Wrestling
High in the mountains on a clear autumn’s day, I approach a field where there is a buzz of activity and excited chatter from a crowd. The field has been fenced off and there is an entrance gate with people milling around. In the background mountains stand proud, looking down on the day’s events. As we enter there are three rings about 10 metres across with saw dust as the base. Temporary bench seats have been constructed on a hill to create a bit of a grand stand to provide clear viewing of the rings. Two men stand in the middle of each ring doing battle, seeing which is the most skilled at Swiss wrestling.
I sit in the grand stand for a long time with the sun on my back simply enjoying. One of the most surprising things for me is that I think I may have been the only tourist even though this seemed like such a ‘postcard’ event. The locals were genuinely enjoying the day and because it was not overrun with tourists I also felt that I was part of the day; sampling everything that was Swiss, I was not an outsider looking in. There was traditional music, flag throwing which was accompanied by the alphorns, yodelling, bratwurst & beers and lots of wrestling. There was even 5 francs on the bench next to us, which was meant to keep the wasps way. I can honestly say that I felt I was absorbed into the day.
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