So You Want To Go To Wacken

So, you want to go to Wacken. You've maybe heard me gush on about the experience, or you maybe saw Headbanger's Journey and were obsessed by it, or maybe you just saw the billing for this year, and said, fuck, this is awesome, I gotta be there. This is good; though sometimes the hype is a little excessive on the "Holy Land" angle, Wacken is like no other festival in the world, and if you're a truly dedicated metalhead, you should eventually make the pilgrimage at least once in your life. However, just as some Muslims get fucked up on their once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimage to Mecca, it's quite possible for you to get fucked over at some point in the transit to Wacken, especially if you don't speak German or don't know how things work in Germany. This is where I come in; I've been to Wacken twice, and I lived in Germany for the better part of a year as a normal citizen, so I'm going to try and explain how things go so that you, also, can be smart and prepared and have your once-in-a-lifetime trip go so well that it threatens to be come a once-a-year addiction.

This post is the first in a series, and as the other posts go in, this one will be edited to reflect links to the new parts.
SYWTGTW: Finances parts 1&2
SYWTGTW: Travel
SYWTGTW: Gear, Packing, and Documents
SYWTGTW: Food and Drink
SYWTGTW: Navigation and Customs
SYWTGTW: Why not?
SYWTGTW: Stuff I forgot

These may be updated later, and definitely will be edited in response to any questions, so fire away.