Bratwurst und Bier (Bratwurst & Beer)

Thanks to the on base facilities, we are able to catch the newest movies for cheap, only about $4 per movie. However, the bummer part of it is that the new movies are usually shown for less than a week and the really popular ones have lines around the block. Not wanting to deal with the crowds, we opted to watch Spiderman 3 in the local movie theater (CineStar). Usually the movies from the States are dubbed over in German, but on Sunday and Monday nights, it is shown in its original voice. We went to the Mainz CineStar last Sunday night, parked in the garage next door and got the parking at a discount for € 2 for 4 hours. All is set and we were in our “assigned seating” by 8:15pm. Yes folks, the movie theater will give you assigned seating like in airplanes (unless you’re flying Southwest). It’s a great concept, since your seats are guaranteed, there’s no need to be in the theater early to gurantee a good seat. At 8:30, the theater promptly turned down the lights and we prepared ourselves for previews, etc., as one would expect from our experience back home. Well, 30 minutes passed with all German commercials, mostly Coca-cola, car, ice cream, and other miscellaneous unrelated to movie commercials, and two movie previews, the theater light came back on again. This time, workers totted baskets of ice cream and candy bars, one last chance for people to spend money before the movie started. Well, finally about 5 more minutes of selling, the theater darkened again and onward toward the main attraction. An hour into the movie, as the plot thickens and we were getting in to it, the theater came back on again, this time for “intermission”! Another chance for folks to get more snacks and drinks before movie resumes. At this point, we have already been in our seats for two hours, for a movie that should have lasted 2 hours and 20 minutes and we were nowhere near the end. Finally, after 10 minutes of ‘break’, back to Spidy saving Mary Jane from the villains. When all is said and done, we did not leave the theater until 11:45. What an experience that was. It felt more like a play or a musical with the intermission. Although I have to say, people were allowed to drink beer in the theater and the seats were nice and plush. A great way to spend a long evening in the theater, if you don’t have to get up at 5:30 the next morning to go to work. :)