there are a lot of good reenactment groups doing any number of periods 
around the world; one of the more interesting trade magazines i've seen was 
for people who set up stalls at travelling "medieval" markets where you can 
drink mead, have a bath, see a blacksmith, etc.
& i've been impressed with just how much some of these people know about 
daily life in the middle ages... a form of experimental archaeology?
i was thinking of other comparisons, and vaguely remember japanese dressed 
up as "mods" (right out of "quadrophenia" with their vespas & anoraks), but 
some germans have gained tribal status in the US/canada...
but with Karl May you have a mix of Romanticism at a time when germany was 
turning into a major industrial power; a sort of multicultural counterpart 
to nationalism, coupled with visions of the kinds of freedom & wide-open 
spaces you can't really find here
----- Original Message ----- 

Subject: Re: Germany "obsession" with the "wild west"


> those Germans dressed in Sioux Indian costumes and sitting by their 
> tipis.