Met at Aarhus H to take the 1027am train down to Horsen for the Middelalder Festival today. Middelalderfest is an annual European medieval festival aimed at reflecting the market town of Horsens in the middle ages, more than 500 years back.
Asshole daidee the half an hour ride. After getting off at Horsens, we walked to the festival area held at the town centre. That was when the first drop of rain started pattering. Isn't the torrential kind of rain like those back in sg but we were soon going to get a taste of Horsen rain. It was only the first of a whole series of flash showers throughout the whole duration we were there. The winds were so strong my umbrella got destroyed. =/
Reached the festival area and was greeted by a whole wooden chippings strewn street and loads of people dressed in medieval garb. From those play acting in the scene of child slavery, to storeowners, to buskers, to people who were just there for the festivities. Priests and princeses, popes and peasants, performers and peddlers livened the atmosphere with sounds and smells from the 15 century. Little tentages were set up as stalls selling food (the closest the whole street went to selling solid food was only sausage/meat with bread plus mustard. -_-), trinklets, small instruments like okarinas and bells, furs, flowers, clothes, weapons and pouches etc. Anything one can link to the middle ages, it would be there. Other than the shops, there were stages constructed/large areas cleared at almost each intersection for performances by groups that sang, danced, acted or played medieval music. Also not forgetting the the stalls with interactive activities like tic tac toe, stilts, bowling and props that we could take pictures with like gruesome-looking wooden statues and beheading posts (where I almost suffocated myself cause I was too short to close the bar over my head.
Had sausage and bread for lunch before we tried out the stilts and posed with wooden horses. Visited Our Saviour's church, the oldest building in Horsens then went on to watch more parades and performances. Found wl's caramel apples and bought a whole bag of super addictive caramelised almonds. Watched a medieval blacksmith and a Russian wedding procession.
This was when the worst flash shower started. The chilly wind gusted so strongly that we had no choice but to hide next to a building for shelter. The rain just exacerbated the situation.
Had delicious waffles and found the arena for the jousting match that I had been looking forward to. Unfortunately, we needed tickets to watch the match and being budget, we decided to just watch from afar, ie only managing glimpses of the jousters' helmets and the ends of the lances cause the arena was fenced up. Saw majorly huge (probably taller-than-me) Irish wolfhounds, falcons, an eagle, teddybears in chainmail and a bagpipe performance.
Dinner was a shared meat pita and we sat around until it started to turn dark before we made our way to one the the cleared areas to watch the fire show. It was just fine. Kind of night safari like. -_- I only loved his green snakes (burning methanol soaked ropes). As the sun was setting, the stalls and tents had began to light up their candles and torches. Despite the lack of illuminance, the smokey and torch lit streets added realism to the whole festival.
Almost freaked out when we found out that we had insufficient coins for the whacko train billet (ticket) machine. Asshole daidee-ed on our trip back to Aarhus and snuck on bus 3 back to Snog.
One day to rest before school starts on monday.
Asshole daidee the half an hour ride. After getting off at Horsens, we walked to the festival area held at the town centre. That was when the first drop of rain started pattering. Isn't the torrential kind of rain like those back in sg but we were soon going to get a taste of Horsen rain. It was only the first of a whole series of flash showers throughout the whole duration we were there. The winds were so strong my umbrella got destroyed. =/
Reached the festival area and was greeted by a whole wooden chippings strewn street and loads of people dressed in medieval garb. From those play acting in the scene of child slavery, to storeowners, to buskers, to people who were just there for the festivities. Priests and princeses, popes and peasants, performers and peddlers livened the atmosphere with sounds and smells from the 15 century. Little tentages were set up as stalls selling food (the closest the whole street went to selling solid food was only sausage/meat with bread plus mustard. -_-), trinklets, small instruments like okarinas and bells, furs, flowers, clothes, weapons and pouches etc. Anything one can link to the middle ages, it would be there. Other than the shops, there were stages constructed/large areas cleared at almost each intersection for performances by groups that sang, danced, acted or played medieval music. Also not forgetting the the stalls with interactive activities like tic tac toe, stilts, bowling and props that we could take pictures with like gruesome-looking wooden statues and beheading posts (where I almost suffocated myself cause I was too short to close the bar over my head.
Had sausage and bread for lunch before we tried out the stilts and posed with wooden horses. Visited Our Saviour's church, the oldest building in Horsens then went on to watch more parades and performances. Found wl's caramel apples and bought a whole bag of super addictive caramelised almonds. Watched a medieval blacksmith and a Russian wedding procession.
This was when the worst flash shower started. The chilly wind gusted so strongly that we had no choice but to hide next to a building for shelter. The rain just exacerbated the situation.
Had delicious waffles and found the arena for the jousting match that I had been looking forward to. Unfortunately, we needed tickets to watch the match and being budget, we decided to just watch from afar, ie only managing glimpses of the jousters' helmets and the ends of the lances cause the arena was fenced up. Saw majorly huge (probably taller-than-me) Irish wolfhounds, falcons, an eagle, teddybears in chainmail and a bagpipe performance.
Dinner was a shared meat pita and we sat around until it started to turn dark before we made our way to one the the cleared areas to watch the fire show. It was just fine. Kind of night safari like. -_- I only loved his green snakes (burning methanol soaked ropes). As the sun was setting, the stalls and tents had began to light up their candles and torches. Despite the lack of illuminance, the smokey and torch lit streets added realism to the whole festival.
Almost freaked out when we found out that we had insufficient coins for the whacko train billet (ticket) machine. Asshole daidee-ed on our trip back to Aarhus and snuck on bus 3 back to Snog.
One day to rest before school starts on monday.
