It is Wednesday morning and I am officially back in London, enjoying my first real cup of tea and finally taking in everything that happened last weekend. For those of you don’t follow me on IG (how rude!! Add me here ), my OH took me to M’era Luna in Hildesheim, near Hannover in Germany. The festival is one of the biggest Goth festivals in Europe with over 25000 people attending over the weekend. The music is a mix of older goth bands with some newer EBM groups. However, this year the Prodigy was headlining the event, so I wouldn’t necessarily say that the music was exclusively gothic.
Right from the start I would say that this is a really good festival. It is much smaller in scale to Download (which is my only point of comparison as it is the only other festival I have been to) but what it lacks in space, it makes up with plenty of activities and the nicest people in town. I was a bit sceptical about how I would find the event, as I am not goth, but it is definitely a friendly place where everyone is welcomed.
We arrived late afternoon on Friday, and the camp was already quite full, so I do suggest that you make it to the camp area by lunchtime in order to secure a spot near the ‘village’. Having said this, we were at the farest camp and it was still only a 5 minute walk to the village. In the village you have your main bar with some food places and what I call the ‘fancy bathrooms’. As always, I will say avoid the other normal toilets – they are not worth your time. They also have showers which were kept clean at all times. From the main ‘square’ you can head either to the ‘Arena’ or to the Medieval Village. The Medieval Village was my OH’s favourite place and I can’t blame him: it is full of quirky small stalls selling everything from leather goods, to clothes to taxidermy. The food places were also amazing and offering quite a nice selection of veggie options. There was also a nice small stage which hosted smaller bands and shows after the last act finished in the Arena. We saw a bunch of bands there and they were really good fun.
The Arena itself consisted of two main stages, alongside a goth market, and more food and drink stalls. There were places to sit everywhere, so much that we never had an issue trying to find a spot to sit and rest our legs in between bands! Again, the shopping here was great, if not a little expensive, but I did spoil myself with a Jack soft toy (which became the most popular member in our group!)
Every night there was also a disco (for a EUR 5 entrance fee) which was a really nice place to get your hair down and dance, but you could also join some of the ‘street parties’ around the campsite if you wanted to mingle and meet some people ( we all know that I didn’t do this, #antisocial)
The music was really good. My highlight was of course Prodigy, who had as much energy as they did 20 years ago. Lord of the Lost was also a highlight for me, as much as a discovery as I didn’t know about them, but I was hooked as soon as they opened their slot. Other highlights were Aesthetic Perfection, Front 242 and In Strict Confidence.
What I really liked about this festival is the overall vibe. People were there to have a good time, so everyone was respectful and just having a good time. The music was really good, and I even discovered a few bands that I really liked! The place felt cosy but also there was so much to do. I sadly missed the literature readings but I did hear that they were really good. And if it all ever got too much, there was nothing better than sit by the fire and watch all the beautiful people pass by. Because let me sat this, M’era Luna is the festival to see and be seen. From beautiful and elaborate head pieces, to amazing full lace gowns and the most intricate of make up looks. This was the place to be inspired.
Would I go again? Definetely, without a doubt. The only thing I would say is that I wish they had a cocktail bar, as there is so many vodka lemonades and redbull with prosecco (don’ask, it was the only drink in their menu) I could drink before I want something different.
M’era Luna, you were amazing!
A Sense of Clarity 
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