Medieval Merriment

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Trip Start Jul 07, 2005 Previous
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  Kaltenberg, Germany
Saturday, July 16, 2005

The last time I wrote, I ended with a promise of lighter tales. Here they are.

On Thursday, 14 July, I spent the morning in the Munich City Museum. It presents an interesting look at Munich and Bavaria 1158-2008. (Yes, they are projecting into the future.) In addition, there are a "Heimat Museum" of Bavaria, exhibits of historical carnivals and puppets - complete with a King Kong gorilla that is triggered by an electric I to move and roar -, and musical instruments from throughout the world. One of the special exhibits was about fashion from the 1920's to today.

After visiting the museum I walked around the corner and down the block to the Viktualien Markt. This used to be Munich's "farmer's market," and the city maintains the atmosphere by allowing vendors of fruits and vegetables, flowers, arts and crafts, and various kinds of food to pay a percentage of their income. If it weren't for the city's subsidy, they couldn't afford to be there; it's prime real estate in the heart of Munich. I took film and photos and then had lunch: Ochsen und Kartoffelsalat (ox meat and potato salad). I sat at a table where two couples were already seated. In Germany, there's no such thing as having a private table. If a chair is open at your table, anyone looking for a seat is welcome to sit there. After a "Grüss Gott" you may or may not ignore each other. On this occasion I enjoyed some delightful conversation with my meal. One of the ladies was particularly nice and told me I spoke "hervorragendes Hochdeutsch" in contrast to their Bavarian dialect.

When I finished eating I bade the couples farewell and went to the Petruskirche.

01 Maypole at the Viktualien Markt

This is the oldest church in Munich, possibly pre-dating the foundation of the city in 1158. It sits on a small hill beside the Old Town Hall, which is probably the site of the original monastic settlement that became Munich. (The German name of the city, München, derives from Mönniken, or little settlement of monks - or is that settlement of little monks?) Although the church itself is Gothic, the interior - like many of Bavaria's churches - is Baroque. The central nave has an ornate pulpit that faces a Crucifix. They are flanked by twelve apostles, with Peter honored above the altar. To get twelve apostles down the nave, they included both Paul and Matthias (who was chosen by lot to replace Judas Iscariot). That was an Apostolate (set of Apostles) I had never seen before; it gives a total of 13 but recognizes both the later Apostles who have been considered part of "The Twelve." I also enjoyed identifying each of them by their iconography. (At first I was a little confused because I didn't find Peter along the nave - no keys; only after looking and checking the altar did I figure out what they had done. I thought it was an interesting idea.)

From the sublime I went to the decidedly not sublime: the Englischer Garten. If you've ever been to Munich and walked through the Wiese there on a sunny day, you know what I'm talking about. The lady I talked to at lunch had told me I should at least see the Chinese Tower in the Garten, so that is where I was headed. I eventually got there and enjoyed seeing old Munich's take on Chinese architecture.

02 Petruskirche

By this time, though, it was getting to be late afternoon, so I hurried to a tram stop and rode to the Hauptbahnhof, where I rented a car. For no apparent reason, they had decided to upgrade me two categories without charge. So, instead of getting a Ford Fiesta or similar, I got a BMW with GPS Navigation. (That Navigation system has stood me in good stead on subsequent trips. I can set it and take off without having to keep consulting a map. Very nice!)

After I picked up the car, I returned to the hotel, got my tickets for the evening performance, and headed to Kaltenberg. When I got off the Autobahn I found that traffic to the event was backed up for about 4km and moving extremely slowly. At one point a guy got out of a car, stepped to the edge of a wheat field and did his business. Then he walked ahead and waited for the car to catch up with him. Other people started parking their cars on the side of the road and walking the remaining distance to the grounds.

Thursday night was the "Kaltenberger Gauklernacht." A Gaukler is an entertainer, with the emphasis on magic, sleight of hand, etc. Today it is a derogatory term, but in medieval German, it just referred to the juggler and other entertainers. On this night there was no tournament, just the entertainers. Upon entering, I discovered that the Kaltenberg event - in contrast to Landshut - is simply the German medieval equivalent of a Renaissance Faire! (That -e at the end is important to understanding the concept; just ask a "renny.") All the archetypes were there, from the people who think leather trousers and a lace-up shirt are medieval to the full-on "fair nerds" and everything in between, including the people who think "medieval" is an excuse to go half naked.

Once inside I took some photos and film.

03 Theresienwiese

In spite of its inauthenticity (for one thing it puts times and cultures together that never would have mixed in the Middle Ages), the event, and the subsequent one on Saturday, provided me with material to use in my German class. For one thing, it was all in German, which my students need to see and hear. For another, it will provide material to use when I do my unit on the German Middle Ages with my advanced students. On my way to the arena for the show I looked around and listened to "Corvus Corax," probably best described as a "medieval Celtic heavy metal band."

The arena was the site for the "Fire Spectacular." I thought it would be just fireworks, but it was flame twirling, fire breathing and many other interesting fire acrobatics. The "storyline" was pretty lame (about the wicked ruler banning "buntes Feuer" - colorful fire - because it can destroy evil and then turning the Hofgaukler - court entertainers - and the "fahrende Gaukler" - traveling entertainers - against each other), but the effects were cool. (Or is that "hot"?) Some of the things they did were very imaginative using simple flame rather than fireworks. At the end there were a few fireworks: a wall of fire, the flaming arrow that slays the wicked "Fürst," and a couple of other things. The big special effect didn't occur, though. After announcing it, nothing happened. A Gaukler came out and ad libbed while the pyrotechnics guys tried to find and solve the problem. (Turned out to be burnt wires in the sand of the arena) Other Gaukler came back out and did more fire stunts.

04 Oberammergau

The crowd was in a good mood and started a "wave" that circled the arena about 15-20 times. It took on a life of its own, and the Announcer-Gaukler had a hard time getting it topped so they could finally do the last pyrotechnics - which weren't that great after all, just a big "foomp" and burst of flame. (I think it just didn't work right anyway.) Following the show, I walked around a while and watched some of the other entertainment on the various stages of the fair grounds. Eventually I headed for the hotel around 1:30 a.m. Official closing time wasn't until 2:00, and they were actually encouraging people to stay all night.

Thus ended Thursday.

On Friday I had originally intended to drive to Oberammergau and Schloss Linderhof, but decided to sleep late, relax and look around Munich. So, late morning I walked around the Theresienwiese to the Transportation Center of the Deutsches Museum. At first I thought it wouldn't be much because it is so much smaller than the main buildings on the other side of Munich, but the exhibits were interesting. BMW has an excellent exhibit on energy and the need to find alternative energy sources in light of increasing demand and dwindling supplies.

The Theresienwiese is where they hold the Oktoberfest. If this were festival time, I would be close to the action - about a block away. When I first went to the museum, I walked around the "Wiese" because there was construction going on, and I treated it like one big construction site with American "keep out" rules.

05 Linderhof exterior

On the way back, I decided to walk through the "Wiese" because everyone else was. I'm glad I did: it was shorter, and there was a "Gaststube" there, where I bought lunch - Wurst and Water. (I know, how could I be there and not drink beer?! Because I don't like beer.) The construction was putting up the frameworks for the huge beer tents of Oktoberfest. I guess most of the year is spent setting up for Oktoberfest, celebrating Oktoberfest, and cleaning up after Oktoberfest. Also in the "Wiese" is a U-Bahn station. I took some pictures to put together a "how-to" PowerPoint of riding public transportation.

When I got back to the hotel, I gathered my dirty clothes together and headed for the laundromat, which is only 1½ blocks away. The receptionist at the hotel suggested I have dinner at one of the Turkish places next to the laundromat while my clothes washed. I tried Döner Kebap for the first time and liked it.

Thus ended Friday.

Since I didn't go to Oberammergau (the name means literally "Upper Ammer Valley," Ammer being the name of the river that runs through town) and Linderhof on Friday, I decided to go on Saturday before going to the Kaltenberger Ritterturnier (Knights' Tournament). The way to Oberammergau is mostly Autobahn, and I must admit that I took the BMW up over 100mph. After all, if I don't do it on a German Autobahn with a German driving machine, when will I ever do it? I still had people passing me, though.

Upon arrival in Oberammergau I drove through town twice looking for the Passion Play Theater without finding it.

06 Dining Room at Linderhof

Finally I parked and walked. The town is very picturesque, with the Bavarian Alps in the background, so I took pictures. Eventually I got to the Theater but decided I just didn't have time to take a tour and also see Schloss Linderhof, one of "mad" King Ludwig II's castles. I had passed the turnoff for Linderhof on my way to Oberammergau, so I knew I would be backtracking. Had I stopped at Linderhof first, I might have had time for the Passion Play Theater tour, but I had to make choices. Oberammergau is probably most famous for its Passion Play. I saw the Passion play in 1984. During the 1400's, the village promised to produce a Passion Play forever if God would spare them from the Black Plague. Although the plague struck all around them, it never struck Oberammergau, so the citizens began producing the Passion Play. At first they did one every year. Eventually, though, they decided that their promise allowed them to do it once every ten years. 2010 is the next time you can see it. When I was studying at the University of Tübingen in 1983-84, I took a class on the history of the Passion Play. We read several different versions of the play. Somewhere I think I still have a copy of my research paper on the play. Since the year was the 500th anniversary of the play, they were presenting a special performance year, and my class went on a "field trip" to see the play. When not producing the Passion Play, the major industry is woodcarving. I want to go back some day and tour the Theater and buy some carving.

From Oberammergau I returned to the turnoff and went to Schloss Linderhof.

07 The Wieskirche exterior

Linderhof is the smallest of the castles that Ludwig II built and the only one that was finished during his lifetime. He actually lived here, in contrast to Neuschwanstein, the most famous of his castles, which he only visited. Since the interior of the castle (according to the guide, really more of a villa) is accessible only by guided tour, I bought a ticket for a tour. The guide was a nice young guy - probably student on summer vacation - who did a great job of holding the interest both of the adults and the children on the tour. We saw the music room, the throne room (although Ludwig never received anyone at Linderhof), a couple of "Kabinetts" (small rooms by castle standards), the bedroom (ornate and oversized), and the dining room - where Ludwig ate alone; so alone, in fact, that the food was loaded on the table downstairs and the entire table rose to the dining room. Ludwig didn't even need to see the help while he ate. Since it took the table mechanism about 15 minutes to raise the table, Ludwig at a lot of cold food, but that was apparently what he wanted.

On the grounds I also visited the "Venus Grotto," an artificial grotto. The stalagmites and stalactites have cores of metal or wood inside a stucco covering. Ludwig created it according to his idea of what the Blue Grotto of Capri was like - even though he had never seen the Blue Grotto of Capri. An orchestra and singers would perform excerpts from operas, usually Wagner's, while Ludwig sat in his opera box (alone) or had a servant row him around the lagoon in a shell-motif boat.

08 The Wieskirche interior

In spite of his wealth and position, Ludwig II must have led a lonely and sad life. Apparently he had only one cousin (Elisabeth, empress of Austria) he liked. He kept people away from himself and lived in a fantasy world. (a la Michael Jackson?) His great hero was Louis XIV of France, but Ludwig could not be an absolute monarch, as Bavaria already had a parliament. Louis XIV ruled; Ludwig II played at being a king. Even his death is tragic. He was probably assassinated, but it was ruled a suicide. (If it was truly a suicide, why did the Jesuits allow him to be buried in St. Michael's church in Munich?)

Leaving Linderhof, I re-traced may way - again - past Oberammergau (and Unterammergau) on my way to Kaltenberg. Soon I found myself on the "Romantic Road," a Bavarian Tourist gimmick. It really was the Via Claudia, the main north-south trade route from Italy to Hamburg. But that wouldn't sell as well as "romantic." Along the way I saw a sign for the Wieskirche (the church in the village of Wies) and decided I should stop or I would regret it, since it is described as Germany's greatest rococo-style church. Had I known it was as far out of the way I might not have gone, but I'm glad I did. When I first entered the church, a guide was finishing a lecture about the church. He ended by having everyone sing the hymn "Grosser Gott, wir loben Dich" to show off the acoustics. It was magnificent! Then I toured the church and took some pictures. It isn't a big church, so I didn't stay long.

All day it had been threatening to rain.

09 Kaltenberg: Cooking

On the way to Oberammergau it had sprinkled. Just as I got back to my car, the rain hit - hard. Fortunately I was soon able to drive out of it.

Arriving at 3.3km from Kaltenberg, I hit (not literally) the Turnier traffic. Fortunately it moved faster than on Thursday, and I soon arrived at the grounds. Inside, I realized again that this is as much fantasy as re-creation. At the entrance I bought myself a jacket and a program. At first I thought it was just a windbreaker, but it has a lining and a hood, for which I was later very thankful. Then I went to a food stall and had a very late lunch: Hirschshinken (venison ham), Pilzpfanne (sautéed mushrooms) and Spezi (mixed Coke and Fanta; Germans find it delicious and so do I). Everything tasted great, but as the Germans say, "Hunger ist die beste Sosse" (Hunger is the best sauce).

Once I had eaten I started walking through the encampment and taking more pictures and film. Some of the stalls I visited included weaving, woodworking, blacksmithing, goldsmithing, live entertainment, games, weapons, and falconry. Of course there were booths selling almost everything on could conceivably consider "medieval." At one food booth they were roasting a whole pig on a spit. One booth I've never seen at the California Ren Faires was a barber shaving people with a straight razor. At 18:00 there was a parade of the entertainers in the tournament, just to whet everyone's interest.

Eventually I made my way to the "oriental" (i.e. Near Eastern) section of the grounds.

10 Kaltenberg: Bookbinding

In a pen were two dromedaries that the owners were allowing children to sit on - for free. It started to sprinkle about then, so I saw that as an excellent excuse to get under a tent and buy a glass of hot tea and some baklava.

Then it was time to head to the arena for the Turnier at 20:00. (The whole affair was a late-afternoon to night event.) They were finishing the "Vorprogramm" when I arrived. About 10 minutes until 8 p.m. it began to rain. This time it really poured. Since umbrellas were prohibited in the arena, everyone did the best they could. I was thankful for the jacket as I pulled up the hood and hid my camcorder inside. I did take the camera out for some pictures and video, hoping that no water would get inside the camera. Several days later, everything still works normally. Eventually the rain let up, and a rainbow appeared, but I never dried out until I got back to the hotel.

The Turnier began with a short "concert" by Corvus Corax (the medieval Celtic heavy metal group I mentioned earlier). Then Luitpold, Prince of Bavaria, greeted everyone. He is a Wittelsbach (possibly the current head of the family, I wasn't quite sure) and the owner of Schloss Kaltenberg, where everything was taking place. After that the program began. There was a grand procession; then the narrator (a radio personality from Bayern 3) began to tell the story of two brothers, sometime and somewhere during the Middle Ages. One brother is kidnapped and sold to a witch. The other brother is reared at his uncle's castle to be a true and worthy knight.

11 Kaltenberg: Weaving

(Of course, this is accompanied by demonstrations of training.) Both boys grow to manhood, each following a different path: Sigur under the witch's tutelage and Selor under his uncle the king's care. One day the king dies, and a tournament is held to determine who shall marry the king's daughter Isabel and become king. Into the tournament rides a Black Knight with his henchmen. (They actually rode down the steps of the grandstands through the crowds - you can do this outdoors.) The Black Knight defeats all the participants of the tournament. But then Selor enters. When he learns that the Black Knight is his brother Sigur, he doesn't want to kill him. Eventually he must, though. Finally good triumphs, Selor marries Isabel, and everyone rejoices.

It was fun, but I found I could predict a lot of what was coming, such as who was going to be unhorsed in a given joust. I also recognized a lot of the "show" movements in the ground fights which were, of course, fought with a variety of weapons: halberd, ball and chain, axe, mace and sword. They even included a move where the Black Knight knocks the shield from the good knight's arm - something I saw literally thousands of times when I worked for Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament. A lot of what happened reminded me of Medieval Times - but a lot was different, too. They set a wagonload of hay on fire. The Black Knight rode his horse around the outside of the arena fence, right next to the crowd. The tournament was NOT "to the death" until the Black Knight intruded. The extras had more involvement in the story. The story line, while hokey, set up a real good-vs.-evil scenario. The special effects were more "Hollywood."

Following the Turnier I walked around a bit more before stopping to get a "Ritterwurst" and some mineral water. Then I checked out a few more stalls, made my way to the exit and headed for "home."

Thus ended Saturday.

And I think that's enough for now. In my next installment I'll tell you about visiting Munich's churches on Sunday, Ludwig's castles on Monday, and the city of Augsburg on Tuesday.

Bis dann wuenscht Euch Gottes reichsten Segen

Robert

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