Ballenberg Swiss Open-Air Museum

This was another of my favorite things that we visited.  They moved Swiss houses from all different time periods onto one plot of land and made it into a museum.  They had how to do ___ exhibits and they have a store of things that they make there.  Their bread and chocolate were amazing and their pottery was to die for.  If it weren't so expensive I would have brought back a pitcher.  We got about 3/4 of the way through when it started really raining instead of little drizzles.  The day we went, there weren't really any exhibits going on either.... which was probably good considering the rain.

Each farm house/shed/shop had a blurb about where it had been taken from, the time period it was built, what it was used for and who had lived in it.

Jer thought the wooden key on this one was awesome.

The Swiss and some Austrians still use these cow bells to keep track of their livestock.

This was the only non farm house.  It was more like a mansion.  They are currently using it as a museum of folk music and traditional dress.

This one was my favorite.  The entire roof is made of reeds and it was really very large inside.  It was made for a large and prosperous farm.  It was a little moldy, so I ducked in and out, but mostly I walked around it.

I loved this gaggle of geese.

This reminded me of Sophie from Howl's moving castle.  It was neat, they take straw and braid them together, then they sew the braids into which ever shape they want the hat to be.  They also had molds to make felt hats.

Jer was determined to get this going.  He pushed and pushed.... he had it slowly going.... I joined in and we got it to go pretty well.  You could see why you'd want an animal to do it.

I loved this one.  It was done in the same style that my great-grandparent's house in Provo was done it.  I kind of wonder how much of that had to do with them being from Switzerland.  The plastering and painting were very similar.

There was also a military fortress somewhere down the hill from this house, but it had really started raining and we decided to head out.