The Ramblings and Works of an Elderly Young Man

Fifteen men, including Thom and Relman, sat around the hall table in the keep. They had been chosen by proxy, and were awaiting the arrival of Sigi and Rothgard. Smalltalk, with occasional laughter, was around the great table, which had been lined with mead. No food had been placed, at least not as of yet. The hall, made of stone and arched supports, echoed gently as there were thick tapestries over the windows to help absorb the sound. Fires roared on either side of the halls, keeping it warm despite the onset of a clear, cold night. On a few of the walls hung hunting trophies, but the most prominent item was the banner that hung at the northern fireplace, depicting the coat of arms for the keep.

A door in the corner opened, and Rothgard walked through, followed by Sigi, bearing his black clothes and the large sword on his back. As the Lord went to sit at the head of the table, Sigi rested his sword near the hearth, going to stand by a fire while Rothgard looked over the men gathered. Read more

Sigi sat at the tavern again, eating his second breakfast while others in the tavern sat in complete silence. No one was there from the night prior, when Sigi had first arrived. Other people sat in silence, watching him. The word of his arrival, and who he was, had spread through the keep quickly. Their eyes didn’t bother him; he simply bided his time. Read more

The harsh weather had relented from the night prior, revealing a timberline outside the castle walls, and a clear day out east, where the cliffs gave way to the forest that Sigi had tracked earlier. A few of the workers were up early, the goats were out of their pens, moving to shake off the cold that was still biting. Though the winds of winter had passed, the chill of it remained. As the sun peaked out over the treetops to give some warmth to the small courtyard, the Lord of the near-fortress had studied it a bit more briefly before finishing his morning meal.

A few pounds of a fist came to his heavy door. He set down the goat milk that he had taken a few sips of. “What is it?”

“There’s a man here to see you, m’Lord. He stayed the night last night at the inn down near the gate.” This immediately raised flags with him. No one came during the winter months. And last night was particularly harsh. And then he felt it… this presence at the door. Goosebumps raised the hair on the back of his neck. He knew. Read more

It’s nowhere near perfect, and I wish I had better equipment to do this with. But I’ll take what I can get. It was the most memorable experience of my life, and I am glad I did it.

The German Trip from Reiter S on Vimeo.

So, it is Tuesday. I am spending the day returning to Berlin so that I am within screaming distance of the airport. I will be leaving Friday morning at 9a for the airport. I have decided to give Berlin a second chance, now that I have become accustomed to Germany a bit more over the last few weeks. I feel that starting off in the city may not have been the right choice, as I have always been one for the country.

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So, even though I managed to take the wrong train at the very end (despite looking at my route list several times), I got to Rothenburg. The weather had turned dim as I thought it would from the drive in, but the reward for this was blissful. Read more

The bells are saying goodbye to me right now. I will be leaving here in a little over an hour, and this place has been absolutely wonderful. It had lived up to all of my expectations, and I felt absolute peace for the first time in… Well, I cannot honestly remember. All the other times I have escaped from where I live, I always felt like it was on a short leash. Here… The mountains rose up to say, “Don’t worry. We won’t let the world see you here. We are the curtain.”

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Not much to post at the moment. Will write more later. For now, PICTURES!

I won’t try to write here. I will just show the pictures. I am gonna try to make these clickable on the website from my iPad to give you a good resolution, but there will be no guarantee to the mechanics of it. Here is hoping…

My last night in Starnberg was rather memorable and fun. The friends that I had made there knew it would be my last, so I was invited out to the restaurant aside Hotel Seehof. In short, I was out to 5a, and was beginning to feel the effects of the free red wine I had. The restaurant owner was letting us have fun and be festive, on the house. I found out he was originally from Sicily, and came up here to start this business. His name is Roberto, and he was absolutely amazing. Read more