Summer 11 - Medieval Week Mingle

[norrhamn_residents]

Okay, so maybe Norrhamn isn't as big of a tourist attraction as Gotland. Maybe it's not home to the best preserved medieval city in Scandinavia, complete with ring wall and twelve church ruins. Maybe it can't even compete with the near Mediterranean climate that Visby has during those late summer weeks, but Norrhamn knows one thing — how to do a lot with very little.

Welcome to Medieval Week - Lite Edition

The beach on the eastern side of the Island has been decked out with as many wooden tables and benches as is logistically possible, while still leaving some areas free for games and dancing. There's a wooden stage set up close to the woods, and a couple of racks of lovingly sponsored time-appropriate clothes available for those who want to blend in with the times.

Entertainment: To set the mood, management hired a band of Baltic musicians that will take up the stage for most of the day, playing well into the night. There's also dumb-ass jester performances from time to time, usually while the musicians are taking a break. The biggest event however is the fire show that starts up as soon as night falls right by the edge of the water.

Games: There's not quite enough room for an actual jousting tournament (my heart breaks) but there's a whole heap of stick horses for those eager to make their own. You're also welcome to take part in any number of feats of skill and strength, like rövkrok, armwrestling, or pillow-fighting on a slick wooden log. For those of a more intellectual persuasion, there's also a number of medieval board- card- and dicegames available.

Food and drink: Oh man. Oh man? There's so much food. Like, if some of the early guests thought that first welcome party had food in abundance, you ain't seen nothin' yet. Between the whole spit-roasted wild boar, through the pea soup and pork, the saffron-pancakes with dewberry jam, the roasted root vegetables (no potatoes in sight), the smoked pike-perch, the freshly baked spiced breads, the apple- hazelnut bread pudding, no one will go home hungry*. Wash it down with flagons of mead, spiced wine, beer brewed on honey and hops, or perfectly alcohol-free elderberry or lingonberry lemonades.

*There is of course thirium alternatives for the android population.

For those interested in more info on the actual Medieval Week, here's a link

Comments

[bluerocks]

Zelgadis does fit right in with the garb of this party, in his perpetual tan tunic-and-cloak look, but he definitely didn't do it on purpose. Large gatherings put him on edge, and after getting a bunch of compliments about the authenticity of his outfit from the band of jesters on their break, he decided he's had enough of the festivities and would rather walk to the opposite side of the island where everything would hopefully be out of earshot.

That is, until a cavorting Jack snags him by the arm and yanks him into some silly heel-kicking dance.

"H-hey!" He's momentarily too flustered to do anything besides stumble awkwardly along. "What's going on?"

Dancing, obviously.

[forever_jack]

Luckily, Jack's seen his outfit before and knows he didn't dress specially for the occasion. Also, he's much less interested in that and much more in having snagged a dance partner.

"Dancing!" he answers, somewhat breathlessly but with a big grin, attempting to link elbows with Zelgadis and skip round with him. It's totally silly, but it's impossible to feel down whilst doing it and that's what matters!

[bluerocks]

There's very little actual dancing happening on Zel's end, unless trying to untangle his limbs from the whirling motion counts for anything (spoiler: it doesn't). He finally manages to extract an elbow from where he's been looped, stopping so short in his tracks that Jack's likely to skip right into him.

"I don't dance!" he protests stubbornly, but he's blushing from being caught off guard.

[forever_jack]

Jack's too busy having fun to pay enough attention, and bumps right on into him. And bumping into someone who's made of rock hurts.

"Hey!" he exclaims, trying to aid in the untangling of elbows so he can rub his knee.

Then he takes a look at Zelgadis' face and has the grace to look at least a little apologetic.

"Sorry. Guess I got a bit carried away with the music!"