Eidgenossische (National) Jodlerfest in Davos

Every three years, all the musical groups in Switzerland gather for two full days of singing, alphorn playing and Fahnenschwingen or "flag throwing." This was the year, and the event was in Davos. Hitsch and Käthi Bolt,  Church Service missionaries in Brixen, Italy (where they still speak German) invited us at Senior Conference to come stay with them in Klosters for the Jodlerfest. Klosters is just a few kilometers away from Davos. Hitsch grew up in Klosters, and still has a place there, which he shares with his son. (His son's wife is the director of the Klosters Jodelklub.) We had a great time, listening to singers and alphorn players for hours, and also watching the flag throwers. (They make it look so easy.) This is the view we had from our bedroom in Klosters.

On Saturday evening, we were home early enough to see the sunset. Well, actually, we didn't see the sunset, but we saw how the light from the setting sun shone on the mountain across from us.

There was a long parade before the beginning of the opening ceremonies. These were the alphorns that were going to play as part of it. Lots of "sticks" in the air!

At the end of the parade, all the Cantonal flags were lined up. Since we were on the field, it was really hard to get a picture that would show how large the gathering was.

Here's the only shot I got of the airshow. You can't really see the white crosses on the belly of the red planes. But at least there is a Canton Obwalden flag at the bottom of the picture.

Creative Butter Ad

Floralp butter has all kinds of creative ads. I have posted the ones with the Grittibänz (dough boys) stealing the butter and carrying it away. This is the first time I've seen bread loaves or rolls posing as bandits. I especially like the "smiles" on their "faces" as they make off with the goods.

A Play on Words

When we saw this ad, we just had to chuckle. All Americans know the expression, "Houston, we have a problem." The verb for coughing in German is "husten", and it is pronounced a lot like the name of the city in English. This ad says, "Husten, we have a problem" and is an ad for cough syrup! In case you didn't get the joke, the guy that is coughing is dressed in a space suit (with the scarf added, because he has a cold), and has outer space behind him. We were kind of surprised that this American expression would be so well known in Switzerland that it would be used in an ad.