Like our arrival, the departure goes without a hitch. We are able to leave the campground without any problems whatsoever. We are not the only ones departing, but not as many cars as I'd have thought are on the road. The way to the motorway is perfectly signposted and guides are strategically placed at all crossings. We reach the motorway in no time and would have been home by 1 AM. If it hadn't been for the Elbe Tunnel. Three lanes are being merged into one and even in the middle of the night, with little traffic, this leads to a massive traffic jam. Our satnav is immensely helpful, sends us off the motorway only to be stuck in traffic in Hamburg, where the lights only let two cars pass each junction. The on-ramp, we are supposed to take is closed due to construction, but our satnav is adamant we take it anyhow. We loose 1,5 hours and arrive home at 3 AM. Marie, who had been dropping off Jan-Hendrik at home and has taken another route, had to wait for us in our driveway for nearly an hour. Children, grandparents and even the cats are fast asleep and we fall into a deep and exhausted, but short slumber. The night is over at 7 AM. The cats want outside and as I am back, I am the one receiving all the indignant attention.
I am having my first real shower in a week and it feels good to be home. I can't resist the temptation to wake Marie one last time with Bavarian brass music, much to her delight.
And then it is back to real and everday life. After three coffees, the rest of the house is awake. The children are happy to have us back and demand attention. The grandparents look like they've been at Wacken themselves. It was a hard week for them and they definitely see their grandchildren in a different light now. I am not sure if I am feeling relieved, that they can now understand my daily exasperation with the kids or feeling mortified, because apparently I have raised two impossible kids who even break their good-natured grandparents. They leave after breakfast and Marie heroically offers to take the little one to the playground, so we can unpack and get organised. She even manages to find him a playdate. A little bit of grace period for us. When Marie leaves for Lüneburg, I stay behind with loads and loads of dirty laundry, feeling kind of at loss. I am heating up my last can of chilli sin carne and have my last camping meal. Little bit of a metal jetlag.
As I am writing this article, it's been ten days already, since we returned from Wacken. We didn't get tickets for 2025. We still could, I think. Let me just check... yep, still not sold out. What is that about? Is it the ticket price of 333 € + 33 € for the Access Pass? Is it Papa Roach? Is it the Alien theme? Is it because Superstruct is being absorbed by KKR? Or is it maybe just normal now that the COVID-19 aftermath is over and people don't have the obsessive need to prove they are free and can visit crowded spaces at all costs? We'll never now.
At the end of the day, my conclusion of Wacken is a positive one. I've had the best crew and campground gang. Marie, Chris, Jan-Hendrik and I had so much fun. We didn't bicker and we were all independent enough to go and explore on our own, if our plans didn't match. Without hard feelings. The Residenz Evil campgroud was a good choice, as was the decision to buy camp beds. It was stupid to bring boots I hadn't worn in a year before the festival and only sleeveless shirts with a fresh tattoo on the upper arm. Being at Wacken was a huge item on my bucket list. Now I've been there, I've done it and I think I can leave it at that. The "Wacken spirit" is definitely there. The festival is incredibly peaceful, jovial and companionable. And it is clean and tidy. Apart from the to be expected messy toilets (btw - seriously, more toilets are needed near the stages!), the festival area was nearly free of litter. It felt great to walk amongst thousands of like-minded people. When it comes down to it though, a metal festival is about music for me. All the rest, the people, the drinking, the festival spirit, the community, the camping - it is something I am putting up with, but not my main reason to go.
Musically, a festival like Wacken presents a conundrum. On the one hand, there are so many, sooooo many bands, I am absolutely not interested in. On the other hand, the bands I am interested in, are often playing simultaneously or you are just too tired to go and see all of them. This meant for me: constant FOMO. I always had to choose, I always had to make cuts in my personal running order wishlist. And I didn't like it. The next thing is the size of the stages and the audience. To get into the front row means early queuing and even then, you are still far from the stage. Standing further back is perfectly fine, the sound is good and you can hear and see properly thanks to the screens. But the atmosphere is different. I am no fan of the public viewing atmosphere where people are all just standing with their hands in their pockets, nodding their heads and looking at a screen. There is something missing for me. So, I guess this is an important learning for me. I am a girl for smaller venues and smaller festivals.
On that note - next week is Wini Macken! 15 years of Full Metal Jetlag. In 2009 Ela and Jens from Handeloh felt exactly like I did last Sunday and they decided to launch their own festival in their garden. 15 years later, the festival has grown considerably in size and popularity. 2024 is my first year helping with the Wini Macken organisation and so far, I am having a great time and so much fun. I am mainly doing social media, press and general enquiries. But I'll also have the chance to use my camera again and of course, I'll write about the festival afterwards.
And only two weeks later, I'll be in Balve at the Prophecy Fest. I am incredibly looking forward to this one. With only 1400 plus people expected in the Balve Cave, it is not even remotely comparable with Wacken. Plus, the music is much more tailored to my taste and I will have the chance to do some concert photography in a pretty unique setting. It'll be exciting.
Also, I have some concerts lined up: Uada, The 69 Eyes (Hell Nights), Kreator & Anthrax & Testament and the Lemmyversary with Motörizer and Ozzyfied. Even with Wacken over and done with - things won't get boring this year. Stay tuned!
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