The cows come home!

The Swiss love their autumn festivals - it's a reason for them to celebrate the end of the harvest season, kick off the start of winter, and most importantly bring their cows, sheep, and goats back down from the mountains to their farm for winter. These festivals run from the end of September to the beginning of November all over the country and they have many different themes and events. From wine & beer drinking, cheese eating, to alpine athletic competitions, and fresh food and craft markets to say the least there is something for everyone. We decided to venture to the small village of Seewis in mid-October to see for ourselves what this celebration was all about.

Although there were many things going on the entire weekend, the highlighted event was of course the parade of animals. And it most certainly did not disappoint! For being quite possibly the shortest parade I've ever been to at about five minutes in length, I would have to say that it was probably one of my favorite things I've done/seen/experienced in Switzerland during our time here! We could hear bells ringing for a good 20 or 30 minutes before we even saw any animals. And it's no wonder why - those bells were big and loud! Not to mention these animals were not just walking and trotting as they wove down the hillside as I had expected to see them do. Most of them were at a full blown run trying to get through town as fast as they could.

Sheeps & goats kick off the parade

Here come the cows - and when I said they were wearing big bells I meant BIG!



Emma was in awe every moment!

It quickly became clear that for the farmers that were dressed up in festive Swiss clothing and the cows with big wreaths of flowers on their heads and necks that this was no easy nor relaxing task. It was quite a handful to keep them controlled and on the path down to their farms. Just take a look at the videos to see for yourself. The first video shows the goats kicking off the procession and the second video shows the cows starting to get just a little out of control, I'm just glad the old man got out of the way before that last cow came through and took him out!

And after the parade was over - well you can guess what came next - the street cleaners! It certainly was an experience I will never forget, I just hope Emma can come back someday and see it when she doesn't need to cover up her ears because it's so loud!

 



Where's the clean-up crew!?



Overlooking the beautiful mountainside

Great spot for a family photo

Happy to finally be back in their own pasture

This cow was anxious to show off it's bell and wreath - can't even imagine how strong that neck must be!

Post-parade remnants...