In the "Olympiapark" in munich a rift in time and space occured from the 25th of April to the 4th of May and a medieval market appeared! Originally on our visit there on the 30th of April the witches planned a big dance and afterwards the Band "Cultus Ferox" (click on the name to visit their homepage and listen to some of their music there, if you are interested) would give a concert. However the skies didn't let the witches dance and it rained heavily from seven o'clock onward. So the witches will dance at friday and the market closed early. But here are the impressions of a day which was nevertheless full of excitement! Especially Cultus Ferox gave a great performance!

A view on the fair from a low hill. Jesters, knight and fine ladies and sunlight greeted us as we entered the fair at 16:30. Some noble ladies with their bodyguards, obviously. We dutifully gave them way! Just one of the many, many stalls of which I will show only a few. This oriental dance performance just ended as we came along. The same as before, but with a better look at the costumes. Knights are fine for some, but here I belong: the archery store. In the right background you can see children standing queue to try out a real longbow. To the left is the proprietor of the shop talking to a fellow archer. I hadn't had an opportunity for archery since last october, so I just couldn't pass by without testing my skill. My right hand is fine by the way, it just looks like this when letting go of the bowstring :-). But as I wasn't too sure of my skill I just choose to shoot at the big bear :-). Only six of those arrows are mine. Some random stalls selling jewelry. Another stall of some more things I didn't really need ;-). One can't see the wares here, because of the customers there, but they were the shop attached to the smithy, selling weapons and armor. The smithy. Unfortunately, my camera thought this needed an extra long exposure time, so just a small photo. The smithy again. I was innocent! I was framed! Remember my lesson: never stick your head in some stocks to pose for a photo, when the owners of the stocks are nearby and have a key :-). Don't ask me about heraldry, I don't know the design on the shield :-). Crusader armor. Hmmm.... how that would look on me :-) ? Here we are only 10 metres away from the crusader and yet about 400 years further in armor and weapon style. Well, to belly dance, one needs a belly! This performer let glass balls run along his arms and around his neck. In between those performances he entertained with rhymes. He was very entertaining! A group of drummers at about 18:30. Please not that the darker light had nothing to do with my camera... Shortly before 19:00, it did look like rain. From 19:00 onward it poured endlessly. We endured under a tent with enought Met and music to keep us warm and happy, but when we heard that the witches performance would be cancelled, we sought a warmer place to wait until 22:30 when the "Cultus Ferox" concert would start. A crowd of medieval fans and gothics gathered in the "Theaterzelt". Red light and dim chandeliers perfectly set the mood :-). The light went out and the music started. The light was not enough to make a photo of the moving band, but here is what it took. Another picture that leaves out details. But then, the music was wild and so was the dancing, so perhaps this picture shows the mood better that a clear shot would have done :-).