Renaissance Festival

Today I went to a Swiss Renaissance festival with my host family! It was held in the courtyards of a real castle in the town of Estavayer. I think I liked it better than the festivals in Colorado, because although it was smaller, it was more genuine and there was much more to entertain or learn about. There was a blacksmith, violin maker (working on a medieval instrument), pottery makers of all kinds, a silver molder, yarn maker, leather worker, sword maker, wood (as in tree trunk to post) carver, shield maker, candle maker, soap maker, basket weaver, and many more artisans, all working their craft right in front of their tent so you could watch. Everyone was a professional in their field, as I found out when talking to an archaeologist who's life work was re-creating ancient baskets and rope for museums just as they were produced in older times. One courtyard was entirely filled with medieval games that I really enjoyed walking around and trying! I will have to send Dad some of my pictures to see if he wants to try and make them at home. There was also a royal court performance complete with a re-enacting of a witch hunt which actually happened a lot in the canton of Fribourg. For lunch we had thickly sliced, delicious ham and lentils in wooden bowls with wooden utensils. If you want to learn more about the festival, this is the website!