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.