Peter and Paul

As I mentioned in the last post, I’ll be keeping most of my travel adventures on the Germany blog, but I wanted to share a part of the Peter and Paul festival with you here, too. The Peter and Paul festival is sort of a mix between a historical re-enactment, a parade, and a Renaissance Faire.

For one weekend a year, everyone in Bretten (our new city) dresses up in medieval garb, and goes out to celebrate. Many people walk in the parade, with separate “floats” for each of the different professions present in this town in medieval times. The number of people that participate is amazing, as is the latent talent in the modern people of this place. After the parade, many of the costumed people arrange themselves in booths to showcase the profession that they represent. There are bakers that bake in open fire ovens, metalworkers that shape brass into ornaments and belt buckles, and crafters that explain and teach their craft to visitors.

The costumes were beautiful, and there was a lot of attention to detail. We saw lots of lace gloves:


And a spinner:


Unfortunately, I didn’t manage to find her after the parade, so I don’t know if she actually uses that wheel. Isn’t it cute, though?

We did find the candlemakers, basketmakers, and people caning chairs.


A tatter (making bobbin lace)

A weaver,


and many other crafty types. There were children learning to make rope:


and asking questions about many of the other crafts on display. There were also carnival rides, but the focus was on the town’s history, and the professions that made up medieval life, which made this much more than just entertainment. One woman tried to explain to us the difference between this and other festivals she’s been to: “here, it’s normal people, and it’s as if they really live it [rather than acting]. That makes it special.”

Yes. Yes, it does.