Road trip & Crown
Apr. 9th, 2023 11:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kareinaHere is an English translation of Keldor's trip report on our adventures to, from, and at Drachenwald's Crown Tourney
We sat down and looked at the calendar; so many events that we wanted to attend: Spring Crown Tournament, Double Wars, Drachenwald 30-year Anniversary, Frostheim’s Medeltidsdagar.
But it would be long and quite expensive. Crown was first, it was also the one that would have been easiest to skip. A long trip, just for one weekend… I said it's a long trip.
If we were to fly, it could take 13 hours plus a rental car/or pickup. If we were to drive, it would take 24 hours without sleep, and a tire change. Trains would require a bank robbery, (and they don’t have any money anymore anyway) plus a fairly long journey time. Traveling by train is not cheap.
Then there is the fact that in two cases, plane and train, you need to calculate what to take with you.
So… we stayed home.
Actually, we packed the car, drove through the night down to my sister's in Vadstena, in southern Sweden, where we slept. We had intended to change the tires there (as one can’t drive with studded tires in Germany)... but snow put a stop to that.
It shouldn't snow in southern Sweden at the end of March, that's Northern Sweden's job.
They shouldn’t come and take our jobs... #violated
We then started the next stage of our journey, towards Denmark, where we stopped and changed tires, and then slept for a couple of hours. (Denmark is flat, so very flat.)
Our journey towards Crown continued, towards the German border and its armed guards, barbed wire, big dogs... not! The border crossing was hardly noticeable, which feels pretty darn good.
Once in Germany, we tested the German highways. Where cars go really fast, or they stand still. Kareina was our map reader, she was very clear: don’t take the wrong exit, we will never find our way back again. Therefore, we didn’t take the wrong exit; we simply didn’t have time to do so. Which was a bit of a shame, since the roadside signs advertised sightseeing: Castles, zoos, armor museum (I was so close to turning off there), and more.
When we were only 40 km from the site our GPS announced that it would take 65 minutes to drive. Forty km, on a motorway. Over an hour away... it was so right.
But we arrived, eventually.
Then, in order: Toilet, sign in, hug Maggie, find our crash space, (which was AWSOME by the way), carry our things in, change clothes, pour a beer, let the night happen.
We found a sofa with nice people, and stayed there until all the energy was gone. Then we slept for a wonderful nine hours.
The day of the tournament had arrived.
Breakfast, a solid one: coffee, and a hardboiled egg.
Gear up, fix a thrusting tip, and find someone to warm up with.
We were 14 participants, from former kings, future kings and queens, and some who mostly wanted to see how they do playing at this level.
The tournament started with a procession and presentation, usually a boast of some sort.
Kareina provided ours:
“I, Kareina Talventytär, Viscountess of Oertha by right of Inspiration, bring to the field of honour today my might and prowess:
I have been recognised by the Crown of the West with right to bear a wreath of laurel for my skill with needle and thread. I have been honoured by the Crown of Drachenwald with feathers of Panache for the love and enthusiasm with which I enhance the Kingdom with my contributions to the bardic arts, dance, and acrobatics.
With these great skills, and by entering the tournament today, I shall change the course of history, for, in every round of the day's the list I will change by plus or minus one the total count of victories for all of our dear friends who contest for the right win the Crown of Drachenwald for the one whose favour we bear.
I am inspired today by my love, Keldor of Skellitta, a smith of renown, who enhances the beauty and the sharpness of Kingdom with the blades he forges, and whose skill in the kitchen has nourished the Kingdom. His presence in Drachenwald strengthens the Kingdom, not only through his own skills at arms, which are formidable indeed, but also because he has helped to grow the Kingdom's armies by crafting armour for so many people. He has been teaching fighters in the North for so many years that more than one of Drachenwald's Kings has gained their skill, in part, from the wisdom Keldor has shared.
Therefore, with your Majesties permission, we would like to fight for one another in your tournament.”
We were granted permission.
(You can read the boasts on the Drachenwald’s FB page, under the boast thread, they are well worth reading.)
The tournament began, I was in the first bout, and won. (You can watch the entire tournament on Krake's Youtube channel). The tournament continued with a win here a loss there, and so on.
It was a fun tournament, clean and nicely calibrated. Well done.
I got a rose for being an inspiration, (I'm quite proud of it)
We saw early on that the true contest would be between four or five fighters. Indeed, before the semi-finals, Jon fitz Jon and Ælric of Battle needed to fight a tie-breaking round for the right to continue.
They had a long fight... very long. It was quite clear that they have trained against one another, so that the fight needed to be decided mostly with a bit of luck. They fought the best of three, and Ælric ended up taking it.
That was when I discovered that something funny must have happened when they tallied the wins and losses—I wasn't in the next round... very strange... But it gave me the opportunity to watch the last round without interruptions.
When the semi-finals started, it was quite clear that it would come down to Duke Sven and Duke William. Sure enough, they went to finals. Sven, with his fluid circular movements, and William, one of the most technical fighters I know. Both are very fun to watch fight, so together they made it a truly great final to watch.
As you know by now, Sven bara Sven emerged victorious from the final battle, whereupon he cast down his helmet, sword, and broken spear, and kissed his inspiration, Siobhan, who had tears in her eyes with pride at their achievement. Thus are the thrones of Drachenwald safe once more, and shall remain in the Insipient Shire of Löghammar's custody.
With these things out of the way, the opportunity to meet some very competent fighters begins. So, I stayed and did a bunch of pickups. It was just as much fun as it gets. On the way out, I got to see how Nene got her first lesson in how to swing a sword. Later, Nene received a piece of rattan from Adam, it was clearly an appreciated gift. (Nene, and her boyfriend are a fairly new couple, who found their way here to the Society. I am looking forward to seeing them again.)
A lot of other things happened as well: Archery. I don't have a clue how it went, but they must have had hysterical fun. My assumption for that is based entirely on the fact that archery is hysterical fun. They also threw axes, the same thing that applies to archery also applies there. They fought with steel weapons. You know, just a good fun day.
There was also a silent auction, at which I won a kinky bear.
Then there was court, with a lot of things. People who had not been to a Drachenwald’s court were called forward, and given gifts. Heirs to the throne were crowned as such. And lots of people who really deserve attention got it.
Then followed the feast. Estrid, Baroness Nordmark, oversaw the serving, and where would we be if not among the serving staff? We servers got nice flower wreaths, Kareina and I got to serve high table.
A simple task, which I think we managed.
Estrid had made sure that all the servers could sit together at our own table, it was a really good move. I will be stealing this idea for the next feast we have.
Erich Hane was in charge of the kitchen, so the food was brilliant.
During the day, a sword had passed around the room. Jon had seen it, and everyone told him how good it was. It had come there from the States, with Mícheál. Jon offered to help Mícheál make a good sheath for it. The Crowns got to see the beautiful sword, and everyone praised Mícheál’s luck in obtaining it. Everyone asked Jon if he had seen the sword... Eventually, Ellisif revealed that she had bought the sword for Jon, and that it was his sword. Jon tried to hold back the tears, but couldn't.
Later we could see Jon washing dishes, with the sword at his side. Everything he did that evening was done holding the sword, late at night Jon fell asleep with his new sword, hugging it.
But back to the feast...
We took the final course (dessert) to the other building, and the party followed (including Jon and his sword), where it continued with games and gambling. King Krake expanded his treasury. (He taught people how to roll dice.)
Hane and I made a valiant attempt to drink all the beer on the site... we didn't succeed. But we closed the party. Can I hear the cheer??? Nordmark! Nordmark! Nordmark!
After three hours of sleep, it was time to pack up and clean our area. Then we walked around, took a photo or two. Hugged people, promised to see each other again. (It's quite a nice feeling when you can just say, “see you at Double Wars”.) And made plans to meet some folk a couple of days later.
We helped with some small jobs, and then we hugged a few more people.
Then it was time to leave the site and go over to Jon and Ellisif’s. After a short trip on the highway, 45 min or so, we arrived at their fantastic house. It has a tunnel to a bunker... just what every house should have. We got our own room on the ground floor, then we had a great couple of days.
First after the event it was just resting, reading, resting, talking a little, drinking tea. Just be. No need to entertain or be entertained. We felt like part of the family.
Day two after the event: time for training and excursions.
We went to three castles. First was Frankenstein Castle, the name is enough. A defensive tower from the 12th century. The next two castles/burgs are both associated with Frederick Barbarossa, Holy Roman Emperor, who had experience during the Second Crusade, and died during the Third. According to the story, he was placed in a wine barrel with red wine for the journey home.
Later that afternoon we had a fighter practice at Duke Edric's house. Kareina asked me how many are coming? My answer: me, Jon and Edric, then possibly you, if you intend to fight.
It turned out to be 10.5 of us! Ten in armor and one more, who was training on the pell. We fought until it was too dark to see any longer, and then continued the evening in conversation.
Day three after the event.
Time to head north again. We hugged Ellisif (Libby) and Elisabeth, who was also going home that day. Libby drove her to the train, and we waited a bit, until Jon came home for lunch, hugged him, and then we were on our way.
We peeked into zoom to hang out a bit with Maggie and co. Well, I hung out, but I looked only at the road, not at the meeting. (It seemed like a good plan to avoid the ditch.)(I like a good plan.)(It doesn't have to be well thought out though, as long as it's fun.)
Wonderful weather and views, southern Germany is insanely beautiful and has castles everywhere. It was a long day of views, thinking, reading aloud, and talking.
Late in the evening we arrive in Denmark. There we sleep for four hours.
We woke up in the middle of the night, like at three... took a short walk in the night, found a slalom slope... in Denmark... and a climbing forest. So, at 3-something in the morning Kareina climbs around among the oaks (I think she has some relationship with squirrels, or dryads) on the rope bridges between the trees. I contented myself with lighting the paths between the trees. There we stayed until the light warned that its battery was about to run out. Then we walked back in the moonlight, with more energy than we had when we went out.
The journey continues, into Attemark, where we are met by snow. We took the opportunity to look at a bunch of rune stones on the way up to Vadstena, where we stopped and changed back to winter tires and slept for the night.
The last day.
Castle, drive, castle, ice cream, drive, view, drive, flea market, drive, hang out with brother, drive, look at mountains, drive, lose the low beam headlights, drive, drop things off, drive, home. Hug cats, sleep. The journey went roughly like that.
We drove 2,500 km south to have the pleasure of serving a high table. Was it worth it? The answer is: yes! So, if you have the opportunity to make a similar trip, do it. If not, I hope this little insight into such a journey may be of some enjoyment.
By the pen of the humblest of all, your storyteller, Keldor, translated with the help of Kareina
We sat down and looked at the calendar; so many events that we wanted to attend: Spring Crown Tournament, Double Wars, Drachenwald 30-year Anniversary, Frostheim’s Medeltidsdagar.
But it would be long and quite expensive. Crown was first, it was also the one that would have been easiest to skip. A long trip, just for one weekend… I said it's a long trip.
If we were to fly, it could take 13 hours plus a rental car/or pickup. If we were to drive, it would take 24 hours without sleep, and a tire change. Trains would require a bank robbery, (and they don’t have any money anymore anyway) plus a fairly long journey time. Traveling by train is not cheap.
Then there is the fact that in two cases, plane and train, you need to calculate what to take with you.
So… we stayed home.
Actually, we packed the car, drove through the night down to my sister's in Vadstena, in southern Sweden, where we slept. We had intended to change the tires there (as one can’t drive with studded tires in Germany)... but snow put a stop to that.
It shouldn't snow in southern Sweden at the end of March, that's Northern Sweden's job.
They shouldn’t come and take our jobs... #violated
We then started the next stage of our journey, towards Denmark, where we stopped and changed tires, and then slept for a couple of hours. (Denmark is flat, so very flat.)
Our journey towards Crown continued, towards the German border and its armed guards, barbed wire, big dogs... not! The border crossing was hardly noticeable, which feels pretty darn good.
Once in Germany, we tested the German highways. Where cars go really fast, or they stand still. Kareina was our map reader, she was very clear: don’t take the wrong exit, we will never find our way back again. Therefore, we didn’t take the wrong exit; we simply didn’t have time to do so. Which was a bit of a shame, since the roadside signs advertised sightseeing: Castles, zoos, armor museum (I was so close to turning off there), and more.
When we were only 40 km from the site our GPS announced that it would take 65 minutes to drive. Forty km, on a motorway. Over an hour away... it was so right.
But we arrived, eventually.
Then, in order: Toilet, sign in, hug Maggie, find our crash space, (which was AWSOME by the way), carry our things in, change clothes, pour a beer, let the night happen.
We found a sofa with nice people, and stayed there until all the energy was gone. Then we slept for a wonderful nine hours.
The day of the tournament had arrived.
Breakfast, a solid one: coffee, and a hardboiled egg.
Gear up, fix a thrusting tip, and find someone to warm up with.
We were 14 participants, from former kings, future kings and queens, and some who mostly wanted to see how they do playing at this level.
The tournament started with a procession and presentation, usually a boast of some sort.
Kareina provided ours:
“I, Kareina Talventytär, Viscountess of Oertha by right of Inspiration, bring to the field of honour today my might and prowess:
I have been recognised by the Crown of the West with right to bear a wreath of laurel for my skill with needle and thread. I have been honoured by the Crown of Drachenwald with feathers of Panache for the love and enthusiasm with which I enhance the Kingdom with my contributions to the bardic arts, dance, and acrobatics.
With these great skills, and by entering the tournament today, I shall change the course of history, for, in every round of the day's the list I will change by plus or minus one the total count of victories for all of our dear friends who contest for the right win the Crown of Drachenwald for the one whose favour we bear.
I am inspired today by my love, Keldor of Skellitta, a smith of renown, who enhances the beauty and the sharpness of Kingdom with the blades he forges, and whose skill in the kitchen has nourished the Kingdom. His presence in Drachenwald strengthens the Kingdom, not only through his own skills at arms, which are formidable indeed, but also because he has helped to grow the Kingdom's armies by crafting armour for so many people. He has been teaching fighters in the North for so many years that more than one of Drachenwald's Kings has gained their skill, in part, from the wisdom Keldor has shared.
Therefore, with your Majesties permission, we would like to fight for one another in your tournament.”
We were granted permission.
(You can read the boasts on the Drachenwald’s FB page, under the boast thread, they are well worth reading.)
The tournament began, I was in the first bout, and won. (You can watch the entire tournament on Krake's Youtube channel). The tournament continued with a win here a loss there, and so on.
It was a fun tournament, clean and nicely calibrated. Well done.
I got a rose for being an inspiration, (I'm quite proud of it)
We saw early on that the true contest would be between four or five fighters. Indeed, before the semi-finals, Jon fitz Jon and Ælric of Battle needed to fight a tie-breaking round for the right to continue.
They had a long fight... very long. It was quite clear that they have trained against one another, so that the fight needed to be decided mostly with a bit of luck. They fought the best of three, and Ælric ended up taking it.
That was when I discovered that something funny must have happened when they tallied the wins and losses—I wasn't in the next round... very strange... But it gave me the opportunity to watch the last round without interruptions.
When the semi-finals started, it was quite clear that it would come down to Duke Sven and Duke William. Sure enough, they went to finals. Sven, with his fluid circular movements, and William, one of the most technical fighters I know. Both are very fun to watch fight, so together they made it a truly great final to watch.
As you know by now, Sven bara Sven emerged victorious from the final battle, whereupon he cast down his helmet, sword, and broken spear, and kissed his inspiration, Siobhan, who had tears in her eyes with pride at their achievement. Thus are the thrones of Drachenwald safe once more, and shall remain in the Insipient Shire of Löghammar's custody.
With these things out of the way, the opportunity to meet some very competent fighters begins. So, I stayed and did a bunch of pickups. It was just as much fun as it gets. On the way out, I got to see how Nene got her first lesson in how to swing a sword. Later, Nene received a piece of rattan from Adam, it was clearly an appreciated gift. (Nene, and her boyfriend are a fairly new couple, who found their way here to the Society. I am looking forward to seeing them again.)
A lot of other things happened as well: Archery. I don't have a clue how it went, but they must have had hysterical fun. My assumption for that is based entirely on the fact that archery is hysterical fun. They also threw axes, the same thing that applies to archery also applies there. They fought with steel weapons. You know, just a good fun day.
There was also a silent auction, at which I won a kinky bear.
Then there was court, with a lot of things. People who had not been to a Drachenwald’s court were called forward, and given gifts. Heirs to the throne were crowned as such. And lots of people who really deserve attention got it.
Then followed the feast. Estrid, Baroness Nordmark, oversaw the serving, and where would we be if not among the serving staff? We servers got nice flower wreaths, Kareina and I got to serve high table.
A simple task, which I think we managed.
Estrid had made sure that all the servers could sit together at our own table, it was a really good move. I will be stealing this idea for the next feast we have.
Erich Hane was in charge of the kitchen, so the food was brilliant.
During the day, a sword had passed around the room. Jon had seen it, and everyone told him how good it was. It had come there from the States, with Mícheál. Jon offered to help Mícheál make a good sheath for it. The Crowns got to see the beautiful sword, and everyone praised Mícheál’s luck in obtaining it. Everyone asked Jon if he had seen the sword... Eventually, Ellisif revealed that she had bought the sword for Jon, and that it was his sword. Jon tried to hold back the tears, but couldn't.
Later we could see Jon washing dishes, with the sword at his side. Everything he did that evening was done holding the sword, late at night Jon fell asleep with his new sword, hugging it.
But back to the feast...
We took the final course (dessert) to the other building, and the party followed (including Jon and his sword), where it continued with games and gambling. King Krake expanded his treasury. (He taught people how to roll dice.)
Hane and I made a valiant attempt to drink all the beer on the site... we didn't succeed. But we closed the party. Can I hear the cheer??? Nordmark! Nordmark! Nordmark!
After three hours of sleep, it was time to pack up and clean our area. Then we walked around, took a photo or two. Hugged people, promised to see each other again. (It's quite a nice feeling when you can just say, “see you at Double Wars”.) And made plans to meet some folk a couple of days later.
We helped with some small jobs, and then we hugged a few more people.
Then it was time to leave the site and go over to Jon and Ellisif’s. After a short trip on the highway, 45 min or so, we arrived at their fantastic house. It has a tunnel to a bunker... just what every house should have. We got our own room on the ground floor, then we had a great couple of days.
First after the event it was just resting, reading, resting, talking a little, drinking tea. Just be. No need to entertain or be entertained. We felt like part of the family.
Day two after the event: time for training and excursions.
We went to three castles. First was Frankenstein Castle, the name is enough. A defensive tower from the 12th century. The next two castles/burgs are both associated with Frederick Barbarossa, Holy Roman Emperor, who had experience during the Second Crusade, and died during the Third. According to the story, he was placed in a wine barrel with red wine for the journey home.
Later that afternoon we had a fighter practice at Duke Edric's house. Kareina asked me how many are coming? My answer: me, Jon and Edric, then possibly you, if you intend to fight.
It turned out to be 10.5 of us! Ten in armor and one more, who was training on the pell. We fought until it was too dark to see any longer, and then continued the evening in conversation.
Day three after the event.
Time to head north again. We hugged Ellisif (Libby) and Elisabeth, who was also going home that day. Libby drove her to the train, and we waited a bit, until Jon came home for lunch, hugged him, and then we were on our way.
We peeked into zoom to hang out a bit with Maggie and co. Well, I hung out, but I looked only at the road, not at the meeting. (It seemed like a good plan to avoid the ditch.)(I like a good plan.)(It doesn't have to be well thought out though, as long as it's fun.)
Wonderful weather and views, southern Germany is insanely beautiful and has castles everywhere. It was a long day of views, thinking, reading aloud, and talking.
Late in the evening we arrive in Denmark. There we sleep for four hours.
We woke up in the middle of the night, like at three... took a short walk in the night, found a slalom slope... in Denmark... and a climbing forest. So, at 3-something in the morning Kareina climbs around among the oaks (I think she has some relationship with squirrels, or dryads) on the rope bridges between the trees. I contented myself with lighting the paths between the trees. There we stayed until the light warned that its battery was about to run out. Then we walked back in the moonlight, with more energy than we had when we went out.
The journey continues, into Attemark, where we are met by snow. We took the opportunity to look at a bunch of rune stones on the way up to Vadstena, where we stopped and changed back to winter tires and slept for the night.
The last day.
Castle, drive, castle, ice cream, drive, view, drive, flea market, drive, hang out with brother, drive, look at mountains, drive, lose the low beam headlights, drive, drop things off, drive, home. Hug cats, sleep. The journey went roughly like that.
We drove 2,500 km south to have the pleasure of serving a high table. Was it worth it? The answer is: yes! So, if you have the opportunity to make a similar trip, do it. If not, I hope this little insight into such a journey may be of some enjoyment.
By the pen of the humblest of all, your storyteller, Keldor, translated with the help of Kareina
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Date: 2023-04-10 09:36 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2023-04-10 03:18 pm (UTC)