Enzian Visits Bavaria, the Zillertal, and the Südtirol in 2004

In July of 2004, eight members of Enzian Schuhplattler, and one member of the Tirolean Dancers of Oregon, made what has become a biannual trek to Bavaria,to participate in Bavarian Gaufeste, make new friends, and enjoy the Bavarian culture.

Four of us arrived early: Roger Mowery (Vorplattler), Kathy Bruni (Vortänzerin), Carolyn Marquardt (Vorstand), and Lyle Weden from the Tirolean Dancers of Portland, flew in to Munich on July 4 so we could attend a Schnalzer Treffen in the tiny town of Stoffen. The Schnalzer wield Goassl—whips—formerly snapped above the horses' heads in a wagon or buggy to keep the horses moving. Now that wagons are not commonplace, cracking the whips in time to music has become a tradition. Since several people in our club purchased whips two years ago, and we have been performing with them, it was thrilling to attend this meeting of various clubs of Bavarian whip-wielders and see the "pros" in action. They stood on the tables at which we sat and cracked their whips above our heads—both exciting and nerve-wracking. The Schnalzer Treffen took place on the Fourth of July, and the cracking whips reminded us of fireworks! We were taking notes about the various techniques and rhythms they employed. I don't think we will be cracking whips above people's heads at our performances, though!

The rest of our group arrived two days later—Margaret Reutter, John Lofgren, Kathy Casper, Richard Smethurst, and Mary Pearse. We made the obligatory trek to the Hofbräuhaus for a beer, and a little dancing. Kathy Casper and John Lofgren enjoyed dancing in the aisles. We did lots of shopping—mostly at secondhand stores, a great place to buy new and gently used Bavarian clothing. We also shopped at Trachten Pöllmann, the Trachten shop where our group purchases much of its Tracht.

While in Munich, we visited Annamirl Raab's Mieder-making enterprise. She works out of her home and designs and sews exquisite custom Mieders (the boned vest like the one we wear with our costume). The Mieder she designed for herself incorporates an intricate flowered pattern in the stitching and is far more elaborate than the ones she typically makes for sale. It was fascinating to see the creativity and handwork that goes into making each Mieder.

We next visited the village of Hofstetten, about an hour southwest of Munich. Since we had been there two years prior, we already knew most of the Schuhplattler group. We renewed our acquaintances at their dance practice (Plattlerprobe) on Wednesday and hung out with them at the Grillfest they threw for us Thursday night, as well as spending lots of time with them at the Lechgaufest in Stoffen. Willi played the accordion and Sepp, our host, instigated the sing-along.

In between times, we visited the Freilichtmuseum in Glentleiten. This open-air museum boasts some forty farm buildings, most 300-400 years old, including farms, mills, alpine buildings, and workshops reconstructed from Bavaria's farming communities. In addition to the buildings, the museum grounds contain woods, pastures, historical gardens, and a stream. We came dressed in Bavarian clothing, so we fit right in with the museum setting, and we had a great time taking pictures of various group members in front of the historic buildings.

A large part of our mission when we are in Bavaria is acquiring new or replacement costume pieces. Each time we go, we expand our knowledge of suppliers for traditional clothing and other items. This trip, we spent a great deal of time checking out the Lederhosen, dirndls, jewelry, and other items at Trachten shops in nearly every town we visited.

On a search for a particular shoe store we had heard about, we explored the town of Rottenbuch. Locals told us we needed to visit the local church, an exquisite example of rococo architecture. The Stiftskirche was indeed a fabulous church, gilt adorning nearly every surface, even the pillars. Sunlight filtered through stained glass windows depicting scenes from the Crucifixion and muted the cathedral's light as we admired the interior. We wandered outside and peered into the walled cemetery, monuments marking each grave, plants and flowers in gardenlike profusion.

We continued on to Oberammergau, a town noted for its fabulous woodcarvings (and for the Passion Play that it holds every ten years). Time for more shopping, while admiring the cobblestone streets and muraled buildings. We also enjoyed seeing local residents in full party regalia, including many in their finest Dirndls and Lederhosen. They were headed out for dinner and drinks, followed by festivities in the local opera house, advertised on the reader board outside. We enjoyed a typical Bavarian dinner under the stag horns in a crowded yet charming Gasthaus.

The next day, a few of us went into Landsberg, the nearest city to our hotel. Wandering around the ancient city and admiring its historic buildings made shopping even more fun. After a quick lunch at a local café that served pizza and gyro sandwiches, we set out in search of an Internet café so that we could check our email. This particular Internet café was included in a games and Go Karts venue, and we had almost given up when we finally spotted the building and made our way there, with little time left to actually read email.

Friday night was the Heimatabend at the Lechgaufest in Stoffen. The Heimatabend is a chance for the local Verein (club) to entertain the guest Vereine and for the clubs to socialize in an informal atmosphere. Many a Maas (liter mug of beer) livened up the temperaments of the participants, as did the typical Gaufest fare (gerostet Hännchen, Brezelln, Schnitzel, und Pommes Frites).

Saturday evening, we all attended the Gaufest festivities in Stoffen. Attired in our best, we watched each club dance an Ehrentanz (honor dance), drank beer, and cemented friendships with old friends and new ones in the Lechgau. We were also invited to present an Ehrentanz, and many of the Bavarians complimented us on our performance.

	Sunday's events included the Trachten parade, which wound through the town of Stoffen, along the country lane and through the farm fields, then back into town. Our friend Willi and his much-decorated horses pulled a wagon in the parade. It had rained most of the morning, but we were lucky not to be rained on as we, along with nearly 3000 other participants, processed in the parade. Roger and Kathy pose here in front of the sign advertising the Gaufest.
	Back in the Festzelt, Anton Auer, the 1. Vorstand of D'Fuchsbergler (the host club) made us welcome and presented us with a Bavarian crest as a remembrance of the Gaufest.

The next morning, we left Hofstetten and drove to the Zillertal in Austria. We made day trips from our pension in Stumm to the smallest city in Austria (Rattenberg), the Swarovski crystal factory, and into Innsbruck. One of our souvenirs from this trip was a Teufelsgeige, which we found in a music store in Uderns. The Teufelsgeige, or Devil's Fiddle, consists of a carved devil's head at the top of a long staff, to which are affixed various noisemaking instruments. The one we bought included bells, small cymbals, and a steel pan attached to the handle, the flat side out, with metal wires running across it like strings. A hand-carved "bow" with multiple notches cut in it is used to play the "fiddle." Teufelsgeigen have been used as noisemakers and rhythm instruments in Austria and parts of Germany for centuries, and we thought it would make an interesting and fun addition to our performances.

During our stay in the Zillertal, five of us made a day trip into the Südtirol in Italy. We had been invited by a Schuhplattler group in the village of Villnöss to visit them, and had arranged a meeting. Unfortunately, not all of our group could attend, since one of the rental cars could not be taken into Italy. We weren't sure what to expect, since we knew very little about the group we were going to see, or the town, and the meeting had been arranged at the local pizzeria. As it turned out, Villnöss is a picturesque ski town in the foothills of the Dolomite mountain range, with a truly breathtaking view, and the pizzeria had a large and charming outdoor beer garden, where the event was held.

The local Schuhplattler group had arranged for us to join three local groups in alternating performances at the outdoor beer garden, attended by the townsfolk from all the neighboring villages. A television crew from the ORF Austrian also attended-and taped-the event, and interviewed Roger and me, as well as the leader of the local Schuhplattler group. We were thrilled to see ourselves on TV a couple of days later, when we by chance turned on the television just before starting off to the second Gaufest.

We had arranged to attend a second Gaufest, the Huosigaufest in Peissenberg, Bavaria, on July 18. Peissenberg was a coal mining town until 1971, when the mine closed. In addition to us Americans, there were guests from France, the Tirol, and a couple of other Bavarian Gaus at this Gaufest. On Friday night, we attended the Heimatabend and enjoyed meeting new friends and greeting old ones. Sepp Kaindl, 1. Gauvorstand of the Huosigau, made us very welcome, and the 1. Vorstand of Die Peissenberger, Theo Tafershofer, presented us with a brass miner's lantern as a remembrance of our visit.

Since there were no Gau activities planned for Saturday, we spent the day with Gaby Hauptmann, a member of the Loisachgau who has also attended our Gaufest in the U.S. We all took a ride on the passenger ferry across the Starnberger See, marveling at the dramatic weather changes-bright sunshine while we waited for the ferry, soon overwhelmed by dark clouds and a quick thundershower, returning to partly cloudy by the end of the day. After dinner at a lakeside restaurant, where we watched a wedding by the lake, we went to see Gaby's apartment and she offered us refreshments.

Our group marched in the parade, as you can see from this photo of Kathy, Margaret, and Mary. Sunday's parade attracted spectators along its lengthy route, but after more than an hour marching in the sun, we were happy to return to the Fest tent for a cold drink!

We performed an Ehrentanz on Sunday afternoon, and attracted a lot of attention from local Trachtlers, who were interested in how accurately we Americans reflected the Tracht and dancing of traditional Bavaria. This Gaufest also included more than a dozen booths selling Tracht, jewelry, baskets, wood carvings, etc.

Most of the group flew home the next day, but Roger and I spent a few more days in Bavaria, exploring the area around Tegernsee, taking the cablecar up Wendelstein Mountain, and relaxing in the picturesque lake region, before trying to fit our many purchases into our suitcases and making our way back to Seattle.

Every time we return from Bavaria, we say it was the best trip yet, and this trip was no exception. We had a wonderful time, enhanced by sharing it with members of our group, and by our many friends in Bavaria. We are already looking forward to taking another trip there in 2006!