Rückblick

It was much too early to get up on a grey Sunday, normally the only day when we can sleep in. At least that’s what the children thought, and as we all walked down the hill to catch the bus, I agreed with them. We were wrapped up in layers of clothing, carrying sleds and looking at the sky to see if the 63% chance of rain was true. But the bus came before the rain and off we went, into the hills.
Up in Malbun things were much better. The sky was still grey but at least the ground was thickly covered with crisp white show, and a few new flakes were falling. We would be walking in a winter wonderland and our spirits lifted. Until Gerhard realised he had left one sled on the back of the bus. He’d put it there to make more room inside the bus but it was now on its way back to Vaduz.
One sled lost but more than twenty people found. Lots of handshakes and hellos, then we started up the hill, dragging our sleds behind us. The higher we went, the thicker the snow, the cooler the air, and the louder the grumbles from some of the smaller ones. Finally we were at the top. Time for a group photo before the long slide back down to the bottom.
Back in Malbun, we digested the rules of Eisstockschiessen while we tucked into spaghetti. What was a Kehre? Where was the Zielfeld? How heavy was the Eisstock? So many questions and not many answers until we were out on the ice. Five teams tried to slide the weight along the ice and get as close as possible to the puck. Some were naturals from the beginning; others definitely not. Once the rain came, making the ice even more slippery, it was much easier to shoot, and much more difficult to stay upright.
The clear winners were the Malbun Tigers, who won three of their four contests; the clear losers were the Eisbrechers, who didn’t win a single game and sometimes not even one point. But everyone enjoyed it.
It was certainly a day of fun on ice and snow. The sun even came out for two minutes, and Gerhard got his sled back. A happy ending for everyone.
Diccon Bewes, Bern