I had a blast. Even though a few things went wrong on the way to the castle, all in all the day was loads of fun and it felt so good to walk among people in medieval clothes again. The market wasn't too big. I'd say it had a nice, comfy size - not too big to get lost and to not see everything and to not be able to talk to the people, but also big enough to offer some variety. All the artists were so open and friendly that I felt completely at home. I spent quite a while talking with the couple from Vergessene Künste who sold some liquors, bathing stuff and food. They were nice enough to explain to me how they make their stuff, why they can't offer mead, and they also showed me how they make their mustard (like it was made in the Middle Ages, just without the stones that make your teeth disappear after a lifetime). I also got a small discount for wearing historical clothes. Yay.
I also repeatedly came across one of the jesters, who then started to tell another visitor that I was following him around and pretend-flirted with me. God, it was fun. Also talked with another seller about night markets and how they're much better than markets that end at 6pm.
The fire-show was amazing. Not as impressive as other shows I've seen (especially since by now I'm somewhat used to them). Still, I cringed often. The two guys from the show set the stage on fire, as well as the towel they used for killing the fire and their clothes. One of them set his tongue on fire. The other one fell into a heap of glass splinters.
I once again realized that I much prefer small sellers and companies to the big mass-market ones. The couple from Vergessene Künste seemed to enjoy explaining their work to me and kept giving everyone who approached their tent drinks (here's the difference between small markets and big, commercial ones: you don't get free stuff to try on the commercial markets - you even have to buy a glass of mead to drink before you can decide if you even like the mead and want to buy it).
There was also a big difference between the trains. I had to change once, using the Deutsche Bahn (German Railways) for the longer trip and the Chiemgauer Lokalbahn (local train for the area around the Chiemsee) for the shorter one. The local train was much cheaper. The Deutsche Bahn made me pay extra because apparently there are different fees for taking different types of train, even when they're going to the same place. So because I took a train that had a travel time of 52 minutes instead of 57 minutes I had to pay 5.30€ more. I wasn't made aware of that when I bought the ticket, only when I already was in the 'wrong' train and the unfriendly ticket woman told me that I have to pay more. Thanks. Also, the staff from the local train was much friendlier. The Deutsche Bahn woman was unfriendly as hell (which I'm not used to, since the staff in the Austrian trains is always very polite and friendly). One of the people from the local train chatted a bit with almost every passenger when they bought their tickets, and the children got chocolate at the beginning of the trip (as it was a special occasion because of the market). When I went back home the same guy also talked with me for a while, asking me about the market. Big kudos to the staff from the Chiemgauer Lokalbahn - they worked all day (with a 30 minute break) to operate the train so we could get to the market and didn't have time to see it for themselves. They're also donating 1€ to the kindergardens in Amerang for every ticket that's sold this weekend.
The Deutsche Bahn discourage me to go to Germany again by train.
The weirdest sight of the day was probably the goth girl smoking a black cigarette. It reminded me of the shop in which you can buy black toilet paper for 2.50€ per roll.
Photos will follow.
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