We were fortunate enough to attend a 500 year old tradition today (which was special enough for me to dust off the blog and remember my password for WordPress 3+ months after the last post). The four of us drove out early this morning to the small village of Fischbachau/Hundham to attend the annual Leonhardiritt, a horse-riders’ and carriage procession, including an outdoor service in the meadow with a special blessing for the horses at the end. It was a beautiful costume parade that was absolutely authentic. You won’t get more Bavarian than the day we had.
While we consider ourselves lucky to see such pageantry, we consider ourselves even more fortunate to have been invited to this idyllic corner of the world by some of our lovely neighbors and friends. The day started with coffee and pastry at their summer home in the morning, and then we moved to watch the parade. Two of our party were actually in the parade. After the service and blessing of the horses, we then had a lovely Bavarian lunch followed by a gorgeous mini wanderweg, where we got to see some beautiful views and the church where our friends were married. We closed out the day back at their home for another round of coffee and cakes al fresco on the terrace. This time we shared homemade apple strudel with apples picked right there in their yard.
No joke, the day was completely bucolic and we are truly blessed for the neighbors we have here. I never would have predicted that we would have found such delightful friends. Today, four families who share a building in the city spent the day in the most picturesque foothills of the Alps, talking, laughing (especially when you combine the incense and the horse droppings), and enjoying each other’s company, the weather, and the surroundings. All of us — Germans, Americans, and Scotsmen — all in our Trachten sharing in a beautiful day. It really doesn’t get any better than that. Here’s a mess of pictures from the day. Some from Merrie’s camera, some from Larry’s camera, and some from mine.
View From Our Summit 