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Greetings all! There is quite a bit of information below, so bear with us. We'd love to have a contingent from various groups based here in the UK to head over to Burg Herzburg this October, to take part in their Medieval Festival. A full battle plan is in the works, but the main event will be based on a ground assault of the fabulous castle with ladders, bill lines, men-at-arms, archers and guns.
Around that main event we can do living history, crafts, guard duty, bill drill and basically anything period-appropriate as we like! For example the lovely Mina is looking for one or two volunteers to help her with cooking authentic food down in the castle's historic kitchen.
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TLDR (Too Long Didn't Read) Summary: German Medieval Festival over weekend 12th-13th October. Much food, battle and merrymaking. Can arrive day before and leave one day after, with extra option to stay in Aachen on 14th into 15th. Start looking at travel now - if you are a solo traveller or have hit a hurdle, you can contact us on this page if you get stuck.
And now in more detail...
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EVENT DETAILS
The event itself is open to the public over two days, the 12th and 13th of October, from 10am - 5pm. We will however be permitted to set up camp the day prior (Friday 11th Oct) as with events here in the UK, and there is space marked out for us already that we can occupy. We can also stay over on the Sunday night and set off from the castle on the Monday, to make things a bit more relaxed.
There are plenty of food and drinks stalls at the event, as well as an on-site restaurant, but you are welcome to bring and cook your own food too, and there is a REWE supermarket at Alsfeld half an hours drive away from the castle if you need to top up on supplies.
AFTER THE EVENT
There is a group of us who are planning to stay in Germany for one night extra (Monday 14th October into the 15th), as we will be travelling by road and wish to break up the journey. Our plan is to stay in Aachen on the way home and visit a local spot for some classic German food, followed by an evening at the wonderful Grotesque Absinthe Bar - the drinks are amazing, the staff are lovely and we can't recommend them enough. Everyone is welcome to come with us for both food and drinks, but we will need to book in advance, so if you would like to come to Aachen, let us know in the polls and we will grab you a space.
TRAVEL
You can either travel by road and ferry to the event, or you can of course fly. The nearest airport to Burg Herzburg is Frankfurt am Main (FRA) and you can get direct flights from London Heathrow, Birmingham, Manchester, Edinburgh and Glasgow. If you're thinking of going by road, the fastest route is via ferry from Dover to Calais - if you're thinking of convening with your group somewhere UK-side before going in convoy to Germany together, we would recommend looking at long stay car parks where people can leave their personal vehicles for the duration of the weekend (costs vary, but usually between £35-50).
Flying is the fastest way, and may suit you better if you just want to come to the event at the castle and bring basic kit. Don't forget though that you will need to arrange transport to and from Frankfurt airport. You will be limited in what you can take with you on the plane, but you can of course arrange to have any gear, such as tents etc., transported for you if you know others who are going by road.
Driving takes longer, but does allow for more gear to be taken, and gives you a bit more flexibility, especially if a number of you pool resources and arrange to hire or bring a group van/minibus/multiple vehicles/trailers. To give you an example, those of us who have done this event before have hired a van for kit, and taken another car or two to transport people in convoy and that has worked out pretty well.
SOLO TRAVELLERS: If you really want to come but are a solo traveller and are interested in car-pooling with other folk as you have no easy way to get there alone, please fill in the travel poll that will be posted here. We will pop you and other people who need the same into a group chat so that you guys can pool together on a plan. Please note, we will NOT be organising travel for you - I'm afraid we don't have the time or the spoons! We are happy to answer questions of course though.
BUDGET
How much you spend will ultimately depend on how many go and in what way, but we reckon you should try and budget at least £250 for the weekend, £350 if you're staying in Aachen too. Travel will likely be the largest cost.
WHO TO CONTACT
Katherine Meyrick, Verena Thistlethwayte and Ben Johnson are the main UK contacts for this event. We will be posting in this group with any updates or recommendations, so do keep an eye on what goes on here. If you have any questions, post in this event and one of us will get back to you. We will do our absolute best to make recommendations, offer advice (solicited and unsolicited), and try and get you sorted.
Please note though we are NOT the organisers of the Medieval Festival itself, as we are being hosted by our fabulous German friends, but we can do our best to answer questions and do some light wrangling. Remember though that we are only human with things like full time jobs and other commitments, so do bear with us!
NEXT STEPS
If you would like to come along on our merry jaunt, we would recommend doing the following:
1) Share this event on your respective group's Facebook group. People can then register their interest and stay on top of any updates we post.
2) Think about travel sooner rather than later; ferry and flight costs will only get more expensive.
3) CHECK YOUR PASSPORT IS STILL IN DATE. Pretty important one there! You won't need a visa for going to Germany, but you may want to look at travel/health insurance.
4) FILL IN THE POLLS THAT WILL BE ADDED HERE - this will help us get an idea of numbers and therefore what space we will need at the event, and who wants to do what. If you're unsure about your logistics but ultimately want to go, fill them in as if you were going and we can work out the rest later.
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Phew! Well done for making it to the end of the info post! We appreciate there's a lot to take in, but as Douglas Adams would say, 'Don't Panic' - we're here to help as much as we can. This looks like its going to be a great event and we have a fantastic opportunity to play our part and put our stamp on it.
Battle plan and rough idea of running order to follow soon.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Burg Herzberg, Burg Herzberg, 36287 Breitenbach am Herzberg, Deutschland,Breitenbach am Herzberg, Fulda, Germany
