Medieval Europe

MEDIEVAL CASTLES:

this weekend i have been able to tour a couple of medieval castles and villages that are not too far from Frankfurt.

Having spent so much time in the UK and Ireland, I always welcome anything relating to medieval times. i really enjoy seeing castles and learning history. It makes sense and i have known that Germany has a rich medieval history...(in fact when you do research about the Celtic peoples who inhabited the British isles and Ireland, you find out that many of the original tribes came from the Germanic peoples). Anyways, im pretty excited to get to see castles here in Germany.

Saturday we traveled to the southwest to see a village that has been rebuilt (the buildings are authentic from the 1400s) and people live there making handmade things to sell...for example: I bought a handmade wooden paint brush at a brush shop. We took a horse and carriage ride around the site (which is quite large) and we saw old wooden windmills too. For lunch we ate steamed potatoes and i got to try apple wine (which is quite popular in this region of Germany) it tasted a lot like hard cider.

Then we traveled to an ancient Roman castle built by Hadrian (yes, THE Hadrian who also built Hadrians wall in England). And we got to see many Roman artifacts in a museum at the castle.

Sunday (today) we didnt go apple picking as originally planned, instead we slept in and enjoyed a late breakfast of smoked salmon & meats, cheeses, breads, and spreads. Then we traveled northeast of Frankfurt to a medieval castle (seen in the photo). It is the site of a very large medieval fair. People were dressed up in costumes, there were many booths where people sold their handmade things, they had performers and musicians and knights.

As you know my love for Scotland, I was excited to see that there were a couple of Scottish booths that sold whiskey and shortbread and I saw several men in kilts and even got to hear some bagpipes play. Im told people travel from all over Europe to come to these various medieval fairs held allover. Speaking of bagpipes...even in Paris I heard them! There was a guy playing the pipes on a bridge as we crossed the Seine River coming back from the Louvre. I am reminded even in Paris & Germany of my linking to that bonnie isle.

Oh, while at the castle today, i enjoyed drinking Mead (a hot wine made from honey) served in handmade pottery mugs. And to my surprise...the purchase price of the mug was included in what i paid for the drink...so i have a really cool souvenir now!

Overall, this weekend has been a great time of catching up on old friendships, tasting new foods, trying to speak a new language, and seeing old historical sites.