The New Gotthelf Tracht

We played our Alphorns at Aaron and Clementine's Reception, and I got to wear my complete Gotthelf Tracht for the first time. It took almost 15 minutes to get dressed in it! This is the "winter" tract, since the blouse is wool and long-sleeved. There is a black crocheted collar, called a "Göller" that you wear around the neck. For single women, it is tied in front. Married women tuck it under the straps of the "Mieder" or bodice.

The Mieder is a cut velvet with black lace decoration. It has a little gathered "pouf" at the back waist. That, plus the boning in the Mieder, makes it a bit uncomfortable for sitting. The skirt is hooked to the Mieder at the back. The apron strings go under the Mieder, and the bow is tied on the left front, and tucked under the Mieder.

Another Wedding

Aaron Roemer (the brother of Rachelle, the Harp player) married Clementine, from France. In Switzerland, you have to be married in a civil ceremony before you can be married in the temple. Here they are after the civil ceremony.

This picture of them with the Best Man and Maid of Honor give you an idea of the setting in Biel, where the government office is located.

Another Cute Ad

Floralp Butter does the best ads. Here we have "Bandit Breads" in their breadbasket "Jail"

And here they have broken out and are carrying off the butter.

Burgergemeinde Bern Open House

On Saturday, the "Burgergemeinde" Bern opened a lot of their properties for visitors to walk through. The "Burgergemeinde" is what remains of the old aristocracy that used to rule Bern. Once popular government took over, the "Burgergemeinde" relinquished the governing part of what they did. They  kept their properties and maintained the cultural life of the city. They own the theater, several of the museums, and many other buildings including the "Casino." This isn't a gambling place at all, but a beautiful old building that houses a magnificent, ornate concert hall, a restaurant, and an assortment of meeting rooms. The Casino "Open House" interested us the most, as we could now see the concert hall without buying a ticket! It was too dark for many pictures, but a few are below.

Of course, anything that has to do with Bern has to have bears. This statue was outside one of the displays.

Human Musical "Memory" Game

What a fun idea this was! Forty opera singers, in two groups, each wearing a numbered vest, stood with their backs to the two contestants. (We were watching from the balcony that was facing the singers.) The contestant would choose a number from each group. The person wearing that number would turn around and sing about 4 measures of a famous opera song. (If you look carefully, you can see one of the singers has turned around and is singing.)

If the songs matched, the contestant won. The contestants had to know their operas! And it was fun to hear great singing, even if only four measures of it at a time! We even recognized some of the tunes.

Fencing Demonstration

If you had been lucky enough to go to the Open House at the Casino, you might have been able to try your hand at fencing, like these people. The instructor was having them practice parrying with each other, first on one side, then on the other.

Chimney Construction 1750

Can you see how the chimney twists on itself? This was so it would fit between the joists and the roof beams. It came up through the floor one way, but had to be turned 90 degrees before it went through the roof. Pretty impressive.