The primary purpose of my trip was to see our son Will who was wrapping up a six month internship at Porsche Engineering in Stuttgart (lucky guy!)  In planning the trip I discovered that Lenzburg, Switzerland—my great-great-grandmother’s home and the setting for the first part of the historical novel I’m working on–was only two hours away from Stuttgart.  A side-trip was in order.

I decided to time my visit around the annual Jugendfest (Youth Festival) celebration, hoping to get a sense of the town’s customs and costumes. My D.C.-based sister Michelle offered to join me and we met up in front of the central clock in Zurich’s main train station for the thirty minute ride out to Lenzburg.  Once there we took a short taxi ride over to the Hotel Krone which has been in operation since 1765.  Situated at the base of the hill below the schloss (castle) and a five minute walk from the old town, the location was ideal and the gummy bears on our pillows set the tone for the rest of the sweet and sometimes silly weekend.

From my research, I knew that the 400 year old Jugendfest celebration included a week of activities culminating with a parade of children dressed in white followed by a mock battle fought between teenage cadets and a group described online as “booty lusting irregulars” (?!) before ending in fireworks launched from the ramparts of the castle.  I thought it sounded ein bischen hokey.  But happily, it proved to be absolutely charming.

Michelle and I spent the day before the main events exploring the beautifully preserved schloss and its cheery formal gardens.

That afternoon we toured the town’s numerous fountains that had been decorated with flowers by local townspeople.  Our tour guides wore the city’s cornflower blue and white colors.

While strolling around we saw firemen stringing evergreen boughs and hanging flower bouquets causing some seasonal confusion. The whole town smelled like Christmas in the height of summer! In the main church where we enjoyed a dress rehearsal of the children’s concert (including an impassioned vocal performance of “Let It Go” and a spirited xylophone rendition of “It Don’t Mean A Thing if You Ain’t Got That Swing”) the floral displays were especially wonderful.

Marching bands and drum corps were everywhere.  An English-speaking woman standing near us for the evening band competition told us that though she and her husband had moved away from Lenzburg they try to come back every year for Jugendfest and their children and grandchildren all participate.  The local townspeople were so enthusiastic about every little detail.

Later that night Will drove over  from Stuttgart and the next morning chatted with more drummers outside our hotel before we headed over to the main square to see the children receive a ceremonial coin from the mayor and then parade with their teachers through the old town.

They were followed by the high-spirited teenage cadets wielding guns with flowers peeping out of the barrels and those “booty-lusting irregulars” which turned out to be adults dressed as marauders from around the globe.

The irregulars were decidedly unpolitically correct. But the adults enthusiastically playing these multicultural villains clearly had no problems with ethnic stereotypes.

After they paraded through town we all marched out to the fields to watch the battles that raged across the farmland.

Finally ending up at the local fairgrounds where a substantial replica of Schloss Lenzburg was burned to the ground.

That night we sat on the edge of one of the decorated fountains in front of our hotel and watched the children parade through the streets one more time–this time with beautiful paper lanterns–before fireworks sparkled above the schloss.

As advertized, the Lenzburg Jugendfest was the festiest of festivals! I almost hesitate to share it with you because I don’t want it overrun with visitors but my, oh my, it was magical and definitely worth attending if your travels take you nearby.

If you choose to go, the annual Lenzburg Jugendfest happens the week leading up to the second Friday of July but the maneuvers are only every other year.  Check here http://www.lenzburg.ch/de/jugendfest.html for further details and look for programs and other information at the tourist information office which is located right across from the Hotel Krone.   

For bottoms,  I’ve packed—

• Boyfriend jeans (Macy’s Inc.)
• Stone ankle crops (Eileen Fisher)
• Black knit capris (Eileen Fisher)
• Black stretch cotton pencil skirt (Calvin Klein)

This pretty much covers the range from long to short (or at least as short as I’m willing to wear) so I hope I can navigate the temperature changes smoothly.

For tops, I’m taking–

• Black v-neck tee (Eileen Fisher)
• Black and white striped v-neck tee (Eileen Fisher)
• Pink v-neck tee (Michael Kors)
• Black & white ikat print knit shirt (Ralph Lauren)
• Mint green linen shirt/jacket (Eileen Fisher)
• Denim-like linen jacket (Eileen Fisher)
• Black three-quarter sleeve sweater (Bobeau)
• White sweater (Michael Kors)

Lots to mix and match here and everything pretty much coordinates, though the blue linen jacket may demand more from its travel mates in terms of shape and color than they really have to offer.  Still.  I like it and want it to see the world.

On the plane I plan on wearing the jeans, black sweater, pink shirt (the better to hide spills and it’s the lightest and therefore easiest to handwash), a big scarf for warmth and my trainers.

For outerwear I’m torn between a rugged Eddy Bauer jacket in “lobster” red that was a mainstay on my rainy Peru trip and a more elegant but less waterproof slim grey trench from, again, Eileen Fisher.  Here’s the trench with my go-to walking sandals from Naot and two of my favorite travel bags–a Bagallini messenger bag that can accommodate a guidebook and a Le Sport Sac lightweight tote that can carry a host of souvenirs (exhibition guides! cheese! dirndls?).

I’m also bringing these bright trainers from New Balance and some kicky new walking sandals from Wolky in a citrusy green—one of those off colors that matches nothing exactly but complements the black/white/brights in the rest of the wardrobe which hopefully means it will match everything. This pair of sandals is the ONLY new thing I bought for this trip.  I think that’s helped keep the numbers down since often when I buy too many new things for a trip, I overpack in order to bring the new things as well as the tried and true favorites.

I’ve thrown in a couple of scarves and some silver jewelry but know I’ll likely add more on the road. These colorful glass drop earrings are from San Francisco jewelry designer Alexis Berger and can be purchased at Castle in the Air on 4^th Street in Berkeley. They’re very comfortable and I love how they catch the light. The black onyx faceted discs are from Philippa Roberts on Piedmont Ave. in Oakland and I think the pendants might be from Kenneth Cole (Macy’s) a few years back.

Oh, and because Germany will be playing in the final rounds of the World Cup next week, I’ve thrown in my only red/gold scarf  to join a crowd somewhere and cheer along.  Go Deutschland!

To see the wardrobe in action, you can follow my Instagram feed by clicking on the link to the right. I’ll let you know how it all worked out when I return.

Auf Wiedersehen!