The traditional costume has been a part of our village since childhood. As children, we were given our first lederhosen with a checked shirt and wore them at festive events. We still wear them today for special occasions such as weddings,
birthdays, holidays and events. The Kiefer beer tent and village festival are such events where young and old come together and express their attachment to their homeland (Bavaria) and home community (Kiefersfelden) with their traditional costume, and many are not just guests but actively involved. Those who do not ‘lend a hand’ come as guests and thus show their appreciation for the work done by the volunteers. This is what makes a community and both are necessary.
Nothing has changed since my childhood in this village and it has shaped us all. We are not in a big city and we are not anonymous. We know each other by our first names here and we all grew up together, regardless of age. We went to school with our peers and trained with others in clubs such as soccer, tennis and the ski team. So you grew up across generations, which is only possible in a village. This has also led to the decision to stay here for professional and private reasons - in the community in which you grew up.
My skis symbolize unforgettable moments in my life. At the age of 2.5 my parents took me skiing. I learned to walk and ski at the same time. We went on winter vacations with our parents instead of summer vacations. Later, I trained in the ski team and competed in regional races. The love of this sport stayed with me and I can still share it with my wife and children today. We also got them skiing at an early age.
“Mesnerhang” is the place where I spent my childhood in winter. In my childhood, we had enough snow every year to make it possible to operate the small lift. After school, we would come here on foot to ski all day. We trained and also put in runs ourselves outside of training times. We drove through the forest and built ski jumps. School championships and club championships were held here and we always looked forward to these races. We wanted to compete with the others and at best win the respective age group. Floodlit skiing was a highlight and we were happy when we were allowed to take part (it was the only and first opportunity to ‘go out’ in the evening at that time).
