Sunday.
Thanks to modern day technology we were able to worship with a Canadian Reformed Church in Ontario via YouTube. The kids were thrilled for some English! It was really nice to be able to do this, and feel refreshed also this way, spiritually. Again, the outdoors were calling and we spent much time roaming and enjoying the farm.
The owner of the farm invited us on this day to the "almabtrieb" in the village just down the road. The Almatrieb is a German word for the traditional festival when animals are brought down from the mountain pastures (alm) at the end of summer. It is one of the major village celebrations in mountain farming regions. We had no idea this was happening and had not planned to be here for this but Andy was thrilled to be able to see and participate in this as he has a soft spot for bringing the cows home. Andy had already noticed when we were at the Kellerjoch that there were no ringing cow bells and cows to be seen. We were in for a real treat. It was hard to get very good pictures though, as there were alot of people in small spaces and the cows were moving quickly.
While waiting for the cows to show up everyone was allowed to go look inside the barns. We were intrigued and impressed. Everything was spic and span and also tiny. Compared to a North American farm it was super tiny, yet this was a normal size for Austria. We were astonished that farmers could make a living on so few cows. Farmers take pride in how clean and neat everything is and this was also obvious. The locals were wearing traditional costumes/outfits and the whole village joined in the event with traditional live music, handcraft demonstrations and lots of local food specialties.
The cows themselves are elaborately dressed with flowers, ribbons and other impressive ornaments. The best cow wears the biggest bell and headdress.
There was a picnic area set up with a bouncy castle and pony rides. Abby was brave and went for a ride. It was so cute.
When it was done the cows ended up in the pasture and we could take some pictures with them. This was the icing on the cake of our trip to Austria. Really a unique opportunity for us. Can the Alps get any more idyllic? 😍
In the evening, while the younger kids went to bed, Andy and Seth drove around to check out a little church they had seen earlier. I am also adding here the pictures of across the road from where staying of the famer taking the hay off the field. It was amazing how the farmers could utilize all the space on the mountains, no matter how steep. They have specialized equipment made for mountain farming. The scale made it look like were experiencing the 60's, again comparing to the large scale farming in North America. We saw an entire family with hand rakes gathering hay where it was too steep for equipment to reach.
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