Where you´re from loozy? I've lived at the "Schwäbische Alp" for two years (Heidenheim) and I think its even harder to understand the dialect that is spoken there than the Bavarian one. It is a bit weird to discuss German dialects at an English Barca forum. Sorry for that, but loozy´s posting made me curious.
Aaaah, my parents originate from Geislingen, that is about 20 minutes away from Heidenheim
My best friend's granny comes from there
Well, for me, as I have grown up with the Swabian dialect, I always thought it was much easier to understand than the Bavarian dialect which I also think to be much harsher on the ear than the more softly spoken Swabian dialect. I am in Munich a couple of times a year and go snowboarding in the Alps a lot and I think that Bavarian, especially when spoken fast, is pretty much not understandable when you hail from up north