Switzerland - September 26 - The Cows Come Home and Trumpets Blare

Today was the day! We specifically scheduled our Switzerland visit to be able to get ourselves to the Entlebucher Alpabfahrt in Schupfheim on this day. What is the Enterbocker Applefart you ask? It is the traditional parade when the cows march down from the mountains back to their farms for the winter. In this case, thousands of people showed up in the little town of Schupfheim to witness the cows, eat cheese and sausages and drink beer, cider and wine. It was another beautiful day and we perused (and sampled) several of the cheese and Swiss craft vendors who had set up their tents/shacks along the main drag before settling into a good view spot for the parade. The parade involved seven alpine families marching their herds (typically about 40ish cows per herd) down main street - interspersed with traditional Swiss dancers, singers, yodelers and even a group of alphorn players. On average, the cows had walked more than 5 miles to get to town that morning. The cows arrived in spurts, so the whole thing lasted about 3 hours, followed my a collective concert on the steps of the local church. It was tons of fun and something we'll never forget. And then...just to top it off...we had noticed signs all over Lucerne about the World Band Festival that was happening while we were there. With a little bit of research, I was able to score tickets to a Military Tattoo performance at 7:00 pm that same evening. The Concert Hall was packed, but somehow there were two seats available in the SECOND ROW, so we were practically on the stage...and we were blown away. There were about 8 military bands from all over the world, and they were all awesome!