Day 86 - Back in the Day...

We spent all day today at the Medieval Festival. Our friend had a meeting with at 9, so he took us into town at 8:30 to show us around and help us to get our bearings before the crowds arrived. Eggenburg is a small town, and as such, everyone knows everyone else. Our path through town was punctuated with greeting and pleasantries, many centered around how a couple of kids from NY had managed to find their way to the Eggenburg Fair. It was all very pleasant, and we felt well-prepared for the day at hand.

We needed the prep. In the states, Renn Faires are little afairs that may occupy a field or two. Eggenburg is a real, walled Medieval village. For the second weekend in Septemeber, it remembers this fact, and the whole entire town is decked out with stalls, eateries, and stages.

The day opened with a parade of all sorts of characters through the main street. It was full of music and noise, and featured everything from a fire eater to stiltwalkers, to knights on horseback. Some performers were professionals, but a good number were locals decked out in homemade regalia. The whole affair was wonderfully festive and promised a great time.

After the parade, we had a bit of time before we were to meet out friend for lunch. We wandered from stall to stall admiring wares. Near the church, a group of musicians played wild songs on bagpipes and drums while the fire eater showed his skill. Every second stall seemed to be selling good things to eat. We bided our time though.

This fair attracts both audience and participants form all over Europe. One regular is a father-son team from Bosnia who roast entire sheep over an open fire. Not for the squeamish vegetarian types, but a delicious propostition for even temporary carnivores. At the appointed time, we met with our friend at the mutton stall and revieved our heaping plates. Because our friend is a regular, we got extra choice cuts, and reduced price sturm. Sturm is a mildly alcoholic seasonal drink in this region. It is essentially pre-wine. The fruit has begun to ferment, but not quite turned. It is lightly sweet, slightly fizzy very nice.

After stuffing ourselves, we were off to see more of the fair. There were a trial and theatre show, a children's marionette show (with their mother on the side), yet more eating, and even a joust. We climbed the city walls for a view of town, and returned to that perch for the joust. Funny enough, the knights of the jouist were the same knights we had seen perform in Kutna Hora back in june! The routine was similar, but we had a great time watching nonetheless.

After the fair, we returned to our friend´s apartment. This evening´s slideshow was of the Camino. It was great seeing the famliar places and reminiscing with someone who had done the road multiple times. IN adddtion to the Spanish leg, our friend had also done the French section a few times, and has only aded fuel to the fire to return.