2017-07-11, Vacation 2017, Day 8: Trelleborg (Zealand, Denmark)

Nothing quite finished on the miniatures front today, so here's the last installment of our trip to Sweden.

On the way home we made a stop at Trelleborg near Slagelse on Zealand. The 'Trellborgs' are a number of circular ramparts/fortifications built as military encampments by Harald Bluetooth in various parts of Denmark and Southern Sweden, probably to demonstrate his unification of the realm of the Danes.

This particular Trelleborg has a nice museum with interesting elements, such as reconstructed clothings.

How a longhouse is supposedly constructed-

A model of the Trelleborg, based on the excavations at hte site.

The actual rampart from afar.

An older reconstruction of a longhouse or mead hall. Notice how the wooden 'pillars' are different from the newer model in the museum.

An outdoor model of the site.

The following pictures are from the actual site.

The following pictures are depicting various aspects of the Trellborg open-air museum.

And thus ended our rather short vacation trip. Had the car not needed a new transmission after the vacation in Catalonia, we might have had a longer visit to Sweden, but money was tight, and the mortgage cannot be postponed.

There will be one more post from the 2017 holidays, as we also visited Lundeborg Iron Age Market after returning home, but that is another story alltogether.

2017-07-10, Vacation 2017, Day 7: Driving South

Soon after leaving the camping site near Kalmar we happened upon this field, and Anna insisted on taking some pictures.

Anna had wanted her picture taken in a blooming lavender field in France, but we were there too late in the year for that, and this would have to do instead.

Later in the day, we made a stop at a rest area which happened to be right next to a historical monument.

Nice arrangement with table and benches!

We also spotted what I think is a red kite.

Some historical information at the rest area.

The monument for the Peace in Brömsebro (1645), commemorating a treaty between Sweden and Denmark made on a small island in the border stream.

And the nearby water mill.

Anna wanted to explore further, but realized there wasn't more to see right here.

This was our last camping trip with the 1963 Eccless caravan; the following autumn we purchased a CI Wilk deLuxe from 1989 - but more about that in due time.

That evening we decided to spend another night in Sweden, more precisely at a camping site in Falsterbo.

We ended our visit to Sweden with a meal at a local restaurant.

Preparations for Going all Medieval

The girls are making dresses for the European Medieval Festival in Horsens later this month.

No, they do not sew by hand; it would be too time-consuming, and we are just going as guests, not actors.

Vacation 2016 - Day 14, Part 2: The Road to Carcassonne, Take 2: A61 Cathar Memorial

When driving on the A61 from Narbonne to Carcassonne, we stopped for lunch at the Aire de Peche Loubat, which turned out to provide an unexpected experience.

From the picnic area we could see some strange shapes on the hill, so after eating, we investigated.

When looking at the first sculpture, three things caught my eye:

1. moyen age (middle ages)
2. croisade (crusade)
3. 1209

Colour me interested!

And here: La tragedie cathare (the cathar tragedy)

Montsegur and 1244

I should have taken pics from the front of those strange 'towers' - as I have found they are a sculpture called 'The Cathar Knights' by Jacques Tissinier:
https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-the-cathar-knights-is-a-cement-sculpture-by-jacques-tissinier-above-81171710.html

After leaving the rest area, heading for Carcassonne, we passed a couple of castles.

Next up is the city of Carcassonne, and of course I knocked myself out taking pictures of that marvellous place!