Alberschwende, Brüggelekopf & a Concert

The day after the cows came home (by the way, I don't know whether the method of cow farming on different pastures over the summer and moving them back home for the winter is the origin of the phrase "...until the cows come home"), on Sunday 6 September, the village of Bizau held its annual village fête, called Kilbe in this area. 

It was set up on the square where the cows had come through on the Friday (the square having been cleaned up meticulously by the local firemen) right next to our hotel. We were going to have a look round later but wanted to make use of the beautiful sunny and warm day (27C) first.

Kanisfluh, about 7:15 am that morning from our balcony

A bus took us to Bezau and from there another one to Alberschwende, a place we had not visited before. There, a tour suggested in our booklet lead up to a peak called Brüggelekopf, promising great views.

Alberschwende

The views were indeed great, but the way up there was steep and the path not easy; I found it VERY exhausting and had to stop for breath a few times. We met few other people on the way up, and only a few more on the way down on a different path.

View from Brüggelekopf

On the way down

Back in Bizau, the Kilbe was in full swing, and before we went to the hotel, still in our hiking clothes we had a shandy there on the square and a stroll around the stalls. The locals were offering all sorts of products from their own honey, bread and cheese to home-crafted decorative objects, baby clothes and cosmetics. There was also plenty of food and drink on offer, but we only wanted the refreshing shandy, since another 4-course dinner was waiting for us later at the hotel.

Also, we were in for a special event: 

The nearest big city of this area, Dornbirn, has a big music school. Of the talented children and young musicians between 12 and 20, about 60 make up the Youth Sinfonical Orchestra. Every year, they meet for a week at the end of the summer holidays in Bizau, where they occupy the elementary school, practising all day every day. 

Since our hotel was right next to the school, we could hear them practising every afternoon when we returned from our hikes and sat on our balcony. 

Their practice week ends with a concert, held at the school's sports hall. Having heard them all week, we wanted to hear the full concert, too.

Showered and dressed appropriately for such an event, we found seats in the hall and were ready for the concert by 5:00 pm.

It was really good, the program covering various styles and eras of music, and we truly enjoyed the experience, donating generously (there were no fixed ticket prices, it was all based on donations).

Dinner was next, followed by our customary evening walk around the village to end a beautiful Sunday.