A medieval festival takes place in Büdingen’s old town every two years. This time under the theme of knighthood and love kisses. We were able to take part in this market for the fourth time.
We set up in peace and quiet last Friday. But always with a look upwards, because rain was forecast. This now seems to be becoming a tradition, as wet construction means dry market weather in Büdingen. Luckily the rain held off and the construction was dry, at least for me.
Saturday, July 13th, 2019
We made our way to Büdingen some time before the market started at 1 p.m. It rained a little overnight. With foresight, we pulled nylon tarpaulins over the tent tarpaulins, not quite in the proper style, and they were then dry. A small pocket of water had formed at the sales tent. The water was then used to fill my bucket for soaking the willows (ground cross).
We have prepared the market tent and the work tent very comfortably. It drizzled off and on until around 3:00 p.m. For Ralf this meant at this time:
Rain – baskets in, dry – baskets out etc. – You carry it with a dry sense of humor :-)
Whether it was the weather, the holiday season or the fact that the castle square where we were standing was somewhat disconnected from the regular market hustle and bustle, it can only be assumed that there were very few visitors. Unfortunately, the connection to the market square, cattle market and Oberhof did not have any stalls, so many visitors who came from this direction turned around again shortly before Schloßplatz. According to the motto: There’s nothing back there anymore. Far from it and much to the annoyance of the market stalls, which lacked customers. This shortcoming should then be remedied by the market management for Sunday with appropriate signage.
With a little candlelight we made ourselves comfortable from 8 p.m., drank berry wine and counted visitors. There was nothing going on all around, nothing at all. A reason to close the market on Schlossplatz at 11 p.m. But there were also few other visitors. At the market hall, where the bear usually dances, it was unusually empty. In the hope of more visitors, after 13 hours of being there, we went home.
Sunday, July 14, 2019
After a short night’s sleep, we headed back to Büdingen with a short stopover at the bakery. The question of the day was: Will there be more going on today?
When we arrived at Schlossplatz, the first thing we had was breakfast. Afterwards we had plenty of time to walk across the old town to the Jerusalem Gate and back across the Oberhof. Still quiet and many people just starting to wake up, we saw some gaps in the rows of market stalls. Some dealers probably decided not to come.
The market management kept its word and, in addition to posters, also drew attention to us lonely market people on Schlossplatz with painted signs on the street surface itself.
We can’t say whether it really helped, but there were significantly more visitors. Lots of nice conversations about the craft of basket making passed the time. A basket that I had recently finished was basically bought from under my (creative) finger. With smaller gaps, the flow of visitors hardly stopped and it only became a little quieter towards the end of the market.
At 7:15 p.m. it was just a matter of packing up, getting the car and trailer, dismantling, loading, going home and calling it a day.
The Schlossplatz will continue to be my preferred stand location in the future if we can be there again in 2021. Not crowded, lots of space and preferably fewer visitors who are interested in my craft. For those who have to make a living from selling their goods, it may not have been the ideal place. He was exactly right for us. And the market management certainly has an open ear for constructive criticism.
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