The Allgäu Region - Wertach -

is located at 915 m above sea level.

Here it feels as if time has stood still a little.

Traditions are not only maintained but lived.

The Allgäu Region is not a poor area.

In the past, meaning long ago, things were different.

For a long time, farming families grew flax to process it into linen. Many farmhouses had looms set up. This reminds me that my mother learned the trade of a weaver. That was around 1963 and in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

Anyway, the flax is famously blue, which is why they referred to it as the “blue Allgäu”.

With the use of cotton and the invention of the mechanical loom, during the Industrial Revolution, farmers suffered bitter hardships in the early 19th century.

Only when Carl Hirnbein saw a way out in grassland and dairy farming did the living conditions of the farmers improve.

Here in the meadows are indeed the cows, called Braunvieh, that we see in advertisements. Until now, I assumed all of that was fake.😅

But no, I can now confirm it.

They graze here all in peaceful harmony and ring their bells as much as they can.

Did you know that a cow 🐄 gives 26 liters of milk a day and lives on average 22 years?

And a heifer is what they call a cow that has not yet calved?

And it possesses an incredible 4 stomachs? And lastly, the young cattle in Allgäu are called, well…? Schumpen.

Not me. 😬

An interesting aspect is also the cow and climate.🐄🌦️

The dairy cows and cattle turn the grass, which is inedible for humans, into valuable food. I'm already looking forward to the cheese that I will pack for myself when I drive back home.

Moreover, the growth of meadows and pastures is a valuable source of protein. If this were no longer used, much more soy would have to be grown in other regions of the world.

Traditionally, the so-called