New Glarus WI-Oktoberfest

We celebrated our last day in Madison and for this matter in the State of Wisconsin attending Oktoberfest in New Glarus.

This Swiss town definitely deserves a visit even if there is nothing going on ,but surly deserves one during the Oktober fest.

Wherever you look in New Glarus you see the influence of Switzerland,the buildings,flags,sighs and the food all resemble the small country in Europe.

   

Different stories told by locals is why the town is built like this ,a local store owner told us that “many” years ago when people in a certain Swiss town  lost their jobs due to a factory bankruptcy looked for jobs overseas,they all gave money to a group of people to search  for a place that will suit them and save them from hunger,after a year or so when they all thought that their money was lost they got a word that a place was found in Wisconsin but the condition was that they have to buy land and cultivate it ,one thing led to another and a small village was built looking like the one they left in Switzerland.

We found people from Swiss and Norwegian background but never left USA,so the stories are told from one generation to the next one and no one knows  if they are accurate,but it really does not matter ,the town is beautiful,colorful and holds many fun events over the year.

We were happy to attend Oktoberfest although It was still September ,a huge tent was built in the center where live music was played and beer pored like water .

       

An old tractor pull took place behind the Church and the firefighters gave the crowd an example of their athletic skills.

       

Two long horn  Swiss music players gave us a taste of the traditional tunes while these two seniors sat to listen .

       

It was a joyful celebration and Swiss ,Norwegian or other “new” comers were all happy and having FUN and that what counts. 

Madison area

We do not travel “fast” we travel ‘deep” this way instead of  spending a lot of time on the roads we spend time “living” the area what gives us a chance to meet people and explore the place before we move our 5W to a new location, we entered Wisconsin from Michigan on 8 August (can we get residency???)saw a lot but there is still many places to explore.

During one week in a C.G close to Madison we covered a lot of grounds:

We visited the Capitol,a beautiful building a lot of history,but it looked more than a museum than a place that people come to work…

The weather was just perfect to explore the Capitols surroundings,lakes and parks.

The Governor Dodge S.P is a huge nice park although the fall was almost dry this time of the year but still the beach and the hikes were great

On Saturday we went down town to see the Farmers Market that took place around the Capitol Square ,it was one of the biggest I ever saw.

And later we drove to Middleton Brewery and had some beers ,the place was packed with people that just finished a 5M run.

A month or so ago while we were on a boat exploring the Apostil Islands we meet Sharon,her daughter and her grandson,we got into a conversation and enjoyed the 2 hour sail boat together,Sharon told us to contact her when we arrive to Madison and so we did,She and her husband invited us and our  friends for dinner ,we meet an interesting ,warm great couple and spend a  wonderful evening.

Thank you Dave and Sharon for your friendship and hospitality.

Madison WI

Lake Farm Park C.G just 6 Miles SE from down town Madison is a perfect place to use as a base for visiting the Capitol and the area.

The downtown called THE ISTHMUS is land strip located between Lake Monona and Lake Mendota ,it is a very vibrant place thanks to the University ,many shops,restaurants ,fast foot colored carts and pubs.

The Capitol dome and the lakes can be seen from almost every place in downtown and it is very pleasant to stroll through this small colorful place surrounded by young students  and food smell from almost everywhere.

We took our sweet time walking the streets in this perfect weather ,taking it all in enjoying every minute like there is no tomorrow….the food and the beer were good and we only wanted it to last for ever…or at least longer.

We planted to tour the Capitol but walking around ,talking with people ,looking at old buildings(reminding  to look up,at the roofs) and visiting worship places took more than we thought and we missed the last tour, so we will do it later in the week.

Around 3PM we drove to the beautiful Botanic Gardens located next to the lake (of course) ,although it was almost Autumn many flowers were still in bloom especially those who were in the terrarium.

But the jewel on the crown today was when we saw a Red Tailed Falcon catching a mouse and posing for us on the roof of the Thai Temple in the Garden,we spotted the Falcon sitting on a tree and thought that is it,we are lucky…

But after about 10 minutes suddenly the Falcon flew over us with a mouse in its mouth and landed on the roof ,it was very busy getting the food down the throat and did not care us standing there taking photo shots from not a far distance.

 

      

I have a Panasonic FZ35 X18 ,a regular not professional camera,but the Falcon made it easy  to catch this special for me moments.

I almost forgot all about the Temple, only a very small part of this Golden Temple can be seen here ,so here is the rest of it including its reflection in the pond.

Thank you for taking the time to visit.