Hot Sweaty Men
One of the great things about writing on the topic of Switzerland is that one gets to cover an entire range of Swiss traditional activities.
Whether it’s bringing cows down the mountains, pumpkin or chestnut festivals, or even the spectacle of two cows fighting each other, summer in Switzerland has the best entertainment there is.
Next weekend sees the annual wrestling, or Schwingen, championships on Mount Rigi, near Luzern. It’s basically a bunch of farmers with some extra trousers trying to throw each other on to their backs, but it’s taken very seriously by the competitors and the local public.
It warrants coverage on national TV, but then you’d miss out on the grilled sausages, and the smell of sweat mixed with mountain flowers. Not to mention the smell of the steam trains that I wouldn’t mind betting will be pressed into service to take visitors to the event.
Schwingen has been around for over 100 years, coincidentally about the same amount of time as the railway that goes up Rigi. Personally, I prefer the railway, but each to their own.
You’ll also get the benefit of seeing the cows go up the mountain, so really it’s an event not to be missed…
Photo: Flickr – Jasper
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[...] MeckiM@c’s study of the undulating green countryside around Rigi, where the wrestling will take place this [...]