I sat there for a few moments reliving my moment with Paul and Jens when Oliver appeared, he had come from the lift behind me, I stood up and said “Hello Oliver”, he looked at me and I proceeded to ramble to him how amazing he is (oops, trust me to ramble) then asked if it was okay to take a photo, he nodded yes and we took our photo, I thanked him for his time, a small nod again and he walked out the reception/bar area door! Sitting back down my inner fan girl was screaming and doing cartwheels! Never in a million years did I think I would meet a member of my beloved Rammstein and now I had met 3 of them!
My husband arrived back and after composing myself once again we decided to head to the stadium for our second night in the feuerzone! Again it was another spectacular night, it was slightly different to the first night as some of the fans around us started to argue and fall out but I was quick to zone them out and absorb myself into the show! Then back to the hotel bar for our usual refreshments before bed, we seen Flake and Anar in the bar area, then Jens arrived which I gave a small wave to him, he smiled back which was nice 😊
Next morning, we headed for breakfast in the hotel, we had the whole day in Bern to ourselves to thought it was best to fuel up ready to explore our beautiful surroundings! We walk in and see Oliver sat at a table with the same two ladies as before and the table next to them had crew and the nice Rammstein security guard that we quite often seen during our time in the hotel, there was also other Rammstein fans having their breakfast, this time it didn’t seem so surreal and we set about selecting our breakfast items. Jens came in and ate during our time and while he was leaving I looked up and our eyes locked, we both smiled and said “good morning” to each other, my husband laughed at me playfully as the huge grin was back on my face! We got up to settle our breakfast tab, as my husband was doing so, I turned round to look out the window when I seen Flake, Paul AND Schneider sitting at the window table, Schneider looked over at me and smiled, it was such a warm smile that reached his eyes and of course I grinned back and gave a small wave, Paul was sitting across from Schneider so had his back turned to me but he turned around and also smiled, by this point our breakfast tab was sorted and I skipped out the breakfast room!
A small time later, I was downstairs waiting for my husband returning from our room so we could start our exploring, Schneider and came into the bar area/reception shortly followed by Flake, I thought to myself, this is once in a lifetime opportunity so I approached him again heart hammering in my chest, he smiled so warmly as I asked for a photo to which he replied “yes of course, Flake come over for photo” Flake laughed and told Schneider he had a photo with me but he still came over and gave a beautiful smile along with Schneider. So the selfie with Schneider and Flake was taken, I felt elated and so overcome with more happiness, Schneider carried on smiling as I once again rambled how much I loved him and thought he was so amazing! Then he left with Flake into the lift. By this point it obvious the guys were leaving so we decided to hang around and watch them leave, Paul, Oliver, Flake, Schneider left, I seen Richard leave also but he wasn’t stopping for autographs or photos, we decided to go outside for a smoke as there were other fans outside too, Joe Letz was heading out the door at the same time, my husband was in front of him and I was right behind him, I felt so small compared to him, he is a very tall man!
Once outside there was about 15 Rammstein fans waiting along with a few police officers plus a couple of security guards. The fans were all clutching records and pens waiting for Till, so I thought I would join them in the hopes maybe I could get Tills autograph, we waiting for 10 or so minutes and we seen Anar coming out and going into the waiting car, then perhaps another 5 or so minutes Till came out but he didn’t stop for any autographs, he kept his head down and walked to the car but all the fans were super respectful and kept their distance, no rushing towards him just a few calling his name.
After that we enjoyed the rest of our time in Bern, I posted my photos online but I did keep one back special just for me, of course with social media you have to take the good and bad comments but I shall focus on the good comments and not let the bad drag me down.
I can honestly say it was a trip of a lifetime and I have been gifted memoires that will last me a lifetime
Thank you to my wonderful husband
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