From: dagoura@MIT.EDU
Message-Id: <9401181713.AA18907@al-burro.MIT.EDU>
To: carolingia@bloom-beacon.MIT.EDU
Subject: RE: Birka
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 94 12:13:15 EST


I have had a very real beef against Birka, though I did not attend the
notorious first Birka.  I'd never figured out why, but I always wound
up miserable at Birka.  Well, this year, for the first time...

I wasn't cold...

....and, therefore, I wasn't grumpy.

I found the feast adequate (except the toxic soup), and the service
excellent.  I found being able to hear a harp at an event a pleasantly
novel experience :).  I very much liked being able to get into my garb
without being in immediate danger of bumping into someone or trampling
someone's stuff (the mirrors were a nice touch too).  But the best bit
of this Birka had to be the merchants, which in quality and quantity
surpassed all previous Birkas.  

And because the fighting was indoors, I even got to watch without
suffering hypothermia; it was pretty good fighting.

[Which reminds me (not, of course, that we have any fighters in
Carolingia ;) I would like to comment on how pleased I was at the
appearance of the fighters.  Many had beautiful armor, or covered the
grosser modernisms with tabards.  Keep it up!]

The venison was good too :}

Tibicen
dagoura@mit.edu