This
country is truly amazing and there is so much to explore… I always say that
Brazil is eclectic because it pleases all kind of preferences. In this post I’ll
show you two examples (from many)…
EIN
PROSIT!
I already talked about the Germanic origin in my first post… the Germans brought
many rich traditions and habits. One of them is celebrating the Oktoberfest! I read
about the Oktoberfest's history, and I found out that it began in 1810, in
Germany. “Crown Prince Ludwig, later to
become King Ludwig I, was married to Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen
on 12th October 1810. The citizens of Munich were invited to attend the
festivities held on the fields in front of the city gates to celebrate the
happy royal event. The fields have been named Theresienwiese ("Theresa's
fields") in honor of the Crown Princess ever since, although the locals
have since abbreviated the name simply to the "Wies'n". Horse races in the presence
of the Royal Family marked the close of the event that was celebrated as a
festival for the whole of Bavaria. The decision to repeat the horse races in
the subsequent year gave rise to the tradition of the Oktoberfest. In 1811 an
added feature to the horse races was the first Agricultural Show, designed to
boost Bavarian agriculture. The horse races, which were the oldest and - at one
time - the most popular event of the festival are no longer held today. But the
Agricultural Show is still held every three years during the Oktoberfest on the
southern part of the festival grounds. In the first few decades the choice of
amusements was sparse. The first carousel and two swings were set up in 1818.
Visitors were able to quench their thirst at small beer stands which grew
rapidly in number. In 1896 the beer stands were replaced by the first beer
tents and halls set up by enterprising landlords with the backing of the
breweries. The remainder of the festival site was taken up by a fun-fair. The
range of carousels etc. on offer was already increasing rapidly in the 1870s as
the fairground trade continued to grow and develop in Germany.”
I’ve never been to Munich, so I have no
idea about how the original Oktoberfest is like… but in Brazil, I’ve been to
the 3 main celebrations that happen in 3 different cities: Blumenau, Santa Cruz
do Sul and Igrejinha. You can drink chopp, eat good food (german, of course!!),
the music is typically German, as well as all other attractions and parades.
People wear German costumes and the whole cities which celebrate it here
‘breath’ the Oktoberfest. It’s really
fun if you like crowded places, loud music and many crazy things that you can
only find in Oktoberfests (because people drink a lot, so they surely do crazy
things!).
The first celebration
in Brazil was in 1966, which started more like a “Tobacco Celebration”?!?!?!?,
mixed with the traditions of the German Oktoberfest. It was a Tobacco
Celebration because tobacco was grown in that area, and all the economy was
related to it. In 1972 they celebrated the second edition of “Tobaccofest”, and
the major of the city in that time intended to create the Oktoberfest yearly,
but they had no structure Years later, in1984 they had the very first Oktberfest. Since
then, the city celebrates it yearly. In Blumenau, the celebration also started
in 1984, and in the first edition, it brought 102.000 visitors. Blumenau became
one of the most visited cities in Santa Catarina State. The celebration in Igrejinha happens since
1987 and they return a huge amount of money to the community. The money is
given directly to the hospital, public schools, police department and to the
fire fighters’ group. Since 1994, they have already returned more than R$
9.000.000,00 (around USD 2.800.00,00) to Igrejinha’s community.
I’ wont share the links of the parties because there isnt English version, but here are some pictures.
Jetzt Geht's
Los!!
CALM AS SNOWFALL…
Now the opposite… as I’m getting older, I’m more into this kind of programs, and my husband also love nature, wild life, etc, so we prefer this kind of trips than parties.
In Praia Grande, state
of Santa Catarina, there is a paradise called Morada dos Canyons. It is in the
frontier of the states Rio Grande do Sul with Santa Catarina. Morada dos
Canyons is like a charming lodge, you can rent a chalet and the view is part of
the canyons. You can join the groups which go for mountain tracks, rappel, you
can see some nice waterfalls… there are lots of adventure options included on
the packages. It depends on what you prefer. We like mountain tracks, so we
went for it.
There are many hotels,
hostels, and other kind of accommodation not only in Praia Grande/SC, but also
in the nearby city called Cambará do Sul/RS. Both cities give you the accesses to
visit the Canyons. I’ve been there this
weekend and I can tell you, it’s a great scape from the city, noises, and anything from the urban cenary!
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| Morada dos Canyons - Our chalet |
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| The view... |
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| Cozy |
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| The road to get to the canyon Itaimbezinho... I won't lie, the access is terrible, but the view worths it. |
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| First view of the trail... really nice! |
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| The best partner in crime! :P |
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| Cascata das Andorinhas... great view! |
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| My love and I... <3 |
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| Lunch at 720 meter height... not bad! |
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| Canyon Itaimbezinho.. finally... after walking 3,5 km into the trail. Now we have to walk all the way back... |
Foz do
Iguaçu is a city located in the far west of a state called Paraná. It is known
as ‘Babel Tower’ because of its cultural diversity. Its population, almost
260.000 habitants is composed of immigrants from more than 80 countries, mainly
from Lebanon, China, Paraguay and Argentina. Is one of the most visited cities
in Brazil, and is the third destination in Brazil chosen by the foreign
visitors. In Foz do Iguaçu there is the Triple Frontier, between Brazil, Argentina
and Paraguay. Brazil and Paraguay are separated by the Parana River, and Brazil
and Argentina, by the Iguaçu River. You can go to these 2 countries from Foz do
Iguaçu.
