Eine kurze Reise: Wacken 🤘

In attempting to begin this post, I realized that I have entirely neglected to write about the 'Virtual Exchange' in which we are required to take part... I'll get on that, but for now, just know that we were all assigned a partner as a part of this Virtual Exchange, and that our partners were our German counterparts currently taking part in CBYX in the US.

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A couple months back, I got a message from my Virtual Exchange partner, Giovanna, that she would be coming back to the US before the program was set to end. She had a really rough go of it in the US, and decided that it would be wisest for her to come home early and continue to pursue her life and career in Germany. Being the lovely, generous person that she is, Giovanna invited me to come visit her in her hometown, Wacken, upon her return. She told me that there was going to be a music festival in town, and that I was invited to join her. 

I'll admit, I was a little hesitant. After all, I had only been in contact with Giovanna since autumn, and only ever via WhatsApp or Snapchat. My hesitation did not decrease when I found out that the aforementioned festival was Wacken Winter Nights, a destination for fans of heavy metal music of all ages, nationalities, and tattooed-ness. For the record, I am not a metal fan. 

Now, Giovanna was always kind in our online interactions, and I had no reason to think I wasn't going to have an interesting time at this festival. I pondered the offer, and eventually accepted. I was to join her for a day, see the festival, and get a look at a true German Dorf (village). 

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I arrived at about noon in Itzehoe, where Giovanna picked me up in her car to drive the rest of the way to Wacken. We chatted on the way, and eventually pulled up to a set of large, brick buildings. We parked in a small garage, and I stepped out of the car. 


It smelled a bit funky. 


I didn't say anything. This smell was certainly not very pleasant, but it was also familiar. 


Something mooed. 


"Did I not tell you that I live on a farm?" The answer was no. 

Y'all, I was hype. I practically skipped out of the garage as Giovanna led me over to say hi to SO MANY COWS.



Best picture of the day.


I took so many pictures. I am not ashamed. I love them. 

After calming down a little bit, we went inside. I met her mom, who was setting up to make pancakes for the family as part of a Saturday tradition. I also met Giovanna's stepdad and step-grandpa, as well as her younger sister. The member of her family that was definitely most interested in me, however, was Greta. 


Greta is love, Greta is life.


We sat down to eat pancakes (German pancakes are more like eggy crepes, just a heads-up) and drink fresh milk. Giovanna's family was super nice and asked me lots of questions about myself, the US, and how I was getting on in Germany. Oh, and the food was ~delicious~. 

After lunch, we head out to the festival. We took a back road around so that I could see where Giovanna serves as a volunteer firefighter, and we walked the rest of the way to the festival grounds. Like I said before: Wacken is a Dorf. It is small. It's only got about 2000 permanent residents. Keep this information in mind. 

Rolling up to the festival, I didn't really have any expectations. We wandered in, and were immediately greeted by a small stage that was made to look like an old church as well as a medieval-themed market. The people around us were clad alternately in denim jackets or corsets; There were costumes, tattoos, beards, stilts, masks, blacksmiths, food stands, goblets, plastic cups, and a lot of fingerless gloves. 

Yaaaargh. These pirates sang a lot about how they were pirates. The violinist was really good, though.

Lot of heavy boots and denim in this photo. A lot of the costumes were at the other end.

DUDELSACK (bagpipe).


I was loving this. Giovanna, ever generous, bought us both hot drinks, and then we went for a tour around the different stages. I started to get the idea that this was a rather large production, and that this was not the first time they had done this. 


Stage 2: The Theater (of grace). Why "of grace?" I have literally no idea.


The 'Ice Palace' stage. The name makes more sense this time. It was actually really cool in here (no pun intended, but happily made).

There was also a poetry slam--auf Deutsch, of course. The two guys speaking made a bet about which one the audience would like more. Whoever lost had to smell the other's butt. It was a weird time all around.


We continued wandering about the festival for a couple hours. We ran into a couple of the other volunteer firefighters that Giovanna knew, and I saw more of Wacken. I learned throughout the day that this festival was actually only in its second year, but there was a much larger one that takes place in early August every year called Wacken Open Air.

Wacken Open Air (WOA) is one of the largest heavy metal/hard rock festivals in the world. For almost 30 years, it's been a prime destination for metal fans from over 30 countries. Remember how I said Wacken only has about 2000 residents?This festival draws in over 85,000 people every year. 

The festival in 2017. The white areas are places for camping. Wtf.

The whole town sort of revolves around this festival. Permanent structures have been built for the festival, in a way making the festival and the town synonymous. It lends the whole place a sort of indescribable energy and identity.



I've got to admit, the logo is pretty badass.


We made our way back to Giovanna's family farm, and had what was definitely the most exciting experience of the whole day: Giovanna's mom was about to milk the cows, and we went along to watch!!! I took more pictures.


So, cows are super curious creatures, and they notice everything. They were all very intrigued by my presence.

Very intrigued.

All of them.

They were not afraid to stare.

Srsly. They wanted to know what was up.


I got to see how their milking operation functions, and Giovanna and her mom were so wonderful. They told me so much about their farm and how it all works, and after the milking, we went on a little tour of the grounds, which is how I met THIS LITTLE FRIEND:


I could've cried. So cute.


Aside from about 7 calves, we saw hens, bulls, the fields where the cows roam when it's warm out, everything. It really is a beautiful place.

Idyllic, truly.


At the end of the day, I was really reluctant to leave. I had had such a great time, and learned so much from Giovanna and her family. Her mom was so kind as to send me off with fresh milk and eggs, along with a backpack full of Wacken swag. Giovanna drove me back to Hamburg, and I was grateful for another chance to chat with her. I'm really thankful to Giovanna and her family, and I hope to see Wacken again soon.



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