Exceptional Brazil: December 2016

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!