Men + kilts = hotties OR How I spent a great day in CH

Many of you have marveled how I am on this trip all alone and going all alone into a strange country...

Well, I have a secret weapon in my back pocket.  When I found this amazing resource, I knew I could do this great adventure. 

I'm talking about the English Forum Switzerland.  It is a forum online where hundreds of people who live in and work in CH formed a group and act as a reference for any question someone might have about living in CH.  There are Swiss natives on the forum, there are ex-pats (ex-patriots--people who move from their own country to live in another country), there are spouses and singles and families and all sorts of individuals here.  

There are dozens of activities to do with them, and hundreds of them to meet.  I joined the forum back in March and I have many activities already lined up.

One of the first was this weekend.  The Highland Games, Scottish Style was the first event I was able to attend since I've been here.  Part of the reason is a transportation issue.  I'm in the Alps for the rest of this week, in a small holiday town.  The last bus to get me home leaves the train station at 7: 19 p.m. (never late).  That eliminates any activity that would take place in the evening.

Since this was an all-day event, I knew I would have time to make the three-hour trip (one way) and get back home in time to catch that last bus.  Plus, I would get to meet some members of the forum.

So off I went.  :)

 Things of interest along my journey

Three hours sounds like a long time to travel to get somewhere, but it was broken down into many parts.  The 15 min. walk to the bus stop, the bus ride to the train station, the three different city trains and the transfer to the country wide train.  Then, back to a city bus. 

One thing that was unique was the CH version of park and ride. In a country of bike-riders, what would you expect?  :)

Another thing is how close to the lake the train is when traveling by Interlocken.  It feels and looks like you are actually on the lake.

 
One more thing of interest is the stream/river that runs through the area.  I haven't found out what the name of it is, but it is a curious color of gray.  It is fresh and sparkling clear, but it is gray.  I believe I read somewhere (and I can't remember where so I can't give you a link) that the color is from the slate gray of the Alps themselves.  It's the sand bits that have washed down with the water.

And then we arrived at the outskirts of Fribourg in a small hamlet called St. Ursen.  That was the location of the games.

Walking to the games, you could hear the bagpipes over the hills in the distance.  It was so cool.  Then, the quietness of the moment was shattered with a giant gun blast. 

No...no....not another tragic shooting.  There was this target practice set up for the military to come and practice shooting their guns.  CH has an armed neutrality, if you will.  Every male citizen is required to serve for almost a year within the military and then they go home and they have their weapon at the ready, if ever required.  

Part of the state of readiness is that the male attend a certain amount of continued weapon practice.  And that was what was going on here.  Many civilian men showed up with their bag (like the man in the clip walking with the dog), shoot their required rounds, and then go home.   

They are not just shooting pistols.  Listen.

It was surprising to me that his target area was right on the road, right in the middle of the events going on.  Traffic whizzes by, and people are walking up a hill on the sidewalk above during the target practice.  Odd. And interesting.  

But let me get back to the hot men in skirts...

The Highland Games take place all over the world.  I remember the event was held at Mesa Community College for a few years.  

It is a gathering of clans, all wearing their tartans proudly, and some of the maniliest men in kilts I have ever seen.  The competition had events harking back centuries.  The first I saw was hurling a huge heavy weight over your head, trying to get it over an elevated line without knocking down the bar. Several competed.

The second man was a crowd favorite, and he won the event.  The younger man in the first was a young up and comer.  He also had an avid following.

Another event is a pole throw.  I'm sure it had some official name, but I don't know what it was and the announcing was all in two-three languages that I did not know.  Surprise!  lol

Anyways....for this event, a big pole (practically a tree trunk, if you will) is picked up by the contestant who then has to balance its unwieldy weight, walk a few steps, and toss the huge pole, hoping to turn it end over end in the toss with his sheer might. 

The pole took FOUR young men to bring it back to the starting point and raise it for each contestant.

Maybe you will recognize the second man from the previous competition.  He won this event as well and was the overall winner of the games.

So, when I tell you that this was a super interesting day and I enjoyed myself thoroughly, you can believe me.

I enjoyed a homemade chicken pot pie, bought some English cheddar cheese (in CH, home of cheese lol), and took home a grilled sausage to have for dinner later.  For sure, the scenery was very easy on the eye.  

The gentleman in the brown outfit was quite striking.  When I asked him what clan he belonged to, he said he was Swiss and that he just enjoyed dressing up in the Braveheart outfit.  Hey...it worked.  :)


And we cannot leave without presenting a small portion of the other main competition....the pipe and drums.  There were many groups from all over CH that came to march and perform in a very stiff competition.

Here is one of the groups. I found them all to be very excellent, but I am not an expert in this area.  There were definitely winners and those that didn't win.

 

One more surprise at the end of the day

So I left the games with plenty of time to catch all the transportation required.  

I had a lovely sausage to eat for dinner, but I needed some mustard or something to dip it in.  I stopped in to the local market called Coop and bought some Dijon mustard.  The CH version of Grey Poupon.

In a tube.

Yes, folks, it looked like a tube of toothpaste, but it was mustard.  And it tasted just great.