A Well Kept Man

Cows...

Like you've never seen them before.

Did it meet my expectations? Absolutely!

We awoke early yesterday morning to drive with Katie and Tom (pictured below...one of the perks of visiting us is that your picture will wind up in a feature on this blog...priceless!) up to Charmey for the Alpine Descent of the Cows (La Rindya - Le Desalpe de Charmey). We were planning on going to St. Cergue, but changed our minds after Alli spoke with numerous colleagues who described the Charmey event as the one to beat. We weren't sure quite what to expect, but needless to say it was an almost magical experience. There was a parade through the city center of Charmey, complete with farmers, cows, goats, kittens, dogs, donkeys, horses, sheep, flag throwers, alpenhornsmen, a band or two...and it was packed.

The city also had various booths set up selling cow bells, wooden carvings (of all things cow related), cheese-mongers, food, beer, coffee, apple schnapps, etc. It was THE place to be apparently as the crowd overflowed this small town in the foothills of the Swiss Alps. About every thirty minutes a different farmer would bring his herd through the city streets to the delight of the crowd. You could hear the cows coming from quite a distance, but couldn't see them until they were right on you due to the nature of the streets (and amount of people). Each cow was either adorned with a fancy bell, plain bell, head-dress (ranging from pine sprigs and pom poms to full on Christmas trees) or "Jackie O" type hats (they looked to be late for tea with the Queen Mum I figured). We didn't realize either how fast these bovines could move.

I can now fully appreciate the running of the bulls, at least the part where people somehow manage to get gored when they underestimate the speed of these animals. If you are feeling up to the challenge, I would strongly encourage you to reconsider your participation in any activity where you are being chased by a 500+ kg ungulates (again, I'm helping those who may or may not have a report to do for school) through narrow European streets. The odds are against you.

The daring could have run into the barricade lined streets to attempt to assist the cows in their annual pilgrimage, however, the daring were only those who have spent cold mornings getting to know the cows most deepest inner dreams and desires. I was impressed with the dress (Bredzon) of the cow herdsmen and women, as well as the general celebratory nature of the Swiss. This was a great day, which included a brat and pommes frites (2 brat/fry combos + 2 Cokes where 22 CHF) at a picnic table with about 300 Swiss, and a polka band two meters away (I'm now specifically targeting children in grades K-8...How much did this cost me in US dollars? How far away was the polka band in feet? Hints: The current exchange rate is 1 CHF = $0.92; The accordion player had brown eyes.).

Please follow this link for pictures of the event. (Click on the word link in the previous sentence)

Oh, and I didn't even step in anything...so it really was a great day!