FRANKFORT, Ky. — For those of a certain age and place, the phrase “until the cows come home” connotes a long stretch of time. It means waiting for something that may never happen. A Frankfort couple who spend a majority of their time on the road decided last year to see if the cows ever do come home.

Sure enough, they do – and often with great celebration.

John and Karen Cosby spent the fall of 2011 travelling through Germany and Austria visiting towns and villages that hold festivals around the event of the cows coming home. “We had seen photos of the celebrations and planned our trip around them,” John said.

From where, you might ask, do the cows come? For hundreds of years, dairy operators in the mountainous regions of Western Europe have led their herds up into the Alpine hills to summer on green pastures. As the season changes and temperatures begin to drop, the herds are moved back down to the valleys where they will winter.

While they were reviewing some tourist information acquired during a previous trip to Austria, the Cosbys noticed photos of cows parading through the streets wearing flower garlands and headdresses and thought this would be something to see in person.

“After searching the Internet for ‘Cow Parades,’ we discovered that these events occur in Austria, Germany and Switzerland during the month of September,” Karen said.

 The Almabtrieb (Austria), Viehscheid (Germany) and Desalpe (Switzerland) is a pastoral custom, she said. Cowherds are decorated with colorful floral headdresses and bells and led from the mountain pastures to their village barns for the winter.

“With this in mind, we proceeded to plan a trip to Europe to experience this unique cultural event which takes place amidst some of the most beautiful scenery in the world,” Karen said.

In late spring or early summer, after the snow has melted, the herds climb to the high mountain pastures where the grass is fresh and lush. Traditionally, the herders live in small huts in the pastures alongside the cows all summer with virtually no contact with their home villages.

They do, however, keep busy milking the cows and making cheese. Until the early 1800s cheese was only made during the four months spent in the mountains, according to tourist information the couple gathered. Even today, the cheese made in the mountains is highly prized.

During the grazing season, the herdsmen let all of the cows from the village mingle. By September, before the snow starts, it’s time for viehscheid, a German term for separating the cattle. After gathering his herd, each stockman guides his cows from the high mountain pastures down to the village.

The return of the cows is cause for celebration. “One cow from each owner’s herd is chosen to be the Kranzkuh (wreath cow) and wears an especially elaborate headdress,” Karen said. “One lady told us that the cows look as if they have been to the beauty shop.”

Much of the colorful wreathlike headgear includes a small mirror and Christian icons encircled with flowers (especially in Austria and Germany) to give thanks to God and to ward off evil spirits, Karen said. Some groups even have a few goats, sheep or horses mixed in. There are also Schlafscheids (sheep parades) for large flocks of sheep that must be separated and sheared.

Each village schedules the return date about a year in advance, Karen said. The easiest way to obtain a schedule of these events is to contact the various tourist offices via email or contact forms on their websites.

The Cosbys discovered those dates can be flexible, depending on weather and other conditions, so the travelers recommend contacting each local tourist office a few weeks ahead and then again, just before leaving for the event. Karen said every village they visited has a tourist office with friendly, English-speaking staff.

Last year some of the herds returned a couple of weeks early because of poor pasture conditions in the mountains, so the festivals were held earlier than the published date.

On the big day, the cattle drive begins in the mountains before dawn. Down in the village, a crowd of men attired in lederhosen and women wearing dirndl dresses gather to keep watch. Often there are pauses between the arrival of the herds, Karen said, which provide time for browsing the numerous souvenir stands selling everything from regional food specialties and mountain cheese, to cow bells and stuffed cows to Bavarian scarves and socks, cow hide slippers and wooden crucifixes.

In some villages fewer than 100 animals are welcomed home. In other villages, as many as 1,600 cows return in small groups, often accompanied by costumed family members and herders. The animals are gathered at the Scheidplatz until later in the day when they are collected by their owners.

Visitors are welcome to walk among the cows, at their own risk, for photos of the cows along with their proud owners and herders. If their farm is nearby, the herders will walk the cows home. Otherwise, they will be trucked home.

“At Kufstein, Austria, we witnessed the herders calling their cows in order to separate the herds. The cows definitely recognized the call of their herder and eagerly ran over to him to begin their walk home,” Karen said.

Drinking and eating seem to appeal as much as the animals or shopping, as the giant “party” tent, complete with the village concert band and lively “polka” bands, is always packed, John said. Food options include traditional fare such as local German sausages, frankfurters, Wiener Schnitzel (veal cutlets) and pig knuckles along with giant soft pretzels and sauerkraut. “However, to our surprise, the biggest seller was half a roasted chicken and a plate full of French fries,” he said.

The partying goes all day with performances by bands, alpenhorn playing, whip (Goalslschnalzer) cracking, fashion shows of traditional clothing (Trachten-Modenschau), yodeling by the male chorus and folk dancing (Schuhplattler).

When the alpenhorns arrive on the stage, the crowd listens reverently. A quartet of red-faced men blow into the10-foot long horns, creating melodies as forlorn as the nights of solitude that herders endure in the Alpine pastures.

Some of the villages also have a Church Day festival where the cheese is blessed and thanks is given to God for a safe and successful Almabtrieb, Karen said. The church services are held outdoors and include bands and numerous visiting rifle corps.

Technically, John said, these festivals are not part of the official Oktoberfest which occurs during the last two weeks of September, but the party atmosphere is much the same.

(Note: John Cosby is the writer’s brother. –Ed.)