Today the hills were alive with the sound of music -- at least Interlaken was. We spent the entire day listening to yodeling groups present in competition and never got tired of it. A special treat was seeing our new friends from the yodeling club in Laufen; decked in their local costume, they looked quite different than when we'd seen them at their rehearsal and the sounded great! We also enjoyed the presentation from the club in New Glarus , Wisconsin - not far from John's family home!
The brightly colored costumes, different for each canton, the intonations, the harmony, the amazing voices with terrific ranges- what a treat. During intermissions we walked around town, sometimes in a torrential downpour. Rain or shine, there were yodeling groups or alphorn players gathered on corners, in plazas and in cafes. The town was alive with the sound of music!
We enjoyed the shops, too. The wood carving, the Swiss watches, the music boxes, Swiss army knives , Hummels - they were all there. So, too, were the native costumes. We both bought native blouses decorated with edelweiss - to wear when yodeling!!
This festival is clearly an effort to keep alive the Switzerdeutsch language and customs. Is was a privilege to be a part of it.- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
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