That'll do, pig, that'll do

The OLMA Agriculture Festival had animal thrills by the dozens, you can bet!

This past week, I have been heading out each day to St. Gallen for their fall agriculture festival.  

The program headlined a different farm animal each day and it was totally delightful--it even contained a few jaw-dropping moments of incredible feats.

Let me tell you by day and by animal

Pig day
I missed pig day when I extended my stay in Basel for the supreme Raclette presentation, but I was thrilled to get to see a funny and adorable pig moment on the first day I attended.

When I arrived, there was a collection of animals walking around in the open air arena: Sheep, goats, cows, and a big sow (a mother pig with big teats hanging down).  Then two young workers wheeled a huge bin out into the arena and I thought they were going to do a little clean-up of the area, scoopable clean-up, if you get  my drift--lots of animals, lots of droppings....

To my surprise, they turned the bin on its end, pouring the contents out into the dirt!  Out rolled about a dozen little piglets.  Cute is an understatement.  The little pigs ran and clustered around their mommy, bouncing and leaping and wiggling their cute little pig butts with those cute little curly tails.  

There were brown ones, white ones, pink ones, and rust colored ones, just running as fast as their little pig legs would carry them. Hilarious!

Mostly they stayed clustered around momma.  Except this time when a couple of them lost their way.  They weren't paying attention when momma moved half way across the large arena. When they looked up to see she wasn't next to them any more, they were in a panic. They went charging off to find her.

They came up to the sheep and tried to fit in there, but the sheep said, "No, no no!  You are not one of us! Go away!" and nudged them piggies on. 

They came upon the goats and tried to join up, but the goats said Sayonara.  No matter where they went, no one would let the little oinkers hang out with them.  It was sad but really funny too.  The crowd was getting a big chuckle out of the predicament.   Finally, they kept running around until they managed to find momma. Rejoicing in the land commenced.

While you might think that was the best and most funny thing the pigs did, there was another situation that created great laughs. The piggies had poured out of the bin quite easily and hit the ground running, as they say.  Did you wonder how they were going to go back into the bin?  Did that question cross your mind? I'll give you something to think about for a moment.

The little piggies don't want to go back in the  bin.
 
A group of 4-5 workers came out into the arena and surrounded the group of piglets. Momma just walked off or stood around, extremely unconcerned.  The workers circled, standing arms' length and moved in closer. 

They did try to move the group of baby pigs, leaping and dancing around, a little closer to the wall so there wouldn't be anywhere they could run to.  Then, they swooped down and grabbed as many pigs as they could.  Nicely, of course.  

From the loud squeals and screams that commenced, you'd have thought it was slaughterhouse day.  It wasn't.  It was just gather up piggies and put them back in the bin day.  They ran.  They dashed.  They darted. When grabbed, they screamed a blood-curdling scream and began flailing around.  It was hilarious.  I am a little sad the piggies were terrorized, but the workers were being very kind. They just had to get them back in the bin to move out and make room for the next show (which didn't feature pigs).

The last two pigs to be gathered ran all the way across the arena. The workers tried not to look silly chasing them, but it was quite comical. Imagine being the worker when the silly little pig keeps evading your efforts to catch him--and a crowd of thousands is looking on and laughing.  It was all very good-natured fun. Since I saw the same pig show two different days, I thought you'd enjoy the rounding up of the little piggies one more time. 

Believe it or not, the pigs were just the opening act that day
Horse day  

The real stars were the horses. I made sure to take a ton of pictures because my mom LOVES horses. She was quite a horsewoman in her day, so forgive me for posting a ton of horse pictures.  They are for my mom.  You can enjoy them too, but they are for her.

The opening of the horse portion of the program began with some pretty horses being paraded around the arena. A beautiful carmel-colored colt and its mother walked serenely around, manes blowing in the breeze.  Then, the colt literally kicked up its heels and decided to jump and run around like a kid.  It was very cute and the colt decided it would not follow instructions anymore so it got to run around an be adorable.

 
The first part of the horse show was seeing various horses in various costumes and horses used for various purposes.  And, two local breweries had impressive horses pulling a giant wagon filled with kegs of their brew.  The Budweiser Clydesdales are very similar to what was here.

 

It was pretty to see the various horses.  One whole exhibit of them was a group of work horses that work high up in the alps and help move trees when they are chopped down. 
 
They demonstrated how the horse must remain still while a chainsaw is running, instead of becoming skittish.  They also showed how the work horse will drag the heavy tree up on a pivot piece of wood so the farmer could saw it into smaller pieces.  I found it really interesting to think that these methods have been used for centuries by the Swiss farmer (except the chainsaw part).

I was impressed with the fact that all the animals I was seeing were actual working farm animals.  The people demonstrating were actual families and people who live and work on farms in the area.  
They clearly love their animals and have spent many hours with them teaching them tricks or skills.  And, they were very proud to come share their animals with the crowds at the agriculture festival.



What could there possibly be to top that?
 

The final group to perform was definitely the headliner act.  There was a group of young girls that accompanied this family group and my guess is that they are part of a gymnastic club and they are learning various athletic jumps and leaps and tumbling moves.  

They specialized in jumping over the various animals or turning a somersault across this one or that one.  It was very entertaining.

But the animals were even more spectacular. There was one blond gal and she could ride anything.  She also trained other animals to ride with her.  It wasn't enough for her to gallop around the ring, she had to bring two cute brown goats up with her to ride the horses too.  

Check it out Sarah and Shawn Todd!

Next, there was a dog that came up and rode a galloping horse around the ring.  Then blondie rode a cow.  Yep, a cow.  And the cow was happily running around the ring carrying this girl.

After that, they got the horse in position for the tumbling girls to leap over it.  
 

A man got a horse to lay down on its side. That was cool. But there was a second part to that act.

While the horse was laying on its side, the girls all came and somersaulted over it. Then the another horse and some goats came and leaped over. Then the dog leaped over. 

Then the COW leaped over the horse.  Yes, you heard me right.The big, giant COW leaped over the horse--and the horse remained calmly laying on its side.  COOL.

At the end of the show the announcer invited all the children to come and have a ride around the arena on their cart.  HUNDREDS of kids jumped off the wall surrounding the arena and ran to form a line and get their ride.  That was so cute.
 



It was a fabulous day and I could not wait to return for more animal presentations.

I leave you with one final picture of the patient and calm horse.  It is from the backside and it is a horse's bottom (a _ _).  Picture the face of the person of your choice at this time and have a chuckle courtesy of me from CH.

   
Hee-haw and woof woof rein supreme (no that is not a typo)
Donkey and Herd Dog Day 

After a great day of pig hijinks and horse heroics, how could anything top that?  I'll tell you. Donkey Day and Herd Dog Day. Two different groups performing on the next day.


The first thing that appeared were several different types of donkeys.  They just wandered around the area which had been set up with various items that were going to be used during the demonstration.  Then a lady appeared and she was the announcer (speaking only in Swiss German--but a nice gal about aged 24-ish sat next to me and told me a few things she was saying).

The announcer told us that the donkeys were owned by various people, not one certain farm and that some of the people had adopted them and were working to train them to do certain activities.  

But, she continued, donkeys being donkeys, if the donkey doesn't want to do the skill at that moment, the owners could not make them.  Stubborn as a mule.  Not just a casual phrase.  We got to see that firsthand.  Every now and then, a donkey would stop and that was the end of what it would do.

The cutest thing the donkeys did was just a natural occurrence.  As they were randomly wandering at the first, a donkey just flopped down on its back and started wiggling around, joyously squirming in the dirt of the arena.  It was really cute to see.  I tried to catch it on film for you, but they randomly did this and I didn't get my camera open and ready in time.

The one thing that the announcer told us, that I had no idea about before,  was that 90% of all donkeys have this certain marking on their backs.  Along the ridge of the back is a dark stripe of hair (I'd always seen that) but the other interesting marking occurs about shoulder level in the front.  

It is a stripe that crosses the back line, making a "cross" of dark fur. I had never noticed that cross stripe.  That was very cool to learn that.

I enjoyed the donkey show immensely.  It was fascinating to see each different type of donkey and each different owner interact with their pet.  Loved it.
 
If you have kids, you have to come to this show--it is a must see event

The second performing group was the herd dogs.  Reminds me of an ancient joke my sister Bari used to tell:  "Do you know what I heard?"  And she'd answer: "Sheep."  That joke was literally running through my mind most of the day during the show.  Thanks, Bari!  lol

Once again, I have to remind you that all the animals on display are WORKING animals.  It was evident that the dogs were excited to do their job:  Herd.  They were serious about it, focused on it, and their tails wagged the whole time they happily herded the animal of the moment into whatever area the master wanted the animal to go into.   

Check out this dog as it herds these geese up this stair bridge thing.  It was amazing.

And they herded everything:  Sheep, pigs, goats, llamas (they were actually alpaca sheep--I discovered later), white geese, and a brown geese grouping.

These dogs were focused.  It did not matter that there were thousands of people watching or that they clapped or laughed or cheered at certain points.  It did not matter to the dogs that there were dozens of children from the audience sitting within the arena participating in the interactive show. No. The dogs ONLY saw the animal they were supposed to herd and they heard ONLY the commands from their master.  It was beyond cool.  It was fantastic!

Did you catch what I said about this being an interactive show?  The announcer was a member of the farm group and he invited all the children who wanted to be involved to come down into the arena.  Scores of kids--all ages and sizes--jumped into the performing area. They became a part of the show.

The children would stand in a circle and the dogs would herd the animals around the circle. They would stand in a ring on the outside edge of the arena and they dogs would herd the animals to jump over bars spaced around the outside edge of the arena, fenced off by the kids.  Then, the announcer had the kids sit on benches that were a diameter in the circle, and he told them to pull their feet up and sit on their feet.  Then the dogs herded geese under the kids.  It was hilarious.  The kids loved it and you can bet mommy and daddy were snapping pictures the whole time.

Notice the geese being herded under the bar in the middle of the kids.

At one point, the announcer had all the children line up right behind each other with no space in between. Then he had them open their legs as wide as they could.  The dogs herded pigs through the line of kids' legs.  It was terribly cute and wildly funny.  

Some of the smaller leg spans weren't big enough for the pigs to get through (or the kid just freaked out and pulled back), but it caused a break in the line and pigs were squeezing past the line and wandering around outside.  The herd dogs got right on that.  They immediately came around to turn the pigs back to the line, but it was sort of a moot point by that time.  Hilarity ensued and the pigline was mostly a thing of the past.

 
To thank all the kids for their participation, the announcer told them to go over to another crew member who was holding a huge box of treats for them.  They were so excited to get these treats!  

Wanna know what the treat was?  A carrot!  After every kid got one, they announced there were some extras and dozens of kids ran back to get more!  One cute little girl had a handful and was so excited.  The joy on her face as she returned to her family (sitting close to where I was) was exquisite to see.  Each and every child was thrilled to have a carrot.  I'm not kidding.  

I cannot imagine such a genuinely joyful reaction to a carrot prize happening in the US.  And they all started immediately munching on their carrots. That was as cute as anything in the show.

One final word on the herd dogs. There were some animals that tried to challenge them and face off with them.  In every instance, the herd dogs were able to get the animal to comply, even grumpily or reluctantly.  It didn't hurt that the human masters were there to help when some animal really got cranky about being told what to do.

I know there's an award for me somewhere

With my Swiss Pass, I have traveled back and forth across CH for thousands of miles.  I think I have one of the highest accumulation of miles on train travel.

I have figured out how to use my time while I'm on the trains for extended rides of a couple of hours.  I take my iPad and write the story in an email to myself.  Then I can have that much of the blog completed when I am home and ready to put the pictures with it for a posting.

Travel team on the train with me.  Mate found a friend ready for Halloween (TY Sarah).

Today, however, I had an extra long day on the train.  Two hours first thing in the morning got me to Chur where I joined The Glacier Express as it traveled 5 hours across CH in a panoramic coach.  I wanted to see how the leaves had changed so I rode the special route again, even though I had ridden it six weeks previously.  It did not disappoint.  But where it ends, Zermatt, gives me another 4 hour train ride to get home.  So it had been a long day of trains and sitting on my butt.

As I was riding home, I was frankly tired of looking out of the train at the view.  It is stunning. It is beautiful.  It is unmatched.  I saw enough for today so I took out my iPhone and was playing Mahjong.  I did feel guilty for not looking out the window.  I told myself that it was 6 p.m. and that is the time wildlife might come out and eat so I should look out on the hills and see if there was anything to see instead of playing a dumb game on a phone.

No sooner did I look out the window than I spotted a wild ram of some kind grazing on the side of a steep mountainside right above me. It raised its head just as I looked and gave me the perfect Kodak moment.  I called out to the other passengers in the train and pointed, but if they didn't speak English, they did not have any idea what I was showing them.  He was stately and huge.  A real specimen.  And I saw him the moment I looked up.  It was highly random that I would even have seen a wild animal eating at just that place at just that instant. I found out later it was an ibex.

This is not the ibex I saw.  Mine was bigger and the mountainside was steeper and rockier.

It made me start to think.  Sometimes we can fritter away our attention on insignificant games of Mahjong and miss a prize buck that is a one-time only spectacle.  A one-time only opportunity.

Just one of those little a-ha moments. 




 

I saw France, not underpants--and I have yet to make my way to London (nursery rhyme reference)

 After the fabulous day of cow festival in Lenk, Helen had another thrill up her sleeve for my enjoyment.  Natasha, her daughter, came along for the adventure as well.  We went to Colmar, France.  
 
On a Sunday morning, we headed to the land of the French because Helen said it was so pretty I just had to see it--even though most of the shops and open air markets would be closed for the day.  She was right.

Colmar is a most beautiful city and it is called Little Venice since it has a canal that runs through it.  I exerted my tourist influence on Helen and Natasha to take a gondola ride on the canal.  They have been to Colmar dozens of times before but had never taken the touristy boat. 
No, it took an amateur American to talk them into that.  The day was overcast and did sprinkle a little on us, but it was delightful nevertheless.


Just as we began our boat ride down the canal, the sun peeked out from the clouds and provided a most beautiful version of sunlight beaming through the vegetation along the canal.  Truly stunning. We were all very pleased that we had chosen this event.
The autumn turning of the color of leaves was spectacular on the canal.  There were even little fishies visible in the water. 

Notice the vine has leaves of all colors as they are changing.

Unfortunately, our gondola driver did not sing to us, nor did he even talk to us and tell us things about the area.  


 

We noticed other gondolas we passed were luckier and passengers were listening raptly to their guides.

A good time was had by all in Colmar.  Truly a beautiful city.  The city symbol is the stork.  In the summer it is quite common to look up on many buildings and see a nest of stork babies and a parent stork. Unfortunately, in the fall they have moved on.
 
Notice the brown wood piece design in the yellow building.  After asking, I understand that the wood and pattern came from what I call the European version of adobe bricks.  The wood was the form and they would stuff the space in between with mud and grasses until it created this wood pattern look.  Nowadays, locals can purchase a facade that replicates the old time creation.

We chose a delightful place to have a sumptuous lunch of Flammekuchen.  The highlight of this place is the hundreds of puppets hanging above the heads throughout the restaurant.  

Many of them were witches, friendly ones mostly.  The Alsace region of France, where Germany, Switzerland, and France meet, is where the Germans came in and settled long ago and there is a German feel to the French area.  Up to the 1700s there were still witch trials and executions in the Alsatian region.  

Our Alsatian witch dining companion.

This grinning witch overlooked our table as we ate Flammekuchen--a very thin crust with a creamy herb bottom layer (sour cream, creme fraiche), usually having onions and bacon, and sprinkled cheese melted on top. The crust is analogous to a very dry tortilla so that it breaks and crumbles.  The thinness is that thin.  It is a very light item and you can eat half easily before you know it.  It is quite large, about the size of a cookie sheet.

We did some shopping at the few shops which were open and I did manage to spend the Euros I pulled out of the bank for just that purpose.

My one lasting impression of France was in the form of an appreciation of CH. Shortly after we arrived in France and set out to tour the town, Natasha warned us to watch our step--AFTER I had managed to find a small pile of dog poop to tread in.  I stomped around in some puddles of water until my shoes were visibly clean again, but it underscored something about CH I've been meaning to mention.

Happy dog & master in poop-free CH.

People in CH take their dogs EVERYWHERE.  They are on the buses, the trains, in the stations, in the stores (not grocery stores unless they are working guide dogs), and outside in some sidewalk cafes.  I have walked and walked and walked all over CH and for two months have never stepped in any dog mess.

In France, 10 minutes on the street and I found some.  I spent the rest of the day not being able to look up and see the great buildings and picturesque views because I had to keep my eyes looking down to make sure I did not tread in some foul pile.  There were many.  I don't know how that is OK.  Your dog leaves a mess and you walk away without picking up after your animal.  It mars the experience for every other person coming that way.

Thank you CH and the "norm" of the place that causes people to pick up after their dogs. Just another plus on the Swiss scoreboard.

The last cruise of the year and I was on it

There is a cruise line in Basel that runs up and down the Rhein.  It opens the season in the early summer and closes Oct. 14.  The exciting thing about this cruise is that it goes through a series of locks.  And the last cruise of the last day was one I had a reservation on.  So Helen and Natasha hurried us back from France and dropped me off on the wharf where the boat departed from.

That's the boat. Check out the lack of extra space between boat and bridge.

It was iffy whether the cruise was going.  It had been cancelled due to the three straight days of rain previously causing the Rhein to rise so high the boat was not able to travel under the bridge.  On this rainy day, you can see the lack of excess clearance.  Luckily, the Rhein was down and my cruise went as scheduled.

It was a most fascinating experience.  When the boat is being raised to a new level, it is OK, sorta interesting.  But when the boat is being lowered its entire height into a new level that much lower on the river, it is freaking cool!

Notice the ceiling of boat is lower than the previous waterline.

Before I had witnessed the lowering, we were in the lock and I saw that the sidewalk going across the river was right there in front of the boat.  I looked and looked for a way that the bridge would open up and let the boat through. I wondered...do they stop the people from walking across the sidewalk?  Is there a pedestrian warning arm that descends like at a train crossing?  The answer to both was nope.

The boat gets lowered completely down--the level of its own height--and it travels UNDER that sidewalk.  I couldn't believe my eyes.

The lock we just left is on the right. Look at the sidewalk we went under.

That miracle witnessed, I was free now to leave the ship and head to the Baldomaros' house for a festive gathering of friends and my first ever experience of a major Swiss food item--Raclette.
Bubbly + cheesy=Raclette
Raclette originated in the alps area on the farms where they would have a big wheel of cheese.  Half of the wheel would sit before the fire and the top layer would melt.  Bubbling, sometimes browning, it would become a gooey melted mess for some.  Not for the Swiss.

They take a scraper thingy and scrape off that melted layer onto small potatoes (usually) or bread or a combination of other items like salty pearl onions from a jar mixed with salty sweet gherkins.  Sounds odd, but don't knock it until you've tried it.

While the Baldomaros did not have an open fire and a giant wheel of cheese to scrape, they had the modern equivalent found in most Swiss homes, the Raclette maker.  It is a series of small trays that a thick slice of cheese is placed upon and then it sits on a burner type thing which heats the individual tray and the cheese begins to bubble and is all melty and sometimes even browned.  Then you take a scraper thingy and scrape it off the tray onto the item of your choice.

Thinking that I had had Raclette many times within the two months I've been in CH (that's how ubiquitous it is), my hosts had planned some other yummy meal.  They quickly changed to Raclette so I would have the experience.  I cannot thank them enough.  It was the most yummy and exquisitely delicious thing I've had.  

Oscar and Helen maintain that their version is a distorted version of the Swiss original since they provided bowls filled with yummy topping choices to place on the slice of cheese while it is melting.  Items included:  Bacon, mushrooms, chopped spicy chilis from their garden, gherkins, salty pearl onions from a jar, purple onions, black pepper, and spices to sprinkle on top.

Once again,I have to thank Oscar and Helen for their outstanding 5-star Raclette meal.  The fun guests to share the experience added much to the evening.  I have met the nicest and most welcoming people in CH. They all are issued invitations to come to AZ and I insist on being their resource person if anyone needs something mailed to them from the good ol' USA once I get home.







A naughty confession--shhhh!

Pssst!  Come closer....I have a confession to make.  In this land of heavenly Swiss chocolate, I have had Snickers and Twixt this past week.  They satisfy me.  Shhh!  Don't tell. I did buy them here, so that must mean they are approved.  It just seems a bit sacrilegious in the land of legendary Swiss chocolate....

Let's just let that be our little secret.  

It's what they do, the Swiss, and not just for show

I have had a rude awakening.  No, not by my alarm clock--by a calendar.  I have entered the last 30 days of my stay in CH.  Oh my goodness.  My days are numbered.  

Before, I had all the time in the world.  Now my mind flits from this to that and I've created a calendar of items to do on certain days.  I haven't had ANY kind of an itinerary up to now.

One thing I haven't had the pleasure of doing is tasting one HUGE Swiss menu item.

When I was in Basel for the play, a couple of us discovered this lovely Asian restaurant where we found some fabulous Thai food.  This is their version of Thom Kai soup, a favorite in my circle of family and friends.

But it is definitely NOT specifically SWISS.  

From the Swiss menu...

I've had Rosti, the shredded potato dish that is fried (like hash browns).

I've had Basel Lackerli, the gingerbread type thin cake which has a dusting of powdered sugar on the top and bits of candied fruit within.

I've had Rivella, the national Swiss carbonated drink, in more than one flavor.  I like the green the best.  :)

I've had Birchermueseli the preferred breakfast of many Swiss.  It is a granola-type muesli mixed in with a yoghurt-like dish.  It is quite yummy.  But I've been adding crunchies to my yoghurt for a while now.  (Btw, muesli was invented in CH.)

I've had MANY bars of chocolate, Ragusa being my favorite.  I've also had the lovely chocolate ladybugs.  Too much chocolate.  I took a break from it for about four weeks. Just rejoined the experience this past week.  Don't ask, don't tell.  :)

I've had schnautzlets mit rosti which is a common dish in the Swiss German area and one that my Swiss German language tapes taught me how to order in restaurants.  Basically, it is veal cutlets with mushrooms in a creamy sauce.  Right up my alley, if you know me. (Rosti described above)

Until this past weekend, I had not had Raclette, a major Swiss dish.  My dear friend Helen Baldomaro and her husband Oscar invited me to stay at their beautiful home in Binningen (right outside Basel--so close it is Basel, practically). And they made a most wonderful memory for me as they created the ultimate Raclette experience. A true 5-star experience.

But that story will be in the NEXT blog...

Today: Cows for the last time this year

These were a couple of old guys at the festival.

But first, let me tell you about the fantastic day that Helen and I had attending the last cow alpabfahrt of the year in Lenk.  I was coming from Zurich and Helen was coming from the Basel area, the two sides of CH.  We both had to get up and hit the trains very early--me at 6:00 a.m.  It was a four-hour journey for me and close to that for Helen.

(Helen was the head of the make-up crew for the production in Basel and her day job is working as a scientist at the hospital in Basel managing the research with stem cells.) 
 
We met up in Speitz where we traveled the last 1.75 hour together.  The small town of Lenk presented a wonderful festival attended by thousands.  

Since they were so small, they were able to offer a unique way of parading the returning cows.  They had each farm go around the four block city square twice.  If you missed some parade as you were purchasing something from a vendor for a moment, you had another chance to see it.

Also, if there was something really great to see, you got to see it twice--such as a huge bull (every cow's date on that farm, most likely).  Btw, he was spectacular as he snorted and pulled his handler this way and that as the worker held on tightly to his nose ring.  Really impressive sight.

I was able to purchase two items I wanted very much in Lenk. Helen helped me.  She was very instrumental.

(NOTE:  I just saw a little black and white bunny hop into the bushes on the side of the train tracks as I was traveling to today's adventure.  So cute!)

The first item I wanted was a shirt made from a very Swiss material, the edelweiss pattern. The exact origin of the fabric is a mystery, but small mills outside Bern were known to make it in the 60s.  It is tough for hard-wearing, but very soft and were sew at home from the bolts of material.  Then the fabric caught on and is now proudly worn by working farmers, Swiss wrestlers, tourists, and retired teachers from Arizona. 

This little girl wears a shirt in the material.

Notice how many people are wearing this material in picture after picture. Many, many people wear items from this weave.  Hundreds of them were at the festival.  For over a month I have been desiring an edelweiss shirt.  I finally got one.  There were fake printed versions, but I got the actual woven version.  I am so happy.

The second item I got was a necessity.  The weather is changing rapidly and it is chilly every day now.  I have a very warm fleece and several fleece neck scarves plus a very good raincoat.  But, I fear if the weather gets COLD I would need to purchase an expensive jacket.  However, if I layer my clothing AND get a thermal undergarment, then I should be OK for the small amount of time I have left.  Helen and I found a shop with the exact item I needed and since it was last year's model (what do I care?) it was 50% off!  Yes!!!  Score one for Bobbette.  TY Helen!   I go back to Lenk this weekend for a special Swiss sport and I may go in and get one more thermal shirt or maybe thermal bottoms.

One vendor's clever creation for a flower pot.

Happy cows skipping back home on your feet

Helen explained that she and Oscar have been to many alpabfahrts and one thing they have noticed is that the cows can tell they are almost home when they get to the villages from the alps.  This causes the cows to get rambunctious after they've been walking for several hours to return from the mountains.  Maybe they smell familiar smells, who knows.  Whatever the reason, we saw several cows dash home.  Instead of just walking in the parade, they might dash right over your foot, so watch your step!

It never got boring to watch the various farms come through town.  Helen and I had a spot picked out where the crowd was very thin and we were right on the street.   But you had to keep an eye out for a tail that was being raised....it meant there would immediately be a SPLAT! that might get on your shoe or pants as a happy cow removed filler in its digestive tract.  (LOL)

Both Helen and I escaped sharing that experience with the cows.

Wrapping up the Saturday night live in CH

We headed home to a lovely feast created by Oscar of fresh pan-fried fish, peas, and potatoes.  The flavors were excellent and tasted so good after a festival of cows and people. As a final wrap-up:  We got to hear some yodeling music as a local group from the area performed many times throughout the day.

We got to vote in the annual beauty contest. Everyone in the crowd could vote for a $10 SwFr donation. While searching for the most beautiful bovine, Helen and I discovered that cows are very pretty.  The phrase "cow eyes" to describe someone looking at you with a melting look comes right from the cow.  

It was so difficult to pick from the row of cow entrants.  Which one deserved our vote?  We finally went with two different ones--Helen with a gorgeous creamy light brown one named Jana and me deciding on a brown patterened cow with cute little spots circling its eyes name Anemone.  Neither cow won, but Anemone won honourable mention for creamiest milk or something like that.  The announcer only spoke German and Helen translated for me, but I forgot what she told me it was.

And the 2012 Miss Lenk

1st runner-up, should the queen be unable to complete her reign...

At the end of the festival, I can say that when I travel on the trains now, I see dozens of cows in heretofore empty green fields.  It is a nice addition to the landscape.  And it is also reaffirming of the Swiss world.  This is their life.  This is their culture.  They didn't hold a festival for tourists to come to.  

Hostess at the festival.  Notice the arm warmers that go up to her elbows.

They held a celebration of their tradition.  More than half the crowd was Swiss.  They came to be Swiss and carry on their ways with honor and joy.

Us tourists get to sneak in and enjoy it too.