A Real Reindeer Pause

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You say you’ve got nowhere to go? You say you’ve been everywhere and done everything? You say you have insomnia and want something different to do at night?

Well, my friend, have I got a deal for you. I can get you an elevated bed for a night at Museum fuer Gegenwart in Berlin for a measly €1,000. That’s Euros. Approximately $1,400.

What do you get? You get a revolving bed that rises above a herd of 12 reindeer, in a special room that also features 24 singing canaries. You don’t have to worry about rutting reindeer storming around and doing the midnight sun nasties, as they’ve all been neutered (poor guys).

It’s actually an exhibition called “Soma,” named after an ancient hallucinogen made from mushrooms. And if you remember your contemporary literature, it was the drink that calmed the people in Aldous Huxley’s 1932 futuristic novel, Brave New World.

You’ll be at peace with nature. I’d do it, but I have some questions that need answering: Will the singing canaries wake you up too early in the morning? Do they fly overhead and drop some birdie noodles on you while you’re sleeping? Do reindeer fart?

Actually, it is a bit noisy – the reindeer play and spar with each other, making throaty noises similar to lions, according to those who’ve experienced it.

But if you don’t already have your reservations, you’re too late. It’s booked until the end of the show, six nights a week. Belgian-born artist Carsten Hoeller’s interactive exhibit was scheduled to run until Jan. 6, 2011, but apparently has been extended into February.

Just what you need … a stinky, sleepless night, all in the name of art.

I kid you not!