When we arrived in Oberstaufen this past Saturday afternoon, we caught the end of the Viehscheid
(the celebration of bringing the cows down from the alpine meadows). But we missed the actual "cow parade" through town. Today, we were fortunate to be able to attend the Viehscheid Festival in Thalkirchdorf, a mountain village close by.
We got to the beautiful little village of Thalkirchdorf about 8:30am. We were able to walk around for a little while before the cows came.
We were so taken by the adorable children in their German alpine clothing.
The adults were equally adorned for the festivities.
A colorful band added to the excitement by marching up the street to the pavilion area, where they began to play.
Soon we could see the cows making their way down the mountain and up Main Street to the holding pens at the pavilion area.
There were eleven family farms represented. The first group arrived promptly at 9:15am and continued until 11:45am. Each was led by one or more young people carrying a sign announcing the name of the farm. He or she was followed by the lead cow, the handler and sometimes a helper. The lead cow was greatly decorated with meadow flowers and greenery. The cows that followed had huge bells around their necks making the walk very loud!
We watched several groups come in and followed them to the pen area for some close-ups.
Around 10:30am we joined the locals for a bratwurst sandwich and beer inside the pavilion.
We were amazed at the variety of aminals included with the cows. There were donkeys, goats, horses and some chickens.
We so enjoyed this festival and were very happy to be a part of it.
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