Can you yodel?

Knock Knock.
Who's there?
Little old lady.
Little old lady who?
I didn't know you could yodel!


This joke has been a favorite in our house for the last few months. Especially because yodeling roots are in Switzerland. This last weekend, I got to watch and hear some true Swiss yodelers (or "jodler" in German). The Jodlerklub from a neighboring town was singing in the local cathedral, so I went to check it out.

When yodeling comes to mind, you probably think of the fast-paced multi-pitched singing that can sound like yelling. True, yodeling in the Swiss Alps was traditionally a mode of communication between mountaineers; hence, it lends itself to echoing. However, my exposure to yodeling in Switzerland thus far has been in groups, and it seems to be much slower paced and choir-like. Of course, this experience was in a church, and the yodelers were singing as part of a mass, so this lends itself to slower music. But the group used different pitches as a whole, and I could hear the "yodel" sounds in the songs. Here is a quick clip to hear:

 It was a fun experience to listen to their music on Sunday morning. Plus, I got to take part in a Roman Catholic mass, spoken in German. While we're here, I'll have to try to see some yodeling in their original environment, like on a mountain-top.

Last weekend, we also visited the Rhine Falls, near Zurich. These waterfalls are the largest plain (flat-land) falls in Europe. They can pale in comparison to Niagara Falls (the height of Rhine Falls is about half the size), but nonetheless, the falls deserve to be a tourist attraction. They are very wide (150 meters or 492 feet), with many opportunities to get close to the falls via pathways or from a neighboring castle. We took a tourist boat to get close to the falls. It was a short ride, but the kids loved feeling the mist from the water. It was a great day trip from Basel, and we also enjoyed walking in the nearby town, Schaffhausen.

Bis bald! ("'Til soon!")