[Jazhara7]

So finally, I went to the medieval fair, and as promised, I took photos. Sadly I couldn't take as many photos as I wanted to, since the batteries of my camera for some reason emptied themselves over night (I swear they were full only the day before. And I didn't use it in the meantime).

So here are the photos of the medieval fair.

This year the fair was huge. I think it was because it was the anniversary of the town.

Here's a picture across the castle lake to the area beside the castle that they included this year to accomodate the extra stands (It's a parking lot, so that might have not been very clever. Usually people park there to go to the fair. Well, duh.)



Here's a little boat that was secured at the shore.




There was a miniature Ferris Wheel for the kids. My mother and I had to look twice before figuring out what it actually was.



Here's the guard moving through the castle moat.





As you see, the concept of the "Invisible Dog" is not new. A second before that the dog was chasing the woman to the left of it across the fair. Also, I didn't notice him at the time, but I really like how that monk in the background looks. Very sinister and...monkly.




Here's a little procession that moved from the area of the stage across the bridge (going across the moat) to the rest of the fair.





This guy was not part of the procession, as far as I could tell, but I still liked the look of him.


There were show fights in the [s]parking lot[/i] extra area





Some random stalls and people.






A juggler with flaming baton. Maybe you recognise him and his partner from the pictures of the procession. The baton wasn't flaming at the time, of course, but he was twirling it around and throwing it into the air and catching it again while walking. He did the same when it was alight, but he did not walk around with it while it was on fire, of course.





The stage, my favourite carousel of all times and some scenery.








And the stall of my mother's friend (as well as my mother's friend).






And here's me wearing my costume. Also, take note of my preciousss...
I finally got my hungarian bow! And a quiver too! Oh, and you might notice the little round amulet thingy around my neck. That's actually a little bottle. I plan on filling it with holy water, so that I am always prepared against vampires and other undead. Now I only have to find a way to get my hands on some holy water...

My mother and I made the costume ourselves. Everything but the belt are made by us. I even made the shoes!







It was a lot of fun. Please tell me what you think.

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[lumi]

I'm jealous of European countries having real medieval castles.

How was the food?

[Lucien21]

Very Nice.

Looks like you and the merry men had a great time.

Great costume.

[RLacey]

Impressive.

I didn't know that they had merry-go-rounds with plastic horses in medieval times .

And, since you've invited the question... where did the belt come from?

[Lee in Limbo]

Originally Posted by Jazhara7

Please tell me what you think.

I think that looks like a lot of fun. I also think that your outfit was quite flattering. Very nice.

[Hammerite]

Looks fun.
Sweet costume!

[Jatsie]

You look cool in your costume.

[Lucien21]

Originally Posted by RLacey

Impressive.

I didn't know that they had merry-go-rounds with plastic horses in medieval times .

And, since you've invited the question... where did the belt come from?

You really want to be sarcastic to a looney now equipted with a Bow.

[Jazhara7]

Hehe. You won't get our castle.

But sersiously, many towns around here have a castle. There's the Burg Hayn which you see in the pictures, there's two in Offenbach (Isenburger Schloss and Rumpenheimer Schloss), there's one in Frankfurt (Schloss Höchst, where our graduation party was). There's also one in my town, though it's not accessible except for two days in the year. It's because it used to because it's of the local royality (or nobility? I'm not sure. I only know that the last of the Grand Dukes was the grandchild of queen Victoria, and one of his sisters was Alexandra Fjodorowna. Most of the local family died during a plane crash, I think on their way to visit the British relatives.). Since most of the family is dead, there's only one left, and he only opens up the castle two days a year when the Oleanders bloom.

And yes, the food was nice. We ate Tarte flambée made with Matza. And a glass of really delicious apple juice.


I just remembered that sadly the stall with the musical instruments wasn't there this time, so I couldn't buy a bone whistle.
I hope it's there next year.

Thanks for the compliments, everyone!

Originally Posted by RLacey

Impressive.

I didn't know that they had merry-go-rounds with plastic horses in medieval times .

And, since you've invited the question... where did the belt come from?

Hey! Those horses are not plastic! They're wood! The Hayner Reitschul is a historic merry-go-round!

I have more pictures of it:












































It's no ordinary carousel. It's old, and beautiful. It has a long story. At one point it had been sold to some guy in America, but the group of admirers of the carousel finally bought it back and brought it back home. The horses are all made of wood, and each one has a different name. On the upper floor there's two round overhanging cabins, in which you can sit, and which are turned round and round (one of the employees of the carousel will stand there turning it. It's not automatic). Then there's the two ship swings which you can make go up and down. Also, they have a beautiful mechanical organ that usually plays while the carousel is going (though not when it is too warm, because then it goes terribly off-tune. Also, they didn't play it during the fair, probably because it did not entirely fit into the theme.) The wall hangings are all either painted cloth, but mostly painted leather. The same goes for the ceiling hangings.

Oh, and my mother buys an awful lot of stuff through ebay. Even a bunch of pretty unusual belts.


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[Giligan]

Hehe. Now I know the face of the enemy!

But seriously, looks nice. Even though I'm not much of a medieval person.

[Jelena]

Great pictures Jaz! I LOVE medieval fairs.
You costume looks very good on you. And I'm surprised that your homemade shoes weren't ninja style!

[Melanie68]

It looks great! I've only been to a fair like that once way long ago. Nice costume too.

At this risk of sounding like a curmudgeon and inviting anyone's wrath, is there any way, Jaz, when you have many pictures to share (it doens't matter with a few), to host them on a photo album site and linking to it? I like to read these threads but when I'm at home on dial up, it's a chore with a lot of pics to load the page (right now I'm at my desk with a fast connection). And before anybody tells me to just get broadband, right now it's not an option for me. I don't know how much longer I'll be living where I'm at and most of these packages are for a year or more so I'm stuck with dial up. I'll stop being old and crotchety now.

[Stoofa]

Those are fab pictures Jaz! Thanks for sharing with us.

[RLacey]

Originally Posted by Jazhara7

Hey! Those horses are not plastic! They're wood! The Hayner Reitschul is a historic merry-go-round!

Okay, I take it back. It's historic. But it's not medieval, so its presence puzzles me .

And, to echo everyone else: nice costume! Because it is.

[Jazhara7]

I was told by my mother's friend that she did not recognise me in my costume, Giligan, so I wouldn't get my hopes up too much.


I'll see what I can do, Mel.

Originally Posted by RLacey

Okay, I take it back. It's historic. But it's not medieval, so its presence puzzles me .

And, to echo everyone else: nice costume! Because it is.

Well, since it's in its home town, it has a special right to be there. Didn't you notice the pattern? Hayner Burgfest, Burg Hayn, Hayner Reitschul'. Also, it was at the edge of the fair, not actually in the middle of it. It's just beautiful to look at, even if it's not authentic.


And thank you.



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[Melanie68]

Thanks Jaz.

[Aj_]

Wow that looks like a very well crafted bow, my father made a crossbow for my brother (one of his hobbies is woodworking), and my brother used to go to medieval fairs I think they were called "gatherings" (he likes dressing up in general). It looks like fun, I like craft, and things that are crafted using medieval techniques.

Originally Posted by Spider Crusoe

I'm jealous of European countries having real medieval castles.

There's a castle in the middle of the city I live, it's named after it, it's not that impressive, but there's plenty of castles in Wales to choose from, it's the most densely populated place with castles I know.

[Melanie68]

Jaz, sorry I was bitchy about the picture thing.

They have broadband specials but I am too overwhelmed with teaching and lab work right now to think about looking into all the specifics and finding out if there is a contract to go with it and how yucky the charges would be.



Even though the dial up is slow, it's free and the frugal person in me balks at spending the money right now.

[Jazhara7]

Originally Posted by Aj_

Wow that looks like a very well crafted bow, my father made a crossbow for my brother (one of his hobbies is woodworking), and my brother used to go to medieval fairs I think they were called "gatherings" (he likes dressing up in general). It looks like fun, I like craft, and things that are crafted using medieval techniques.

I'll let you in on a secret. While the bow looks like a traditional wooden bow, it is actually made of fibreglass. The tips are still wooden, but parts of the body wood (and horn, as far as I know. They are compound bows, made from different materials glued together) have been replaced by modern materials in modern times. That's possible with this type of bow, because traditionally they are covered with leather or bark, as you can see. That way you can reduce the maintenance requirements of the bow while still keeping them looking authentic.

Originally Posted by Melanie68

Jaz, sorry I was bitchy about the picture thing.

They have broadband specials but I am too overwhelmed with teaching and lab work right now to think about looking into all the specifics and finding out if there is a contract to go with it and how yucky the charges would be.



Even though the dial up is slow, it's free and the frugal person in me balks at spending the money right now.

Aw, don't worry. I didn't perceive it as bitchy. I understand what you mean. Back at the beginning, we had to dial up to the Internet too. I don't know how fast it was, really, but it was annoying because at times it would simply kick me out of the connection. These days we have ADSL.


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[I Love Cookiemonster]

Looks cool