Travelling Worm

This is the blog of Mark Wordsworm, the travelling worm. I’m a 36-year-old bookmark (give or take a few years) and I proudly boast my own Hallmark serial number, 95 HBM 80-1. You’ll probably want to read all about me and my Travelling Companion (the TC).

Today’s travel notes

Me and the TC are in Switzerland. Today we travelled by train from Zurich to the small town of Zug, to see the annual medieval festival hosted by the town: the Mittelalterfest Zug.

Here’s a nicety for people who’re intrigued by words, as is the TC: We travelled to Zug by Zug. How so? The town is called Zug. In German, a train is a Zug (including the initial capital letter, as in German all nouns are capitalised.) So, to Zug by Zug!

The book I’m in

Death’s End, by Cixin Liu, translated by Ken Liu. In the TC’s words (yours truly is by nature less effusive), this is a most amazing book. It’s part of the “three-body problem” series. Science fiction done right. Get a copy and read it!

Travel tips

Travelling by rail is pleasant, but figuring out how to buy the train tickets is complex. Give yourself plenty of time the first time you do it. Buying tickets from the vending machines at the station is the simplest option. The mobile app and website are overly complex.

The photos

Me in the refreshments area of the festival, contemplating the possibility of ale and vittles:

As we wandered around the village, we came across people transacting their medieval business, seemingly unaware that they were in a time capsule that had been projected into the 21st century. These men were testing swords before an upcoming match:

Some of the village folk were guards, fearsome in their protection of the gateways. It was not uncommon to hear the command, “Halt”, roared out loud to stop the crowds from getting in the way when a photo was in order. This much to the amusement of said crowd, which tittered and took more photos of said fearsome guards.

Another fearsome guard photo opp:

Knights in armour shone in splendour under the autumn sun:

Bands and bards roamed the lanes. It was interesting to see a band member playing the bagpipes. I’d thought these were a Celtic tradition, but evidently Switzerland did have bagpipes in the middle ages, called the Schweizer Sackpfeife. Here’s a short video of the Schellmerÿ band playing at the festival:

A bard enchanting the crowd:

A beggar sat quietly in the shade:

A dark witch floated above the road surface, eerily tall and smooth of gait. Aided by a segway under his robes:

The town of Zug has some gorgeous buildings:

Here’s another, forming one side of a village square:

From the sublime to the ridiculous, a nose protrudes from a building on the same square:

Taking a stroll down the hill, we came across the Zugersee:

The TC, bless her cotton socks, was fascinated by the plants growing in the lake, twisting and twirling into SciFi shapes, then pushing little flowers up towards the light. “Like underwater daisies”, she exclaimed:

That’s all for today, folks.