GPS: Garmisch-Partenkirchen Summer: Bavarian Music Fest

One of the advantages of living in a small community is the opportunity to catch small, local gatherings such as the one held in Grainau (June 25 post) last Sunday afternoon. All of the performers were in Trachten (traditional costumes) and performed music and dances that have been passed down for generations.

Most of the music was to accompany dancing that varied by age: school age, teens, adults and seniors.

The men dancing on the right do a traditional leg/foot slapping and foot-stomping routine. (After our hike yesterday we wondered if it came from dealing with centuries of giant horse flies that kept biting us!)

Teens doing the maypole dance (left) created the Bavarian blue and white checked design on the pole as they danced. The link will provide some interesting speculation as to the origins of the dance.

As with any celebratory gathering in Germany there was food and lots of beer.

We checked out the Topfennudel-- fried cheese curds on a stick, tasting a little like unsweetened cheese cake.

The ice cream man was there as well--very welcome for these young dancers and others.

Another interesting performance by several groups of boys/men was the Peitschenknaller--cracking whips in time to some music. The "pop" of the whips sounded almost like fire crackers. Take a look/listen to someone's YouTube capturing.