Almabtriebfest in Hippach

As you can see, the headdresses on the cows are very ornate and religious based. There were images of Christ as well as patron Saints on the headdresses. The word "Gruss Gott" on some of the headdresses is a popular greeting here which literally means "Greet God." Nice!

Scenes of Hippach, a village in the Tyrol Mountains- Austrian Alps....

The hills are alive...with the sound of cow bells and Lynard Skynard!

That title made you want to read all our about our fun weekend trip to the Austrian Alps, right!? Zev came home one day last week and told me about a colleague at work that was going to travel to Switzerland to watch the annual procession of cows coming down from their summer pastures in the Alps. Thanks to google and language translation websites, I learnt that the Austrian name for this event is "almabtrieb" which literally means procession down the mountain. (The Swiss word is "transhumance" and the German word is "almwirtschaft.") Anyhoo, we decided to head towards the almabtrieb in the ADORABLE little Austrian Alps town of Hippach. It was about a 3 and a half hour drive according to our trusty TomTom, but with traffic and a couple of stops, it took us about 5 hours. The drive was truly beautiful though. If you have ever read the children's book "Heidi" or seen the "Sound of Music", you will be able to imagine what the landscape looked like- think beautiful, majestic snow-capped mountains, with lush green valleys and meadows, traditional wooden houses and barns with flowers dangling down and cows EVERYWHERE! The air was so clean and fresh- we just sat in awe at one point and took it all in.

So what about the cow bells/ Lynard Skynard comment!? As a lot of you know, one of our wedding songs in Australia was "Sweet Home Alabama" in honor of the fact that we were moving to Alabama. Imagine our surprise then, when we pull into the little town of Hippach and see the town gathered in a field around cows decorated with gorgeous flower headdresses and lovely cow bells. We smiled and commented on how this was such a typical Austrian Alps scene- lush mountains, town folk in traditional costume, brats and wurst on the grill, the sound of cow bells as the cows move around and.....the familiar strains of "Sveet Home Alabuma" (think Austrian accent). It really was quite an experience to listen to American country rock (everything from "Sweet Home Alabama" of course to Dire Straits, and even Johnny Cash's "Walk the Line"), along with the clanging of cow bells in the Austrian Alps. We really loved our experience at the almabtriebfest and hope that you enjoy our pictures AND for the first time ever- some video links! Auf Wiedersehen!

Medieval fortress at Kufstein

We saw a few castles along the road on our way home from Austria, and decided to stop in one that was located on the German/ Austrian border. Zev is a real sport and was gracious enough to indulge my love of castles and medieval history. The location was Kufstein and the building we toured through was actually a fortress dating back to the 1400s!! We had to take a trolley lift up to the actual entrance of the fortress because the steps were so steep. You can see what a great view we had over the town!!! Zev did a wonderful job driving us to Hippach and back, all while navigating through busy traffic and even a detour or two! He is my special man....

German language class, driving on the Autobahn, German leases, bike trip and other fun things...

Well, we are starting to feel like we are regular German "residents," now that we are driving all over town, going on trips to other places, and trying to translate German leases- nothing more exhilirating than signing your name to a 3-year, 10-page contract in another language, right? What could happen? Our car arrived last Friday and even thought we had been getting around just fine on public transport, it was nice to have our little car to zip around in. We bought a "TomTom" GPS navigation system, and it has been a SAVING GRACE, especially when travelling from one motorway to the other and trying to "merge right", "stay left" and "try to avoid being slammed by an 18 wheeler going 120 km per hour (well not really, but you do have to pay extra attention to driving on the roads here as cars travel so fast down the Autobahn!) Zev installed a New Zealand lady's accent (we are still trying to find an Australian lady to be our navigation guide). It's pretty cool.

Other than that, we are still living in our little Gasthof (German Guest House) and the family is so nice here. Fi has tried to practice her very basic German with them, and they respond in English, so she may need some more practice. We have attended 2 German language classes so far (10 to go!)We can count to one hundred and say basic greetings in German. Our next plan is to put little stickers on things around the house with the German name- and of course just like French and Spanish, you have to memorize whether a noun is male, female or neutral (although our German language teacher says "neuter" which some people in the class find funny.....) Zev has done very well in picking up the German numbering system as well as odd phrases here and there such as "Tchuss!" which is pronounced like "choooose!" and is an informal way of saying "farewell" here, or "genau" which is like saying "ok" or "I get it." Zev likes to say "genau".....a lot......

We went on a bike ride acrss the countryside this past weekend- it was about an hour bike ride, but boy there were some hills in between! It was also sprinkling for the most part but we had a fun time, especially trying to follow the little (incognito!) signs for the bike trail. We are so impressed by how accessible the bike and walking trails are here in Germany. We also love how weather does not seem to stop the locals from getting out and about and going walking, running or bike riding.

Please keep in touch and send us the latest news from Sydney/ Melbourne/ Canandaigua/ Montgomery/ Shreveport, or wherever in the world you are currently reading this blog from.

Auf Wiedersehen!

Zev and Fi

xoxo

A Photo Essay- Images from the past Two Weeks...

Pictures from beautiful Germany!

Guten Tag friends and family around the world!

Thank you for being patient with our updates on our blogspot, and email/ phone contact. Zev and I are still searching for a place to live, but are enjoying exploring this beautiful city in the meantime. We have become some public transport-loving-folk!! The S-Bahn/ U-Bahn system (trains and streetcars) ROCKS here. Very safe, prompt and clean. We are very blessed to be involved in a culture immersion course this week where we have been learning basic words in German, as well as how to read a menu etc. One of our instructors was a young girl during World War II and had some amazing stories to share about her experiences living in Stuttgart during the war. Zev and I are enrolling in a German language class to learn German- we will be going to class twice a week so hopefully we will be up to speed by the time our guests come to visit! Last week we took (and passed!!) our German driving test. It was actually rather challenging as we had to remember the German road signs (in German!!) as well as some very detailed and unusual road rules! We are just awaiting arrival of our vehicle which was shipped over from the States so we can test drive it on the Autobahn. Last night we went out to dinner to a typical Swabian Gasthof (German Guesthouse/ Restaurant) and tried some of the local cuisine including Spatzle (German pasta) with this delicious wild mushroom sauce.....yum! This Friday we have actually decided to move out of our hotel and into this beautiful little Gasthof until we find a house to rent, just so that we can make some home cooked meals and enjoy somewhat "normal" life again. Although we love our travels and explorations, living out of a suitcase does get old after a while!! Luckily though, the local area has lots of well paved paths and trails through the forest (the Black Forest is very near!) so we have been running and walking as much as we can to work off this great German food! Tomorrow we head downtown for a field trip on how to use the public transportation system here (which is EXCELLENT but you MUST get the right ticket- very important to follow the rules!!) It just so happens that tomorrow is also the beginning of Stuttgart's Winefest- one of many festivals that will be held here until Christmas time (apparently the Christmas markets are truly beautiful). Zev and I discovered the Marketplatz and Markethall on the weekend- it was a total gourmet/ foodies delight with a whole plaza devoted to flowers, a whole plaza devoted to fresh vegetables, and a whole covered plaza devoted to deli meats and cheeses and breads. The setting was just beautiful too- surrounded by the Old Castle in downtown Stuttgart. We enjoyed trying unusual things such as dates stuffed with marzipan or wrapped in prosciutto or stuffed with walnuts, as well as gourmet cheese from around the world. Zev loved the miniature salami sausages that were spicy (and rather garlicky too!) The bread here is so fresh and delicious- we wish we could send you all some to try! You will just have to come and visit. Anyway, please enjoy the pictures and keep in touch! Love Zev and Fi xoxoxo