Last weekend we've had a nice and sunny weekend in the 14th century tower of Dever in Lisse. We were there for the entire weekend because of 'open kastelendag', so many castles opened their doors to the general public.
This wonderful tower was the home of the family of d'Ever. It was built in the 14th century and restored in the 1970's. We had some nice activities during the weekend. The tower still has its original oven and we were able to use it to bake bread. Our most capable bakers went to work to knead the finest dough.
The temperature inside the oven is difficult to regulate and the first batch of bread unfortunately looked like they were found among the remains of Pompeii. The oven was slightly cooler during the second batch, and some wonderful breads were produced.
In this side view of the tower, you can see the window of the kitchen in the cellar below. Many modern inventions have their roots in the middle ages, like wireless communication. Horizontal wireless communication already existed prior to the 14th century, but only after architectural changes led to the building of multi-story buildings did people realize the potential of vertical communication!
These events are perfect for children to check out the equipment of a medieval soldier and to do a little bit of sparring.
The real hard work however is making these wonderful fingerloop-braided cords.
To conclude: we've had a wonderful time at a wonderful location and I hope that this is going to stay one of our traditional weekend-events.