where others come for vacation ...
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You can hear them long before they arrive. The low, rhythmic clang of several dozen cow bells signals the approach of a farmer and his herd on their descent from the high alpine pastures to the valley farms. After 100 days of summer, the cows are coming home. Their Summer vacation on the Alps over!
This descent – known as the Alpabzüge, Alpabfahrt, Alp Procession or Cow Parade – has been taking place annually all over Switzerland for centuries. Across the country some 12,000 herdsmen and over 100,000 cows spend more than three months in the mountains producing rich milk for cheese and butter, before returning to their winter farms in autumn.
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With it's lyrical landscapes, stunning art and a delectable "la cucina contadina" (the farmer's kitchen) a road trip to Toskana beckons us and one afternoon we find ourselves on the road to Italy..
After a couple of stops in Ticino to walk down memory lane with Lukas, we arrive in Pisa at midnight. We drive around a couple of times, looking for a hotel that feels right. Thanks to the friendly guy at the reception, we end up with a nice room against all odds ..
Oh the Joys of not planning a vacation!
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It's a crisp, fresh morning that has the promise of a beautiful sunny day ahead... ummm nice.. i can't wait for the free cruise.
The community of Beckenried has organized it's annual welcome cruise for the new-comers in the last year. There's about 50 of us new comers. As we wait to board the boat, we're given our name tags and I wonder how many will be able to pronounce my name correctly. We're all finally on-board & the welcome speeches start! Thankfully I now have had a few Deutsch lessons, so i can atleast understand a few words. Unfortunately they're speaking Schweizer-Deutsch (Swiss-German) and I soon realize the lessons don't help very much.. Lukas translates some funny anecdotes about the town & i enjoy the scenery from the boat.
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All the cartons arrive covered in Black Dust.. Oh Boy!!! Unfortunately, the packers did a lousy job, so the dust has seeped through every opening.. Too Bad.. i regret having washed & dry cleaned everything in NJ. Now we have to repeat the whole story all over again.. Groundhog Day!!!
After two weeks of Cleaning, I sure feel i can take this up as a profession and the washing machine protests that it can take it no more!! I'd love to ask the packers a few questions: Luckily for them, they're in NJ -- not my favorite destination to head off to at the moment!
The cats on the other hand, loved the cartons.. so much to explore, sniff & taste. And wow.. paper & cartons of varying sizes everywhere to jump over, play hide-and-seek, tear off, chew.. They're in paradise.
Too many cartons.. Too li'l time
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- Wednesday July 8: Day 2