Stone Age gathering ’20: An escape to the Mesolithic during the Corona era

Gatherings for Stone Age enthusiasts are usually a recurring event all over Northern Europe in the summer months, but this year was different. As with so much else this year, our gatherings were affected by Covid-19. The open air museum Hunebedcentrum in the Netherlands, who were supposed to host the official annual European Stone Age Gathering, had to cancel the event, but thankfully, there was one open air museum that was still able to host a small gathering for those of us from European countries that hadn’t been hit hard by the virus; Steinzeitpark Dithmarschen in Albersdorf, Germany.

So for my first week out of five in Germany this summer, I headed to Albersdorf with my two fellow time travellers, Solveig and Mikkel. We arranged to meet up the day before the gathering in Fredericia where they would pick me up in their car so we could drive together.

Our journey had a rough (and funny) start as Solveig called me in total panic after I’d messaged them to let them know that I’d arrived in Fredericia. They were still in Copenhagen and had mixed up the dates, thinking it wasn’t until the week after! Thankfully, they had a good solution, and Solveig has a kind grandmother in Odense who took us in for the night. So I caught a train to Odense, and Solveig and Mikkel quickly packed their stuff and met me there that same evening. The next morning, we were finally ready to start the time machine.

We were finally going to Germany.

This wasn’t just any trip to Germany, a country I’ve been to more times than I can count. In fact, it was my first time out of Denmark since arriving home on March 13th, on the day of the big Covid-19 lockdown. With face masks and hand sanitizer in our bags, we crossed the border into our neighbouring country, arriving in a futuristic world. Germany has had a somewhat different approach to Covid-19 than we’d had in Denmark, which is especially noticeable when it comes to face masks. They are mandatory in all shops and public transport, something that looked a wee bit funny paired with our Stone Age clothing. On the other hand, the queue to get into Denmark from Germany was enormously long, while nobody batted an eyelid when we crossed the border in the opposite direction. It’s interesting to see how each country prioritizes during these times.

Oh well. At least in our cut-off Stone Age world, Covid-19 did not exist. Not in our minds, and thankfully not physically either.

As soon as I stepped inside the Stone Age park, I forgot about Covid-19. But only for a moment. I hugged my friends who I hadn’t seen in a year but then remembered how important social distancing still is. For the rest of my time there, I was careful to not get too close to anyone and – especially – to not share the same food, cutlery, bottles etc. We might’ve been in a world of our own, but Covid-19 knows no time period limits. Unfortunately.

Our week in Albersdorf went by fast as it always does when you have fun. And fun was something we had a lot of. We weren’t as many people as usual, in fact, only ten different languages were present, all European except one guy who speaks Arabic but lives in Germany. I took advantage of this to add to the very few words I know in Arabic (Salam Aleikum, Inshallah, Mashallah… yeah, that’s about it!). I also practiced my (very rusty) German, my (completely awful) French and my growing vocabulary (although awful pronunciation) in Russian.

While trying not to get confused with the many languages that my brain wanted to mix into one, I spent my time creating clothing and accessories out of natural materials that I’ve thrifted in different stores or been gifted by friends. In a thrift store in Albersdorf, I found a pair of leather trousers (such a lucky find!) as well as a coconut shell bag that I spent all week making Stone Age proof (replacing modern nylon thread with fake sinew thread).

But the majority of my time in Albersdorf went with arranging the second annual Stone Age catwalk – an event that was a huge success last year in Ertebølle and a tradition that Solveig and I NEEDED to hold onto, Covid or not. We had our big event on the Saturday evening, the last evening of the gathering, and it was another huge success with 11 unique and phenomenal acts!

Organizing and hosting such a big event was tough and exhausting at times, especially since I’m a perfectionist (although things never turn out perfect… it’s a curse), but the result was worth every effort. I’m already looking forward to next year – maybe I will even participate myself instead of hosting the event (Covid, don’t you dare get in the way!).

When I wasn’t hanging out in the Mesolithic, I went on a few walks into the town of Albersdorf since I’d never been there before. I did wear my Stone Age gear to the supermarkets most days, but once in a while it was nice to return to the usual me.

One day, I spent several hours wandering the streets of Albersdorf and climbing a lookout tower in the middle of the forest which gave me the first case ever of acrophobia (fear of heights). It was windy, and looking down the see-through steel tower was nauseating. I felt like I could fall at any time. But I didn’t. I got up there, snapped some pictures of the view and hurried down as fast as possible. The fearless height-loving me was finally conquered.

A week in the Stone Age is the perfect way to relax for me. I love doing nothing all day, except for mending my clothes or creating accessories and cooking (non-Stone Age vegan dishes, ooops) over the fire, something I can never find time for in my other busy life with travels and studies which take up the remaining 51 weeks of the year.

To me, nothing beats camping in nature, cooking over the fire and relaxing with good friends, especially good friends with whom I have one very nerdy thing in common – a passion for the Stone Age and traditional living.