What’s the fastest, most convenient way to get from Rhode Island to the loudest place on Earth?

Condor Airlines.

Faster. Harder. Louder. That’s the motto of Wacken Open Air, a large-scale heavy metal music festival that takes place every summer in northern Germany. But flying to Germany isn’t cheap. I had planned to attend the festival last year, but for a number of reasons it didn’t work out, part of which was the cost of airfare.

However, thanks to the introduction of Condor Airlines to T.F. Green Airport, which offers direct flights to Frankfurt, Germany, a cheap and convenient means of getting to Europe is now available in Warwick’s backyard.

Condor began operation at Green in June. Currently the airline only operates on Mondays and Thursdays and the flights will only be available until Sept. 3, as Green’s direct connection to Europe is only a seasonal opportunity for now.

Wacken is known as the biggest heavy metal festival in the world and attracts fans and bands from all over the globe. It has become so well known, that each year now the festival sells out all 75,000 tickets a year in advance of the next edition.

Open air refers to the festival being held outside where attendees set up tents and camp. There are countless open air festivals throughout Europe, but what makes Wacken special and unique is that it’s a small farming village of approximately 1,800 people that come together every year to host the event. The entire festival site and campgrounds are set up on big open fields, which are used for farming when it’s not festival season.

Residents of Wacken welcome attendees each year, either treating them to breakfast at their homes or selling them goods, such as homemade jams. Wacken may be known as the biggest heavy metal festival in the world, and though heavy metal often carries with it a negative stereotype in terms of the people that listen to the music, everyone comes together at Wacken, fans and residents alike, each year to celebrate heavy metal in a fun and peaceful manner. Wacken has been going strong for 26 years now, and it shows no signs of slowing down.

My ultimate destination was Hamburg, as the festival is located about 50 miles north of the city, so I would be getting a connecting flight in Frankfurt.

According to my itinerary, I would fly from Providence to Frankfurt (about a seven-hour flight), and then take a one-hour flight from Frankfurt to Hamburg. However, I noticed that on the return, going from Hamburg to Frankfurt would take four hours instead of one. I didn’t yet know what this meant, but I had a feeling something was off. After completing my booking and receiving confirmation emails, I was informed the ticket for my return journey from Hamburg to Frankfurt was a Rail/Fly ticket and that I would receive a separate email with a pick-up number for that ticket.

With Green being so close, I was thankful for the opportunity to fly directly from the local airport, which is a lot more convenient than having to drive an hour up to Boston to use Logan International Airport. When I’ve made the trip in the past, I’ve flown out of Logan and connected in Newark, N.J., before going on to Hamburg. It’s so much nicer being able to use Green, especially when you’ve returned from a long day of flying and knowing home is only 20 minutes away, as opposed to having to navigate an hour-plus of Boston traffic. I was also able to take advantage of a ride to the airport, so I didn’t need to leave my car.

Condor allows free checked baggage as long as it weighs less than 50 pounds and is not taller than 5 feet and offers three options for flying: Business Class, Premium Class, and Economy Class. I opted for the Economy Class (the cheapest) and I didn’t really have any complaints. I could have used a bit more legroom (I’m 6’1”), which is provided in Premium Class, but otherwise Economy worked out just fine for me.

As far as in-flight entertainment options, the free ones are limited. For movies and TV, there are two movies and two TV episodes to choose from. Usually, one of each is geared more toward children, such as “Madagascar 3” and a couple of Disney TV show episodes. If you want more options, they are available but at an extra cost. However, there is also a free audio option with a range of music genres and CDs to choose from to listen to during the flight. Other options include shopping, Condor TV to learn about the airline, and even a map option to see your flight path and know how fast you’re traveling, estimated time of arrival and your altitude. The TV set display, which uses a touch screen, is located in the back of the seat in front of you, so there is nothing you need to adjust. If you plan to take advantage of the in-flight entertainment options, bring your own set of headphones. On both flights, none were provided. You may be able to request some from flight attendants, but I don’t know for sure if they have them available. Be on the safe side and bring your own.

When it comes to airline food, let’s face it…its not exactly five-star dining. Having said that, the food was actually quite good. From what I can remember, pasta dishes were served for the meals, and snacks included everything from fresh soft-baked pretzels to pastries, which were very good. There was plenty of drink service and extra snacks, such as chips and candy bars, were available at an extra charge. Each seat also comes with a pillow and blanket. On my return flight, this also included a bottle of water.

I made it to Frankfurt without any problems, but the return trip is where the real adventure would begin. As it turned out, the Rail/Fly ticket did indeed mean a train.

My train experience was not as smooth as my plane experience with Condor. Once I learned I was taking a train from Hamburg, I had to get to the Hamburg Central Station, or Hauptbahnhof, from the Hamburg Airport. This is very easy to do via the S-bahn train (like a subway), which is about a 25-minute ride from the airport to the train station. Once at the central station, however, I did not see the train I was supposed to take. Thankfully, there is an information window and the girl behind the counter pointed me in the right direction. Although my itinerary had me getting on a train at 6 a.m. that was supposed to arrive at the Frankfurt Airport at 10 a.m. (my flight was departing at 1:40 p.m.), the train I was told to take was actually leaving at 5:15 a.m. and would arrive at the airport by 9:15 a.m., which meant I would be a bit early; no harm, no foul.

So the train pulled up on time and I boarded. The train made a few scheduled stops as we made our way toward Frankfurt, but by 9:15 a.m. there was no airport in sight and we hadn’t made any stops for a while. As it got closer to 10, with still no more stops or airport, I found a conductor and asked if the train was going to Frankfurt Airport and was told that it was but it was at least 40 minutes behind schedule. Having been relieved I was on the right train, I returned to my seat and eventually made it to the Frankfurt Airport a little after 10 a.m., an hour later than scheduled. Account for train delays when booking your trip, as they are fairly standard operating procedure.

Once I got off the train, the Condor check-in counter was located conveniently near the train drop-off, so it was easy to check in and be on my way to the terminal for my return flight home.

While on the flight home, flight attendants passed out Customs Declaration cards to be filled out and ready to go when you land and head through Customs before picking up your luggage. That process took about 30 to 40 minutes to complete because the flight I was on was fairly packed. I was actually surprised at how many people were flying from Frankfurt to Providence. And when I left Providence initially, I asked one of the attendants checking me in if many people were using the service now that it was available and he said traffic had been steady.

Overall, I was pleased with the service and accommodations. My only critique would be to make it clearer to travelers that they are purchasing a Rail/Fly ticket and explain exactly what is involved with that. Condor is a great way to get to Europe from the comfort of T.F. Green and it helps that it comes at a savings, too.