Last Saturday night at Casa Goatbeast: an intense meal of Goatlady specialty chili, followed by an intense Blitzkrieg planning session, followed by an absolutely satanic chocolate berry baked cheesecake, courtesy of the Full Metal Campground Chef Vagrant and his lovely lady.

The end result? Some very full bellies and a tour diversion: after Party.San, we spend one night in Stuttgart, cross the border into France to stay one night in Strasbourg, then over to Switzerland, for a night in Zurich, before heading back into Deutschland for Summer Breeze. In ten minutes we managed to double the number of countries we will be visiting.

Three countries in three days is a tad intense, but we’re a discerning lot and the prospect of the diversion of French pastry and Swiss chocolate before heading back for more German beer is very appealing. Operation: Croissant will be accompanied by the soothing sounds of Gojira, while Operation: Chocolate’s soundtrack will feature the unholy Fischer trinity of Hellhammer, Celtic Frost and Triptykon.

Help us out: what must-see and must-do things are there near these spots?

Operation: Croissant and Operation: Chocolate is a post from: hell bent for metal

So all along, we’ve know that this year we were going to Wacken, and spending more time in Poland. But how we would spend our time in between these two locations was still up in the air.

Last year, we went (far too briefly) to Slovenia, then spent a week in Italy. We were thinking of spending time this year in Norway and Sweden, but in the end we’ve decided to go to Switzerland instead.

Why Switzerland, you may ask? Well, not for Toblerone, mountains, cheese, clocks or Swiss bank accounts – but for art and black metal. From Hamburg, we’re going to fly to Zurich, then take the train to Gruyères to visit the HR Giger Museum. We have four nights all up and will divide our time between these two places, although exactly how we have not yet decided.

If possible, I’m also going to try and get my hands on a death mask made by Tom Gabriel Warrior, of Hellhammer, Celtic Frost and Triptykon fame. These masks are gorgeous works of slightly unsettling art and while I’m not sure I’d trust delivery to the regular postal system, in-person pick up is apparently sometimes possible. Fingers crossed.

The land of chocolate, cheese, and bank accounts is a post from: hell bent for metal