It was not allowed

Norbert Aue

First visit

My name is Norbert, I'm from Germany and my first time in the RAH was in 2009. My wife and daughter took part in a Grand Tour and after that we had an Ignite Brunch in the restaurant. When the brunch was over, both women looked for a restroom. Unfortunately they didn't find one, but the three of us found ourselves in front of a door which was open and behind there was a loggia. We knew it's not allowed to go in but we did (sorry for that). What we have seen was (and in my memories still is) the empty hall, that overwhelming view of all that red seats and the venue inside itself. And on stage some BBC technicians were preparing an upcoming charity event for the evening. Nobody took any notice from us, we enjoyed the crystal clear sound of Sting's Fields of Gold and it was a perfect situation celebrating my 50th birthday. After 10 minutes somebody saw us and we got the feeling we should disappear, which we did to avoid trouble. 

In the meantime I've visited several concerts in the Hall, but every time I absolutely try to enter the inside room as one of the first persons to see that beautiful view of the empty hall again, to remember, to enjoy and to get back that special mood from our first visit. 

Thanks again, congratulations for your extraordinary good work and good luck for the next 150 years. I'm sure I will be there again in the next time and I'm really looking forward to the next concert. 

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