26 September 2019.
It seems I’ve been waiting until the cows come home to see the transhumance here in Lauterbrunnen, or at least the ceremonial descent from summer pasture to the valley. Now and then we’d see a farmer going down the street with two or three cows — you can hear them coming for a kilometer or so thanks to the bells — but we’ve either been out on the mountain trails or arrived too late in the year to see what we saw today.
We were advised to be near the Hotel Silberhorn at noon to witness the parade. The cows were arriving from pasture at 1500 meters/4900 feet at Winteregg, a path of about 4 miles.
The ceremonial transhumance involves gigantic cowbells and decorative headwear…for the cows. I hope they weren’t forced to wear this gear the entire 4 miles, although that might explain why a couple of them looked so grumpy.
The cows round the curve coming into town by the Hotel Silberhorn, under the Grutschalp gondola. Look at the size of that bell!
Trailing to cows through town, clean up vehicle and crew following.
Coming around by the church, traffic is stopped on the main thoroughfare.
Passing the church, the cows are coming into our neighborhood. We took a shortcut so we could meet them down by the river. This is just 150 meters from our temporary home.
One cow gets out of the parade when she spots something tasty after walking through the town.
As the ceremonial cows pass on the street below, a small herd overlooks the scene and one cow seems to say “What about us?”
Hotel Silberhorn staff greeted the herders and onlookers bearing trays with small cups of wine. A nice touch!
Girovaga 