Sunday, September 20, 2009

Day Trip

It's Oktoberfest time here in Munich. There's plenty of opportunity to see parades and have fun...and sit in traffic and be in crowds. What some people don't realize though is that there is a completely different way to do all those things these days and it is so much more fun!! It's Almabtrieb time!!! What is that, you ask? An Almabtrieb is when the cows come down from the high mountain alms for the winter. It's a festive, colorful, fun time.


With lots of traffic. Why is there traffic? Well let me explain....


The cows have been having a great summer, wandering around the mountains, eating grass and enjoying being outside. When it's time to go back to the barn, they are all gathered together....


And, if there hasn't been any accidents all summer long, they get to put on their "Sunday best" parade clothes......


...and if they are really lucky they get to make lots of noise with a big bell......


...and then they march in a big long parade......


....all the way home!!!! And that means going through any towns that may be in the way.


There's fest tents and music and beer. There's colors and smiling faces everywhere. Forget what I said earlier...this is even BETTER than Oktoberfest!


The scenery is pretty nice too...don't you agree?

There's a clip from the start of the almabtrieb. It does have sound but it starts after a couple of seconds of play time:



And just a note to those of you wondering.....I did NOT cry when the cows were paraded past, farmers all happy (I don't know how much of that "happiness" was due to the schnaps flasks sticking out of their back pockets) and the cows so proud. Well, not too much. And I was NOT afraid when one of the cows came in my direction and I was standing in a corner. Well, again, not too much. It was a GREAT day! Forget the Oktoberfest...there's so much to do other than that!

9 comments:

Kathy A. said...

Ah the day trip looks so wonderful. How beautifully decorated arfe the cows on their trip home. Lucky you to have such wonderful things to view and Oktoberfest on top of it!

SONYASPHERE said...

This was wonderful and I'm so glad you and Reinhard went to it! So this must be the occasion where the expression "..'til the cows come home" came from!!

Unknown said...

That looks like so much fun!! I would have loved seeing those cows all decked out in such finery. Thank you for sharing it!!

verobirdie said...

LOL, I had forgotten about that part!
Aren't they beautiful.
When I was a kid, we were in Kitzbühl, and the cows went back to their barns every night. One night, a baby cow decided to have a nap right in the middle of the road, and I remember a coach full of laughing tourists waiting patiently until it decided to walk again.
They all had small bells, and I loved that sound in the mornings and evenings.
You always bring back memories to me!

Susan Elliott said...

wonderful! I love that an every Fall, every day ritual is celebrated like that! Are you in the Tirol region? I just realized I'm not sure where you are?? Silly me

Susan Lenz said...

Hi!
I am SO SORRY that the flight to Munich got cancelled. I was given almost no option at all about being rebooked. I could have elected to try for the later flight to Munich and still caught my flight on to Birmingham.....but it was fairly full to begin with and most of the passengers on my original flight were being booked onto it....OVERBOOKED on it. The girl helping me strongly suggested that I take the early Swiss Air flight through Zurich....or I risked getting "bumped". What could I do? I did what she suggested. I would have called you by now....but I don't have your telephone number and neither does Mathias. We've been trying to call Steve since I arrived but haven't gotten through....so we still don't have your telephone number. Mathias had a back spasm during a rehearsal on Tuesday so hasn't been dancing "full out" this week or in the performances. This is very sad....but....he was around when I landed in Birmingham. Laura-Jane is dancing now. Steve arrives tomorrow. There's a very, very good chance that we will not see Mathias on stage....even though he's ready to perform now. The company wants him 100% healed because there's no cover for some of his parts during next week's shows.

The workshop with Sara Lechner was great. We went to the Czech Republic on Wednesday...to Krumlov. I'd never been to Czechoslovakia before this. Annica sends her best regards too. I'll be home late on Monday and posting on my blog soon afterwards.
Susan

em's scrapbag said...

Thanks for sharing this. What a fun thing to do. The cows are great love there hats.

Dani - tkdchick said...

What a neat and colourful tradition!

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