Respect - Grosskitzighofen

The village we last lived in (1995-2002) is celebrating the 125th anniversary of the founding of it's "Schützenverein - Almenrausch".

The 4,700 odd Bavarian Schützenvereine or Shooting Clubs (15,000 in Germany) are along with the voluntary fire brigade the main institutions in most Bavarian rural villages and the center of social life. Normally the club has a club building where the target shooting takes place but with a drink & food area open to the public. It is almost obligatory to be a member. The clubs are also often the promoters of traditional events and costumes.

The 3 week event was also used to hold the shooting championship for the Landsberg area with about 60 clubs taking part over 10 days. For the purpose a huge tent was erected for the 3 weeks of shooting and drinking! A week of partying, bands etc was also part of the event.

Today the highlight, a procession of all the clubs and associated groups. There were nearly 100 groups, so probably about 2000 people taking part plus the spectators and that for a village of around 500 inhabitants.

Have to say, the village put together a great show and superbly organised. It must have been a lot of work for the many involved, from painting backdrops, cutting down trees to make enough wood chips for the outdoor areas, baking cakes etc etc.
Well done Grosskitzighofen. A few more impressions and videos on Flickr

There was so much going on that we didn't get to see many of our old friends, however almost the first ones we met were Dani and her family. Dani was about 11 when we moved to the village and was our neighbour. The whole family "Ort" (German word for "place") were our saviours and made virtually everything possible for us to have horses. Without them we would have been lost. Heidi & Bobby (Mum & Dad), Kathrin & Dominic (older sister & younger brother) were both our practical as well as mental trainers. To this day I still hear Bobby's "warning" words when I do various jobs. For instance I can't unhitch a trailer without hearing the words "Always the soft parts first" meaning disconnect light cables, hydraulic hoses, cables etc before the main hitch (as the trailer could roll away tearing out the "soft parts"). For their support, we will for ever be grateful.

Dani was a wonderful companion in those days, before she discovered boys! Always cheerful and carefree. When something went wrong, she shrugged it off and with a "Oh well", moved on to the next task. Never having had contact with horses, she popped herself on one and started messing around, getting out of the saddle and sitting on the horse's backside or doing circles in the saddle, all without a thought and this relaxed manner was automatically transfered to the horses. Dani is now married and has two young children and with her husband Robert, have a farm in neighbouring Kaufering - they arrived in the afternoon after milking - they milk 3 times a day which I had never heard of.

Then bumped in to Maria who again we have known from childhood (see Angie's Blip), Claudia, Katja, Steffi & Roger, Tiziana......

As so much was going on in the tent, we agreed to meet Nadja & Alois at their place for cake and a coffee beer. Collected a pizza box full of different cakes which were on sale in a side tent and took off to their house and then the stables & real block house, Alois built himself last year. Flash & Luna were delighted to get away from the loud music and in to the stream and run around with Nadja's & Alois's dogs. Alois was Flash's breeder, Cindy the cat also came from his farm and our one time horse, Silvan too. Alois is another village legend and like Dani, another carefree soul who exudes calm. In a small village you know who is driving down the road from the sound of the tractor motor - with Alois this wasn't necessary, you heard his tune whistling long before the diesel motor. He's also the coolest/relaxed natural rider I know.

We had a great if much too short relaxed time chatting before we had to go.

Hopefully we will get around to catching up with some of those we missed especially Heidi & Bobby and Sascha, in the near future....

I have no idea who features in the Blip. She was a member of one of the clubs lining up to get in the tent. Apart from the wonderful smile, she summed up the day for me.