Message-Id: <199401172315.AA17637@world.std.com>
To: justin@dsd.camb.inmet.com (Mark Waks)
Cc: carolingia@world.std.com
Subject: Re: Birka 
In-Reply-To: Your message of "Mon, 17 Jan 1994 14:49:47 EST."
             <9401171949.AA14644@dsd.camb.inmet.com> 
Date: Mon, 17 Jan 1994 18:15:20 -0500
From: Michael Bergman <augment@world.std.com>

Justin --
	I actually *liked* Birka I and II, everything except the
feasts, as opposed to "especially" not liking the feasts amidst a
morass of mediocrity.  I feel that Birka has lost almost all its
character (all right, let's be honest -- I feel that Birka has lost
*ALL* its character) and this year turned into a "generic Kingdom
level SCA event" -- not a bad event, but lacking in what I specially
enjoyed about Birka.  There was, for example, not even lip-service to
its being a early Scandinavian theme event.  

While I agree that the trains ran on time...I wasn't all that
impressed with the feast.  It was plentiful and timely...I think that
if Birka is the same next year as this, it will be too bad; a niche
will have again opened up for a nice little viking event...maybe we
can get the site in Nashua; I understand its not being used...

--Harald Longfellow

p.s.  I should mention that I am perhaps unduly influenced by
"atmosphere" and architecture -- I *hate* suburban high school sites
-- and I really enjoyed watching the fighters at Birka I, coming into
the Mead Hall, steaming, after fighting out in the snow.  What there
was of it.  I don't know how many of them would have braved the
temperatures we had this year!