Yodeling Concert

I spent one of my evenings off last week attending a yodeling concert. It was a lot of fun. It was in a gymnasium, well what use to be a gymnasium. We walked in and the environment reminded me of a PTA meeting as opposed to a concert hall.

We sat down and ordered some drinks and then noticed a table at the back filled with cakes. A bake sale!! I had this apple cake, well we think it was apple. It was a little sour and a little sweet, and not like anything I've had before. It was good.

Then the concert started, and it wasn't the yodeling you'd normally think of, the fast paced yodeling we are use to hearing. It was this soft slow sound. I felt more like I was at one of my grandma's Christmas Cantatas than in the big ass Alps. And in usual Swiss fashion, there was an intermission. Long enough to pee, order another drink, and a bratwurst or two.

Then the second half began. And the novelty wore off. And we got sleepy. So we entertained ourselves by looking at pictures on our cameras and making crafts out of the trash on the table. It was still very nice to hear the choirs, but we were all tired and the singing was so soft and serene. It really felt like you were in the mountains, the way the sound filled the room.

At one point, they were telling jokes. And this man beside us tried to explain one. His translation was like this:

What is the difference between a farmer's wife and another type of farmer's wife? (I have put "another type of farmer's wife" because I didn't understand the word he used to describe her) The farmer's wife has a piercing here (points to his stomach) the other wife has a ..... a.... umm.... small beast (reaches hand into air and pulls it towards his wrist) on her.

What!?!

So after some silence and staring at our translator, we all did the courtesy laugh and moved on.

The concert began at 8pm. We left at 11pm. And we left early. As we left, everyone was visiting and ordering food and drinks as we were walking out. The Swiss know how to close a place down. But again, it was more like the crowd at a PTA meeting.

We enjoyed ourselves and I'm glad I had the experience. It's not too often you get to go to an old gymnasium, with cow bells hanging from gymnast rings hanging from the ceiling, and listen to a lot of Swiss men yodel while eating a piece of cake surrounded by Scandinavians.