Bird Imitator "Vogelpfeifer" Makes the Kick Off / Children at the School for the Physically Challenged Find the County Fair is Not Something to Ignore.
"School, shoemaker,…." the bird imitator (“Vogelpfeifer”) Peter Berger hisses – and it goes without saying that he does so wearing leather pants and a jaunty hat with a feather. And his audience watches and listens in awe at the sounds Peter can elicit from the “smallest musical instrument in the world”. Peter Berger (45) is a third-generation bird imitator and owns the smallest and most charming show stand at the “Gäubodenfest” (a county fair outside of Munich). But the scene just described is not from the fair. It took place at the school for physically challenged children where Peter and his son, Ludwig, (10) demonstrated their whistle blowing skills prior to the “Gäubodenfest”. Peter and the children of the summer school class gave such a spunky concert with their whistles that even construction workers busy with renovations at the school rubbed their eyes in wonder.
Seven years ago, Peter Berger took over the show stand from his father and carries on in the charming and nostalgic tradition that sets his stand apart from the noisy world of fairgrounds. It’s part of Berger’s job to teach an audience how to create a harmonic bird concert with a piece of waterproof cardboard, a pressed high-grade steel and tin ring and a membrane made of hand cut ox gut. The whistles (“Vogelpfeiferl”) are produced by the family. As Peter’s grandfather said seventy-five years ago: "A Gäuboden fair without a “Vogelpfeiferl” is like a bed without bed bugs – nothing stirs.” Peter tells that children in wheelchairs often gather around his stand – with its trademark gorilla head that is sticking out a red tongue (used for demonstration purposes only, of course). The eye contact is there, but with the activity at the fairgrounds there is little opportunity for more direct communication with the children. In that case, Peter though, why not practice some bird whistles with the children prior to the fair? In any case, the students attending summer classes at the school for the physically disabled were very pleased.
Some of the children – provided by Berger with a basic set consisting of a bag with two whistles – got the hang of it very quickly. If not, then they naturally received one-on-one lessons and tips from the “Vogelpfeifer” himself. Other children were more interested in a toy called the “brain picker” (“Hirnklopfer”). The plastic birds that - with the help of a suction cup and a little spit - stick not only to heads but also to wheelchair armrests and to watches, were the source of many smiling faces. Wind the birds up and they start to pick. Not only did the birds themselves evoke laughs, but Berger’s explanation that the “Hirnklopfer” promotes good circulation and cause hot ears and noses.
Peter also got laughs when he imitated police sirens, whinnying horses, frogs and donkeys. The children will still need to work a little on attaining the same level of skill as Peter Berger, but one of them may well perform for him at his show stand. They have at least promised to visit him.
