Gastautor

Three dishes you would never have ordered

Summer

Spring

Autumn

Experience nature consciously

Culture

21.05.2026

Anyone who hikes, bikes, or simply breathes in the fresh mountain air in the Kleinwalsertal knows this: this natural environment is a privilege. Green slopes, clear streams, vast pastures - all of this can only thrive if we work together to treat it with care. That’s why this summer, one of our ten codes of conduct is taking center stage: Take Your Trash With You & Keep It Clean.

What sounds simple is, unfortunately, not always a given: cigarette butts, tissues in the mountain forests, discarded banana peels, or forgotten dog waste bags in our farmers’ fields - these are not minor issues. They harm nature, the groundwater, and the beauty of our valley. Together, we can change that.

For the appetizer, we serve a “cigarette butt” salad, fresh from our valleys.

The main course consists of a mix of Tempos aged for at least 5 years from our mountain forests and fresh pieces of plastic found along the roadside.

This dog treat dessert, prepared with love, is harvested daily from our farmers' fields, freshly processed, and served.

THE POINT IS CLEAR: WHAT WE LEAVE BEHIND IN NATURE STAYS THERE. SOMETIMES FOR DECADES. THIS 3-COURSE MENU IS OUR INVITATION TO STOP DOING JUST THAT - AND INSTEAD, SIMPLY TAKE HOME WHAT YOU BROUGHT WITH YOU.

between new york & kleinwalsertal Art Meets Consciousness with Mathias Kessler

What remains when the snow melts? The first signs of green—and the menu for an entire season. Served up from the roadside, garnished with cigarette butts, and refined with a selection of exquisite plastic packaging.

During joint cleanup efforts in the spring of 2026, we gathered what had been left behind in our landscape. Artist Mathias Kessler photographed it, and award-winning chef Jeremias Riezler staged it against the backdrop of the Kleinwalsertal. A set table that no one ordered—on display as a poster campaign and installation in Riezlern.

The most striking piece, however, hangs in the stairwell of the Walserhaus, right next to the tourist information office: no photo, no symbol—the actual trash, suspended from the ceiling as a mobile. Passersby encounter not a representation of a problem, but the problem itself. Floating, visible, inescapable.

An invitation to pause and reflect. The Kleinwalsertal is too beautiful for a meal that nobody ordered.

You can swipe away a picture - but no one can walk past the mobile installation made from found trash from the Walser landscape in the stairwell of the Walserhaus.
- Mathias Kessler, Artist -

Three initiatives - in three locations

The resulting artwork and the collected trash will be on display this summer at three specific locations in the valley—each one a small thought-provoking prompt on its own, and together a powerful statement.

Installation at the former museum in Riezlern
Right in the heart of Riezlern, art meets history. The installation provides a showcase for the collected trash—and transforms discarded items into something impossible to overlook.
Mobile installation at the Walserhaus in Hirschegg
The mobile installation brings the theme to a place where many visitors pass by every day. Just take a look—and take a closer look.
Poster in Mittelberg
Large-scale, unmistakable, and right in the center of town: The poster in Mittelberg carries the message out into the open—visible to everyone strolling through town or on their way to the mountains.

A summer full of hands-on activities

This campaign is more than just art on the wall—it actively invites you to become part of the solution. Throughout the summer, there will be activities, projects, and events you can take part in:

Allgäu CleanUP Days with PATRON e.V. (July 3–12, 2026): Let’s collect trash together and clean up nature—with a CleanUP kit, guided hikes, and workshops. Sign up now and join in!
Interactive exhibition at the Walserhaus Hirschegg: Fill a mason jar with the trash you’ve collected and put it on display. As a thank-you, you’ll receive a hand-sewn trash collection bag from the “Stoff statt Plastik” sewing group or a pocket ashtray.

Insights & Participation

join us!

Whether you pack a tissue for your hike, join the CleanUP Hike, or simply visit the interactive exhibition at the Walserhaus and reflect on it: Every small gesture helps ensure that our valley remains what it is—a place worth being in.

And if you’re not sure on your next walk whether that banana peel can really just disappear into the bushes—it actually takes a surprisingly long time to decompose. When disposed of properly, it turns into biogas in the organic waste stream and into nutrient-rich soil on the compost pile. So: pack it up, take it with you, dispose of it properly. It’s that simple.

We look forward to your summer in the Kleinwalsertal—clean, beautiful, and together.

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