We have been fully immersing ourselves into Swiss culture & tradition the past two Saturdays, as we attended the "Desalpe" in both Charmey (Gruyere) and St. Cergue. It doesn't get much more Swiss than cows on parade, Alpenhorn music & fondue tasting. The Desalpe is a celebration of the cows returning down to the plain after more than four months of grazing in the alpine pastures. Many of the cows are decorated with flowered headdresses and wear elaborately embroidered cow bells. The families march with their cows in traditional Swiss dress & sometimes their horses, donkeys, or bernese mountain dogs accompany them as well.
In Charmey we arrived after the descent had already begun and about 6 km from the town center we hit standstill traffic. After sitting disappointedly in the car for a few minutes, we realized that traffic was actually stopped to allow the parading cows to pass. Everyone got out of the car and cheered on the cows as they went by. A few times we had to step out of the way of a cow that had a bit too much momentum coming down the mountain and would graze the side of our car, one even pushing in our side mirror. After the cows passed everyone would get back in their cars, move ahead about 500 meters until we hear the joyful clanging of the next herd of cows. Then everyone would exit their cars again to watch the beautifully decorated cows pass. We crept along like this for about an hour until we finally reached the village of Charmey.
After parking we made our way into the town center where the festivities were taking place. We sampled several varieties of Gruyere cheese, listened to the traditional Swiss brass band play, and wandered around checking out the booths of the local artisans. We then had cheese fondue & locally made sausages for lunch, and of course could not pass up the meringue with double creme for dessert. We then topped off our very Swiss day by listening to the Alpenhorn players.
The girls had so much fun, that when they found out that some of their classmates were going to the St. Cergue Desalpe this Saturday they insisted on going again. We just can't get enough of cows on parade! The festivities were quite similar, but this time we arrived very early, got a great parking spot and were able to check out the local artisan booths as well as the playground ahead of the parade starting. The girls enjoyed seeing the cows again, but more importantly they had a blast with their classmates!
As I sit here and upload these photos, I think about how grateful I am for these experiences that we are having. How amazing it is that we live close enough to be able to experience this and that we are able to immerse our girls in a different culture. As I was driving back down the mountain yesterday, Kenzie suddenly shouted, "Wow, Mom! That is just beautiful! You have to stop and take a picture."
And so I pulled over and took that last picture of the mountains peeking out above the clouds, because it was just beautiful. Switzerland is stunning, in a way that pictures can't really do it justice. And as we were driving home I looked in awe at the majestic mountains that surrounded us and listened to Kenzie & Lexi having a conversation in the back seat:
Lexi: Do you like Geneva or Cincinnati more?
Kenzie: I like both.
Lexi: But, which do you like more?
Kenzie: I don't know.
Lexi: I like Geneva because it has a lake and beautiful mountains and we get to go to lots of neat places.
Kenzie: Me too, but I wish we could move our house and friends from Cincinnati to Geneva.
Lexi: Me too.
Kenzie: Yeah, to a big open space right on the lake.
Lexi: Yeah, that would be perfect!
Me too, girls! That would be perfect. It warms my heart to hear you talk so positively about your new home and to watch you have so much fun with your new friends ... even while you are still missing your friends & family back in the US.
No comments:
Post a Comment